The best rivalry on the West Coast over the last decade enjoyed yet another famed installment over the weekend.
In the new Intuit Dome, UCLA bested Gonzaga by a score of 65-62. It was an emotional win for the Bruins in front of a pro-UCLA crowd. Once the final buzzer hit, the relief visibly oozed out of Mick Cronin as he walked over to shake Mark Few’s hand.
We almost saw yet another moment of last-second brilliance by Gonzaga. Down three with less than five seconds left, Ryan Nembhard launched a halfcourt shot that hit the backboard. As one recalls, UCLA’s been on the bad end of last-second shots courtesy of Gonzaga on several occasions.
Jalen Suggs thrust the proverbial dagger into UCLA” ‘s heart when connecting on a game-winning halfcourt shot versus the Bruins during the Final Four a few years ago. In the Sweet 16 a year later, Julian Strawther nailed a long three-pointer to knock the Bruins out of postseason play yet again.
There was a gigantic Gonzaga monkey on UCLA’s back, and after the result in Inglewood, it finally may have been dealt with.
UCLa’s defense was unsurprisingly great. It held Gonzaga to nearly 30 points below its season average. The Bulldogs turned the ball over 15 times and shot only 29.2 percent (on 24 attempts) from three. The prolific Gonzaga bench was held to only 17 points on 5-of-19 from the field. Starters Michael Ajayi and Dusty Stromer combined for 0 points in 50 total minutes of floor time.
The game turned when Khalif Battle was ejected for essentially throwing UCLA forward Eric Dailey Jr. to the ground on a rebound attempt. Without Battle on the floor, Gonzaga’s offense sat solely in the pick-and-roll with Graham Ike and Nembhard.
While starters Tyler Bilodeau and Dylan Andrews combined to go 2-of-15 for seven points, UCLA was buoyed by 18 points from Dailey Jr., 12 from Kobe Johnson, 10 from sharpshooter Lazar Stefanovic, and an all-around impressive game from Skyy Clark.
Clark notched 11 points and led the team in rebounds (9) and assists (7). He also hounded Nembhard on the defensive end.
The victory helps in boosting UCLA’s resume — which to this point is quite good. Wins at Oregon, and over Arizona and Gonzaga already give UCLA three Quad 1 wins. Losing neutral site games to North Carolina and New Mexico won’t hurt much considering those teams are likely tournament-bound come March.
After New Year’s Day, UCLA will embark on the meat of its conference schedule. It’ll start with a Saturday tilt at Nebraska. The Cornhuskers have won 19 in a row at home dating back to 2023. From there, the No. 15 Bruins will host Michigan before going on an East Coast swing featuring road games against Maryland and Rutgers.
Welcome to the Big Ten, Bruins.
