Mark J. Rebilas – USA TODAY Sports
The UCLA Bruins.
Christian Post Report – The UAB Blazers and UCLA Bruins continue their drama-filled NCAA Division I Tournament when they meet at Louisville, Kentucky on March 21, 2015. Tip-off is at 12:10 PM ET and can be watched on CBS or online though live stream (details below).
UAB finished fifth in the Conference USA standings and had relatively low expectations coming into the tournament.
Ranked 14th, they faced third seed Iowa State. With little expectation, UAB played without pressure to pull-out a big 60-59 win, the first upset of the competition.
Robert Brown had a big game with 21 points. He shot 7-of-19 from the field but went perfect from the free throw line.
William Lee added 14 points in 30 minutes. He was also efficient by going 6-of-11 from the field, but also pulled down 12 rebounds.
Both teams shot poorly from the field, with UAB shooting 35% on the night, while the Cyclones went 37%.
However, the Blazers dominated the glass, outrebounding Iowa State 52-37. They had 10 more offensive rebounds to help get them more chances to get the improable victory.
The Bruins finished 21-13 in the PAC-12 standings, and were given the tough task to face the SMU Mustangs in the second round.
The higher-seeded Mustangs appeared to be set to win the game with the seconds winding down, with UCLA throwing up a desperation three-pointer to get a chance to win.
Bryce Alford’s jumper appeared to go way right off the ring and SMU center Yanick Moreira caught the ball near the cylinder to signify their victory.
However, officials decided to call the play by the book and handed a controversial goaltending call that gave UCLA a 60-59 win over SMU.
In the heated contest, Alford finished with 27 points, going an impressive 9-of-11 from the three point arc. Norman Powell also had 19 to help the team advance in the competition.
UCLA were red-hot from beyond the arc as they ousted SMU, going 10-of-20 from beyond the arc to cover-up their 18 total turnovers in the game.
With a place in the next round up for grabs, expect this meeting to be another intense one.
For live scores and updates, go to ESPN.com. For live streaming, click here.
Source : Christian Post