(Photo: Reuters/Scott Audette)
UCLA Bruins guard Malcolm Lee (C) drives to the basket as Florida Gators Patric Young defends in this 2011 file photo.
Christian Post Report – The Gonzaga Bulldogs face-off against the UCLA Bruins in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament. Tip-off is on March 27, 2015 at 7:15 p.m. ET.
As the second seed, Gonzaga were given the task to face North Dakota State in the second round.
Things looked pretty straight-forward for the Bulldogs in the first half, ending with a 43-30 lead. However, the Bisons tried to claw their way back behind Dexter Werner’s 22 points but were unable to make-up for the big lead as Gonzaga won 86-76.
In the victory, Kyle Wiltjer scored 23 points while shooting 8-of-12 from the field. He also had eight rebounds in 31 minutes on the floor. Gonzaga shot the ball well, draining 52 percent from the field while they also dominated on the boards with 35 to North Dakota’s 24.
Next they had Big Ten’s Iowa and Gonzaga made sure that they were able to finish their dominating starts to the games.
They led 46-29 at the half and kept the pace to win 87-68. Wiltjer had another amazing performance as he only missed two attempts out of 12 to score 24 points. Domantas Sabonis was also a spark from the bench as he drained 18 points while shooting 60 percent from the field. Gonzaga was dominant in the offensive end as they drained 63 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, the Bruins beat the Southern Methodist University Mustangs after center Yanick Moreira committed goaltending on Bryce Alford’s attempt in the dying seconds of the second round match. With SMU leading by two, Alford’s shot appeared to be offline but Moreira grabbed the ball as it was still along the cylinder to force the referees to credit the points and help UCLA advance in the competition. Making the most of the chance, UCLA dominated UAB in the third round, winning 92-75 behind 28 points from Tony Parker.
All of the Bruins’ starters scored in double figures led by parker, who also had 12 rebounds and three blocks in 30 minutes on the court.
The Bruins need all the luck they can get as they face another tough battle against the heavily-favoured Gonzaga.
For live updates, visit ESPN.com. For live streaming, click here.
Source : Christian Post