Gonzaga vs. UCLA score, highlights: 3 jaw-dropping moments from March Madness instant classic

Gonzaga survived a massive challenge from UCLA to remain undefeated and advance to the National Championship Game.

It feels like we have been waiting all tournament to see Gonzaga get tested in March Madness. UCLA did just that but it wasn’t enough with Jalen Suggs drilling a buzzer-beater from 40-feet to keep their perfect season alive.

The Bulldogs blew out Creighton and USC in their past two games to get to the Final Four without breaking a sweat, but Gonzaga was finally challenged as UCLA put up an incredible fight tonight.

The Bruins controlled the tempo for most of the game and the lead constantly changed hands but the Bulldogs survived, winning 93-90 in overtime to advance to the National Championship Game against Baylor on Monday night. The final seconds of this game were absolutely bananas as UCLA got a clutch offensive rebound bucket from Johnny Juzang to tie the game before Jalen Suggs heaved a deep three to beat the buzzer and send the Bulldogs on to the title game.

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Highlights from Gonzaga’s dramatic win over UCLA (besides the Suggs winner)

UCLA showed they weren’t afraid of Gonzaga early, dictating the tempo and drilling plenty of shots, including this 3-pointer from Juzang in the first half. Juzang paced the Bruins for the game, scoring a game-high 29 points on 12-of-18 shooting.

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Despite the brilliant start from UCLA, Gonzaga actually hit the locker room with a one-point lead. Corey Kispert’s three in the closing seconds of the first half helped the Bulldogs secure a 47-46 lead after 20 minutes of play.

This contest saw plenty of jaw-dropping sequences, including this key block from Jalen Suggs on one end of the floor before finishing the break on the other end with an incredible bounce pass to Drew Timme for the slam to put Gonzaga up 79-77.

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We have to get to the final 20 seconds of the game here, which started with Juzang collecting his own miss to put back the tying points with 3.3 seconds to go. Gonzaga opted not to call timeout after that shot, putting the ball in the hands of Suggs, who heaved a three just over half-court that went off the backboard and in as time expired to give the Bulldogs a dramatic win that will live in the hearts and minds of college basketball fans forever.

3 takeaways from Gonzaga’s dramatic win over UCLA

3. The Bruins nearly played the perfect game

Few people gave UCLA a chance in this game, with oddsmakers establishing the Bruins as 14 point underdogs entering the contest. Mick Cronin’s team flawlessly executed its gameplan, dictating the tempo by refusing to let Gonzaga run up and down the floor on them, backing it up with clutch shotmaking.

There is absolutely no shame in falling on a half-court heave in a game where UCLA shot 57.6 percent from the floor and 47.1 percent from beyond the arc. The Bruins have been involved in some of March Madness’s craziest games and they were nearly able to pull off one of the all-time stunners by playing excellent basketball.

2. Gonzaga responded to adversity

This game marked the first time all season that Gonzaga was in real jeopardy of losing. The Bulldogs have usually been able to use their offensive might to pull away from teams early in games but UCLA was able to go shot for shot with Gonzaga, forcing them to face real adversity for the first time.

Mark Few’s team was able to prevail because it got key contributions from players up and down the roster, scoring big buckets from Suggs, Timme, Kispert, Joel Ayayi and Andrew Nembhard down the stretch. This type of white-knuckle victory should set Gonzaga up well for a shot at history on Monday night.

1. Drew Timme continues to be the Bulldogs’ most important player

While Suggs and Kispert draw all the headliners from NBA scouts it’s become clear that Timme is the most important player on Gonzaga’s roster. Timme led the Bulldogs in scoring for the fourth straight game, racking up 25 points on 11-of-15 shooting, and also made the game’s most underrated defensive play in the final seconds of regulation.

The game was tied and UCLA had the ball in the hands of Juzang, who drove to the hoop for the potential winning layup but was called for a charge when Timme slid into the perfect defensive position. Timme was playing with four fouls at that point so it was an incredibly risky move to try and draw the charge, but without it, there would have been a great chance Juzang finishes off the bucket to stun the Bulldogs.

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