CBB Twitter drags UCLA for Sweet 16 choke job vs. Gonzaga
College basketball Twitter had a field day reacting to Gonzaga’s thrilling victory over UCLA in the Sweet 16 after the Bruins blew a big halftime lead.
UCLA and Gonzaga should meet in March Madness every year.
That was the consensus on Thursday night as the Bruins and Bulldogs played another instant classic full of twists and turns in the Sweet 16.
Seventeen years to the day since Adam Morrison’s Gonzaga lost a heartbreaker to UCLA, the Zags got more revenge with a logo three from Julian Stawther to win the game and advance to the Elite Eight.
STRAWTHER FROM WAY DEEP
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 24, 2023
GONZAGA HAS THE LEAD 😱#MarchMadness @ZagMBB pic.twitter.com/jBYf4gpn4q
Even though UCLA erased a nine-point deficit in the final 1:15 and had a lead with 12 seconds to go, the perception was that the Bruins blew it in the second half.
After all, they held a 13-point lead at halftime then went on to go completely cold following the break. They went more than 11 minutes without making a field goal.
The tweets wrote themselves.
Best memes and tweets as Gonzaga got revenge on UCLA
that was a generational fakecomeback by UCLA though lol gotta be sick to be a fan rn
— Shohei Ohtani Stan Account (@AndyKHLiu) March 24, 2023
I started the UCLA-Gonzaga game as a 31 year old. I left the game as a 41 year old.
— Chris Williamson (@CWilliamson44) March 24, 2023
This 2nd Half. @UCLAMBB pic.twitter.com/oYgoAHEAqI
— UCLA Nation (@UCLA_Nation) March 24, 2023
Someone reportedly reminded UCLA at halftime that they were headed to the Big Ten.
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) March 24, 2023
UCLA in second half: 17 points in 18 minutes.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 24, 2023
5-24 from the field and 2-9 from 3.
Most of the open shots Bruins were getting in first half have been contested in second.
UCLA (-115 ML) in the second half pic.twitter.com/iyVwLa87Xv
— br_betting (@br_betting) March 24, 2023
UCLA in the 2nd half... pic.twitter.com/hhQ5tPYA0j
— Odds Shark (@OddsShark) March 24, 2023
UCLA in the second half: pic.twitter.com/NURXSpI9yC
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) March 24, 2023
What a ballgame!!!
— Joe List (@JoeListComedy) March 24, 2023
I think UCLA made a strategical error by not making a field goal for 11 minutes straight.#MarchMadness
lmao pic.twitter.com/iHYloMUXUO
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) March 24, 2023
I think Gonzaga has given UCLA all the heartbreak back that they had from the Adam Morrison 2006 collapse. Can you imagine losing a Final Four game in OT on a half court Jalen Suggs 3, and then lose to the SAME TEAM by a Julian Strawther 3 from the logo in the Sweet 16?!?
— Jacob Hester (@JacobHester18) March 24, 2023
Jaime Jaquez led the Bruins with 29 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three streals and a block in what was his final appearance for UCLA.
His effort wasn’t enough to counterbalance an even more epic performance from Gonzaga’s Drew Timme. The mustachioed big man finished with 36 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
The Bruins will head home to contemplate what could have been if injuries hadn’t thinned their roster. The Zags will move on to face No. 4 seed UConn in the Elite Eight on Saturday.
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