The first half was pretty much not good at all. UCLA just came out playing uninspired ball... no defensive effort at all, settling for open jumpers that were not falling, and turning the ball over a lot against the zone. Gonzaga's lead was up to 17 at one point. It really would have been hard for them to have a worse half.
They started playing better right away in the second half, but they didn't really make up any ground. They cut it to six at one point, but Gonzaga answered right back with a 4 point play. Any time the Bruins would make a run, Gonzaga would be able to answer back.
When Adam Morrison hit 2 free throws with 3:26 left, Gonzaga was up 71-62, and they looked to be in control of the game. They never scored again.
At that point, UCLA really picked things up, obviously, but especially on the defensive end. They pressured the heck out of the ballhandler, and they were all over Morrison everytime he got the ball. On misses, UCLA had some great box-outs. Offensively, they scored just enough. Here's what I thought about the last 3 1/2 minutes:
- For fairness' sake, the refs should have added at least 0.5 seconds to the clock after the jump ball.
- That runner by Farmar on the baseline to cut it to 71-68 is a lot harder than it looks, trust me.
- I really think there were about 10 different times over the course of the game that I thought UCLA was toast. Gonzaga just played so well for 36 1/2 minutes, and UCLA was so bad for the first 20. I didn't know if they'd be able to make it up.
- Gus Johnson is awesome. And the best part is, we even got some good emotion from Len Elmore! Mark this date down on your calendars!
- This is probably embarrassing to admit, but I just felt physically drained after that game. It was like I played the game.
Really, I don't know how to put it into words. Just an unbelievable game.
I'd be really interested in seeing your guys' reactions and thoughts about it, whether you had a rooting interest or not. Where does it rank among some of the games you've seen?
ESPN Recap
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