PHILADELPHIA — On the evening reigning NCAA champion Florida was eliminated by Iowa, UCLA tried to comply with the Hawkeyes’ lead in opposition to Connecticut, the workforce that had worn the crown the earlier two years.
And for the second straight sport they had been hoping to win with out main scorer Tyler Bilodeau, whose sprained knee nonetheless hadn’t healed sufficient for coach Mick Cronin to threat placing him on the ground.
Seventh-seeded UCLA battled, managing to take a short lead in the second half. But in the top, No. 2 Connecticut’s measurement and energy had been an excessive amount of for the Bruins to overcome in a 73-57 loss in the second spherical of the NCAA match Sunday.
Four gamers scored in double figures for UCLA. (*16*) completed with 13 factors, Eric Dailey Jr. had 12 factors and Donovan Dent and Skyy Clark every completed with 11. But the Bruins couldn’t comprise Connecticut ahead Alex Karaban, who erupted for 27 factors, because the Huskies superior to the Sweet 16 to play No. 3 Michigan State in Washington, D.C., on Friday.
The Bruins obtained off to a great begin, constructing an 18-12 lead earlier than the Huskies caught hearth, hitting seven straight pictures at one level to seize a 38-33 halftime lead.
Connecticut’s Tarris Reed Jr., heart, tries to work previous (from left) UCLA’s Trent Perry, Donovan Dent and Eric Dailey Jr. throughout the first half Sunday.
(Matt Rourke / Associated Press)
UCLA (24-12) began the second half on a 6-0 run, regaining a 39-38 edge on a nook jumper by Clark.
Connecticut (31-5) didn’t wait lengthy to retake management, occurring a 14-0 run over the following 5 minutes, with Karaban scoring 10 factors over that span.
UCLA answered with an 8-0 run, with Dailey’s three-point play chopping Connecticut’s lead to 56-52 and reigniting the Bruins’ hope of an upset. Connecticut, nonetheless, responded with a decisive 9-0 run, taking a 67-54 lead with 4:24 left.
UCLA struggled with its taking pictures a lot of the evening, going 19 for 49 (39%) in comparability to Connecticut’s 23 for 49 (47%). Both groups had the identical variety of free-throw makes an attempt (21), however the Bruins made simply 67% of their pictures and the Huskies made 90%.