Not a lot of people are sure how the Bruins ended up here – but they're here.
UCLA (22-9) entered the NCAA Tournament as an 11-seed and part of the First Four, meaning it had to win a game just to make it to the Round of 64.
The Bruins defeated Michigan State 86-80. Fast-forward to Tuesday, UCLA knocked off Michigan 51-49, booking its ticket to the Final Four.
Here are The Numbers that have defined UCLA's improbable run back to national prominence:
24.7%: UCLA’s five NCAA Tournament opponents (including the First Four against Michigan State) have combined to connect on less than 25% of their 3-pointers — 24.7%, to be exact.
108: Points scored by Johnny Juzang through his first five NCAA Tournament games with UCLA, which is tied with Bill Walton for second-most by a UCLA player. Juzang and Walton trail only Lew Alcindor – later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – who scored 134 points. Juzang's 108 points lead all players in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. In second is Gonzaga's Drew Timme, with 85.
55%: The percentage of UCLA’s 51 points scored by Juzang (28) in his team's Elite Eight win over Michigan on Tuesday.
2: UCLA is the second team in NCAA Tournament history to defeat both a 1-seed and a 2-seed while being a double-digit seed. UCLA is also the second team to make the Final Four after playing in the First Four (2011 VCU).
0: An 11-seed has never made the NCAA Tournament championship game.
5: UCLA is the fifth 11-seed to make the Final Four, joining 1986 LSU, 2006 George Mason, 2011 VCU and 2018 Loyola-Chicago.
19: This is UCLA’s 19th Final Four appearance, second-most in NCAA men's tournament history behind only North Carolina (20). This includes vacated appearances, as UCLA has one vacated Final Four.
3: This will be the third NCAA Tournament matchup between UCLA and Gonzaga. In 2006, 2-seed UCLA staged a huge comeback to defeat 3-seed Gonzaga, which was led by Adam Morrison, in the Sweet 16. In 2015, 2-seed Gonzaga defeated 11-seed UCLA in the Sweet 16.
63%: The combined free-throw percentage of UCLA’s five NCAA Tournament opponents so far (including Michigan State). Alabama went 11-for-25 from the line (44%), and Michigan went 6-for-11 from the line (54.5%). The Bruins defeated the Crimson Tide by 10 in overtime and the Wolverines by two in regulation.
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