INDIANAPOLIS – After shocking Big 12 champ Texas – and the collegiate basketball world – in the first round on Saturday, No. 14 Abilene Christian University couldn't overcome a second straight spate of cold shooting, falling 67-47 to No. 11 UCLA Monday afternoon in the East Regional in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Junior forward Cody Riley scored 12 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for the Bruins (20-9), who moved to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017. Senior guard
Mahki Morris had 14 points off the bench for ACU (24-5), whose thrilling time in its second straight NCAA Tournament ended a game short of playing another weekend in Indiana.
"It was a great experience this week and it was a great season," said ACU guard
Reggie Miller. "With everything we went through it brought us closer together. The season has meant so much to us. We overcame so much adversity. (Now) let's come back and do it again. Let's take the next step."
The Wildcats, champions of the Southland Conference, finished their 100th season with three straight 20-win campaigns for the first time in school history. Head coach
Joe Golding's team was 27-7 in 2018-19 and 20-11 in a pandemic-shortened 2019-20 campaign that saw the Southland and NCAA Tournaments canceled.
"I love our dudes ... they're going to get celebrated like no team in Abilene Christian," Golding said in his postgame press conference. I can't wait to get back to Abilene to celebrate these guys. They had a heck of a game the other night, but they just couldn't find it tonight. They kept looking for it, looking for it. Just couldn't get it done."
ACU's typically hard-nosed defense was hamstrung Monday by a hard-luck offense in the first half for the second straight game. It couldn't overcome shooting 29.8% from the field despite another high-energy effort as an underdog to another of college basketball's blueblood programs.
UCLA committed just eight turnovers against ACU, the nation's leader (20.3 per game) in forcing them. The Bruins also ran a highly efficient offense, shooting 46.6% from the field and 36.8 from beyond the arc.
Senior center
Kolton Kohl and senior guard
Coryon Mason added 8 points each for ACU. Miller had 5 points and seven assists.
Sophomore guard Johnny Juzang scored a game-high 17 points for the Bruins, while junior forward Cody Riley had 12 points and Jamie Jaquez Jr added 10.
"Give them credit, they had a great game plan," said Miller. "They spaced us out and hit the mid-range shots They made those shots time and time again."
ACU upended No. 4 Texas 53-52 in the first round to earn this matchup with the 11-time national champs. UCLA beat Michigan State 86-80 in overtime and Brigham Young 73-62 to reach the second round.
ACU cancelled late-afternoon classes so the university community could attend a watch party of the nationally telecast game. A stormy weather forecast kept Wildcat Stadium from being an option, so the event was held downtown at the Abilene Conference Center, where a loud crowd of more than 1,500 fans gathered to support their team.
Early on, Abilene Christian led 12-8 before a 9:01 scoring drought saw the Bruins go on an 18-0 tear. ACU followed with a 7-0 run of its own and cut the UCLA lead to 10 at intermission, 31-21. But the Bruins started the second half 10-1 to take a 19-point lead at 41-22, and the Wildcats couldn't draw closer.
UCLA's offensive efficiency and defensive pressure contributed to the Wildcat scoring woes. Two days prior, ACU had another 9-minute scoreboard drought against Kentucky but made up for it by shooting 27 more times from the field than their opponents. They overcame a 29.9% shooting percentage against the SEC-member Wildcats but the Bruins proved a more formidable opponent today.
"They're disappointed ... it's a hurt locker room" said Golding of his team's emotions. "There's a lot of tears. They're not happy, and that's fine. I don't know if it was that way after Kentucky (in 2019). It's a different feel and a different group. This group felt like they belonged. We kept fighting, and were down 10 at the half - we've been there before. We then had some good looks to start the second half but they just didn't go down."
Averaging more than 32 points off the bench – good for fourth in the nation – ACU's second five managed just 18 against UCLA, led by Morris' 14.
Key Plays
- ACU took an early 3-0 lead on free throws by Coryon Mason, who scored ACU's first 5 points.
- UCLA took its first lead (7-6) on a jumper by Jules Bernard at 16:07.
- A driving layup by Reggie Miller gave ACU the lead back at 8-7, and Mason's jumper made it 12-7 with a 3-pointer at 15:01.
- A jumper by Tyler Campbell began the crushing 18-0 run for UCLA that built a 14-point lead.
- The 9:01 scoring drought for ACU was broken by Kolton Kohl's second dunk of the game at 5:59.
- The Wildcats cut the Bruin lead to 10 (26-16) on a jumper by Miller in heavy traffic under the basket with 4:16 left, and a 3-pointer by Damien Daniels cut the lead to 7. The Bruins expanded their advantage to 31-21 at the half.
- A 3-pointer by Makhi Morris 5 minutes into the second half represented the first bench points of the game for ACU, and the first basket in seven attempts for the Wildcats after intermission. It cut the UCLA lead to 45-25.
Stat Pack
- UCLA led in field goal percentage (46.6% to 29.8%) and rebounds (42-31) but ACU outperformed the Bruins at the free-throw line (81.8% to 46.2%).
- ACU-UCLA is just the sixth matchup of teams seeded No. 11 and 14 in the NCAA Tournament since it expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
- UCLA has won the most NCAA Tournament championships (11) in history. Teams coached by the late John Wooden won seven straight from 1967-73, and 10 of 12 from 1964-75.
- Abilene Christian's win over Texas on Saturday marked only the 22nd time a 14-seed has beaten a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament's history. The Wildcats and Longhorns were meeting for the first time in the sport.
- The first time ACU took down a Goliath in men's basketball was Dec. 21, 1965, when the Wildcats upset defending Big 8 Conference champion Oklahoma State. ACU beat the Cowboys 67-52 on their home court in Stillwater behind 23 points from David Wray. OSU was coached by the legendary Hank Iba, while the Wildcats had veteran head coach Dee Nutt leading them.
- Entering the game, ACU's Division I national rankings underscored its year-long defensive excellence: No. 1 in turnovers forced (20.26) and turnover margin (6.4); No. 2 in total steals (268) and steals per game (9.9); No. 4 in total assists (491) and scoring margin (17); No. 5 in assists per game (18.2); and No. 7 in scoring defense (60.5).
- ACU entered the game as the No. 9-ranked team in the collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll, which is led by Gonzaga. The Bulldogs also lead the AP poll of all Division I teams.
Up Next
ACU begins play in the Western Athletic Conference next season. The Wildcats are transitioning with Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin State and Lamar in a move from the Southland Conference on July 1. Southern Utah will exit the Big Sky Conference in 2022, and join them.
