From sea to shining sea, March Madness is a magical time on the sports calendar; 64 NCAA basketball programs vying for their One Shining Moment of cutting the net as National Champions.
The spotlight is on the UCLA Bruins and the University of Cal Baptist. Two teams whose history and legacy are completely different, yet their dreams and goal are one and the same.
The No.7 Seed Bruins (23-11) will compete against No. 10-Seed UCF (21-11) in a first-round NCAA Tournament matchup this Friday evening, March 20 at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Game time is set for 4:25 PM.
The winner of Friday’s game will advance to face either No. 2-seed UConn or No. 15-seed Furman on Sunday in Philadelphia.
This marks UCLA’s fifth appearance at the NCAA Tournament in the last six seasons. Stretching back to the Bruins’ 2012-13 season, this is UCLA’s 10th trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last 14 seasons.
Streaking at the right time, The Bruins have won six of their last eight games, heading into this Friday’s contest against UCF. UCLA has won 22 or more games for the fifth time in seven seasons under head coach Mick Cronin.
UCLA lost to Purdue, 73-66, in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago last Saturday (March 14).
The Bruins concluded the regular season with a 13-7 record in Big Ten play for the second consecutive season.
UCLA features the dynamic duo of Tyler Bilodeau and Donovan Dent.
This Friday night’s game will mark the first-ever contest on the hardwood between UCLA and UCF. The game will air on TBS.
As for the University of Cal Baptist, this marks their first ever appearance in the Big Dance. Punching their inaugural ticket with a thrilling, come from behind victory over Utah Valley, 63-61 in the WAC Championship on Saturday night.
Trailing 59-52 with 2:15 left in their season, CBU relied on star Dominique Daniel’s Jr. scoring 23 points while nailing a critical 3-pointer with fifteen seconds remaining to lift his team to the Big Dance. Bradey Henige had 11 points and Jonathan Griman added 10.
The Wolverines were down 63-61 with about 10 seconds left to play. Utah Valley ran a play as they inbounded the ball from the sideline.
Alley OOPS!
Davis went up for an alley-oop dunk, but just couldn’t finish it. He sat on the ground in disbelief.
The Lancers won the game and earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Awaiting them is one of the most iconic school’s in college basketball history, the Kansas Jayhawks. CBU is looking for their own Cinderella story.
NO. 3 Seed Kansas takes on NO.14 CBU on Friday, March 20 at Viejas Arena in San Diego. Tipoff is slated for 6:45 PM, and will air on CBS.
Daniels has been one of the best stories in college basketball this year, winning the WAC Player of the Year award after averaging 23.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game in the regular season. What the 5-foot-10 guard lacks in size, he makes up for with toughness and shot-making ability.
Good luck to CBU and UCLA.
