MICK CRONIN

The Saint Peter's Peacocks look to keep their surprise run in the NCAA Tournament going when they play Purdue in the East Region semifinal in Philadelphia.

The Sweet 16 at the East region features one game between UCLA and North Carolina and another between Purdue and underdog Saint Peter’s.

Tyger Campbell rescued UCLA from a potential upset, scoring eight straight points late in the second half, and the fourth-seeded Bruins rallied for a 57-53 win over No. 13 seed Akron in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night. With the Bruins down 51-47 with 3 1/2 minutes left, Campbell took control and helped his team avoid getting bounced on the opening day of the tournament. Campbell hit a corner 3-pointer to pull UCLA within one, knocked down a 15-footer for the lead and added a 25-footer as the shot clock was expiring to put the Bruins ahead 55-51 with 1:17 left.

UCLA's David Singleton, Cody Riley and Jules Bernard will be honored on senior night, but all three could return because of COVID eligibility rules.

Preseason No. 1 Gonzaga has climbed back to the top of The Associated Press men’s basketball poll, ending Baylor’s five-week run.

Men’s and women’s basketball coaches across the country are coping with the challenge of physical conditioning that comes with COVID-19 pauses.

San Francisco and Loyola Chicago struggled to find opponents for college basketball games so they decided to meet in the middle.

The UCLA men's basketball team is back after a nearly two-week shutdown because of COVID-19.

Andrew Nembhard scored 24 points, freshman Chet Holmgren showed off his unique skill set and top-ranked Gonzaga overwhelmed No. 2 UCLA 83-63 to win the Empire Classic.

Johnny Juzang scored 25 points and No. 2 UCLA overcame a 10-point, second-half deficit before taking control in overtime to beat fourth-ranked Villanova 86-77.

Gonzaga is the preseason No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll.

UCLA challenged top-seeded Gonzaga for 45 minutes and came up just short.

Johnny Juzang’s impact at UCLA has been immediate since he transferred from Kentucky, giving the Bruins the scorer and dynamic player they had been missing in recent years.

Michigan’s Juwan Howard is The Associated Press men’s college basketball coach of the year.

(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)INDIANAPOLIS – UCLA has made more trips to the Final Four than any program but North Carolina. AdThey were clinging to a 50-49 lead when Michigan called a timeout with 19 seconds to go, intending to set up the game's final shot. The buzzer sounded and UCLA began to celebrate, only for the officials to put a half-second back on the clock. They were 3 of 11 beyond the arc, shot 39% overall and couldn't make one at the end. UCLA won a regional semifinal in 2006 and the Bulldogs returned the favor in the 2015 regional semifinals.

11 seed UCLA held on after Alabama's Alex Reese drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of regulation to beat the second-seeded Crimson Tide 88-78 in a Sweet 16 showdown Sunday night. AdSingleton was fouled and made two free throws for UCLA, pushing the lead to 65-62 with 4 seconds to go. But that still gave the Crimson Tide enough time to find Reese, whose tying 3-pointer splashed just before the buzzer. Jahvon Quinerly scored 20 points and John Petty Jr. had 16 for the Crimson Tide (26-7), who have lost eight of their nine games in the Sweet 16. UCLA has beaten Michigan in three of their four NCAA Tournament games, including the 1965 national championship in Portland, Oregon.

(AP Photo/AJ Mast)INDIANAPOLIS – It's not that Juwan Howard doesn't love his old friend and mentor, Leonard Hamilton. Howard and Hamilton struck up a strong friendship in 2000, when Howard was wrapping up his time with the Washington Wizards and Hamilton was coaching there. He said even if his late grandmother, Jannie Mae Howard, was alive and playing basketball, "I'd play her 1-on-1. “Johnny is young,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said after the BYU game. He’s improved immensely.”___More AP College Basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball; and https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket

UCLA basketball players celebrate their win over BYU after a first-round game in the NCAA college basketball tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Saturday, March 20, 2021. 11 seed Bruins rally past Michigan State in the First Four, Juzang poured in 27 points against sixth-seeded BYU on Saturday night, carrying his team to a 73-62 victory and the second round of the East Region. This is the height of college basketball,” Juzang said, “and playing for the Bruins — I'm from Los Angeles. He's scouting Abilene Christian and he told me they would win,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. There's a number of things we can take from this game to get better,” BYU coach Mark Pope said.

– UCLA showed plenty of fight in its overtime win over Michigan State in a First Four game in the NCAA Tournament. UCLA forced overtime on Jaime Jaquez Jr.'s three-point play with 3.3 seconds to go, then pulled away in the extra session for an 86-80 victory at Mackey Arena on Thursday night. Once overtime came around, Juzang hit the first two baskets of the extra session to give UCLA the lead. Michigan State was 16 of 18 from the foul line but missed one in overtime. They also split their four NCAA Tournament games, with UCLA winning in 1965 and 1971 and the Cougars winning in 1950 and 1981.

Cincinnati (30-4) earned the AAC's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament with its first conference tournament championship since the Bearcats won Conference USA in 2004. Corey Davis Jr., who had 15 points for Houston, went scoreless after helping the Cougars to a 37-35 halftime lead. Houston becomes the fourth team coach Kelvin Sampson has led to the NCAA Tournament, joining Washington State, Oklahoma and Indiana. That could make them dangerous entering the NCAA Tournament. Houston Cougars will play San Diego State on Thursday at 6:20 p.m. on TBS.