Julian Strawther’s clutch late 3 from the logo lifts Gonzaga over UCLA in March Madness thriller

The latest highly anticipated showdown between the West Coast’s top two programs more than lived up to the hype.

UCLA and Gonzaga traded double-digit comebacks and clutch 3-pointers down the stretch of the Zags’ thrilling 79-76 Sweet 16 victory.

Amari Bailey thought he might have won the game for UCLA when he capped a late comeback with a go-ahead right-wing 3-pointer with 12.4 seconds to go.

Julian Strawther answered with a deep top-of-the-key 3-pointer seconds later to give Gonzaga the lead back for good.

While UCLA and Gonzaga have only faced each other seven times before, the two West Coast powers share a storied history. They laid the foundation for a rivalry with three previous high-stakes NCAA tournament matchups, two of which were instant classics with unforgettable finishes that get replayed every March.

Exactly 17 years ago, Gonzaga endured the ultimate punch to the gut, a Sweet 16 loss so heartbreaking that it famously left Adam Morrison hiding his mustachioed face and sobbing into his jersey at mid-court. Trailing by 17 in the first half and by nine with just over three minutes to play, UCLA scored the final 11 points to escape with a 73-71 victory in a game it never led until the final 8.6 seconds.

Gonzaga has twice extracted NCAA tournament revenge, once with a comfortable victory in the 2015 Sweet 16 and the second time with an iconic buzzer beater. Jalen Suggs finished off an all-time great national semifinal two years ago by banking in a 40 footer, thwarting UCLA’s upset bid and preserving Gonzaga’s undefeated season for another two nights.

Asked Tuesday if he’s rewatched that game in its entirety, UCLA head coach Mick Cronin told reporters that he “hit pause as soon as” Johnny Juzang tied the score with a put-back with 3.3 seconds to go.

“What the hell do I need to watch that for?” Cronin said. “You think I’m a masochist?”

Suggs and Juzang have since moved on to the NBA, but other key figures from that 2021 Final Four classic were also on the floor Thursday night. And yet if Thursday’s game was personal for UCLA seniors Jaime Jaquez, Tyger Campbell and David Singleton, they did a good job hiding it beforehand.

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“It’s a completely new team,” Jaquez insisted.

Campbell said that “Jaime hit it on the head,” adding that the Bruins were “going into this game not worried about the past ones.”

UCLA took advantage of Gonzaga’s loose ball handling and shoddy pick-and-roll defense on Thursday night to build a 13-point halftime lead. The Bruins scored at will at the rim in the first half, whether via Tyger Campbell and Amari Bailey drives or in transition after Jaime Jaquez steals.