SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The No. 2-seed UCLA men’s basketball team defeated No. 7-seed Northwestern 68-63 in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament Saturday evening at Golden 1 Center. The “Sweet 16” berth represents the third in a row for the UCLA program.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. tallied 24 points to lead all scorers. He also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Amari Bailey added 14 points and six assists for the Bruins (31-5). Tyger Campbell scored all 12 of his points at the free-throw line without a miss.
Boo Buie logged 18 points to lead the Wildcats (22-12). Matt Nicholson posted 17 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Chase Audige scored all 16 of his points in the second half.
UCLA outscored Northwestern by a 22-3 margin in fast-break points. The Wildcats shot 22-of-59 from the field (37%), while the Bruins made 22 of their 44 shots (50%).
Jaquez scored a game-high 14 first-half points, including nine during a 12-2 run that boosted the Bruins’ lead to 28-15 with 4:17 left before the break. Bailey added 11 points of his own during the game’s initial 20 minutes, converting all four of his field-goal attempts.
UCLA scored six of the first eight points in the second half, but the Wildcats mounted a rally. Northwestern put in 11 of the next 13 points and 17 of 21 to pull even at 45-45 with 11:26 remaining. A Dylan Andrews 3-pointer capped an ensuing 6-0 answer by UCLA, but the Wildcats again cut their deficit to one on a Buie triple with 8:02 to go.
A David Singleton 3-pointer with 1:52 left gave the Bruins a 62-56 advantage. It was free throws the rest of the way for UCLA with Andrews (2-for-2) and Campbell (4-for-4) accounting for the rest of the scoring while not allowing Northwestern within four points.
The Bruins advance to face the winner of Sunday’s game between No. 3-seed Gonzaga and No. 6 TCU. The “Sweet 16” and “Elite Eight” stages of the 2023 NCAA Tournament’s West Regional will be played at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Thursday March 23 and Saturday March 25.
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