UCLA has made the Final Four History once again – which doesn’t seem particularly fair, given how many times Bruce has made it to the National Semifinal Round of the NCAA Tournament.
However, this time, UCLA is not playing the role of the invincible juggler. Mick Cronin’s 2020-21 team is playing the role of Cinderella. The Bruins are only the second First Four team to advance to the finals and only the fifth seed to achieve this feat.
As we said, this does not seem fair; But Bruce worked to reach this stage of the NCAA tournament.
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How did Cronin & Co. get here? Through the pre-NCAA tournament field for starters. First, he beat fellow first four rivals Michigan State by 14 points and defeated them 86–80 in overtime. Subsequently, the Bruins managed to secure an 11-point win over 6-seed BYU, the same team that edged out undefeated Gonzaga – whom the Bruins would play next – on the verge in the West Coast Conference Finals.
Subsequently, UCLA won a 67-47 win over the 14-seed Abilene Christian before struggling for an 88-78 overtime win against the SC regular-season and tournament champion Alabama (2 seed). In the end, the Bruins punch their ticket to the finals with another grueling, defensive performance: this time against Sporting News Coach of the Year Juven Howard and the Big Ten regular-season champions Wolverines. The Brins won 51–49.
It has truly been an incredible run for UCLA – and it is not finished yet. But it answers the question of how their current run compares to other teams that have overcome similar difficulties. Well, now is not the question.
Sporting News is here to show you how Bruce of Cronin has made the Final Four compared to the other 11 previous seeds:
The last time an 11 seed made it to the Final Four
The last time the 11 seed finals were made was in 2018 when Loyola Chicago and Sister Jean took March Madness by storm. It was recently that a new player from that team, Cameron Krutwig, was able to become an NCAA Tournament standout once again in 2021. Previously, the last four had 11 seeds to make VCU in the final four in 2011. Ramas’ last four runs were special in the sense that he was the first team to do so as the first team.
How many 11 seeds made it to the last four?
Including UCLA in 2021, five 11 seeds made it to the Final Four, starting in 1986 with LSU. The second such team did not show up until 20 years later, in 2006, when George Mason performed the feat. The next four seeds took far less time to make. Loyola Chicago and UCLA pulled it off in 2018 and ’21, respectively.
Below is a rundown from each of the last four teams, including the opponent, winning margin, and key players:
Statistics reflect NCAA tournament numbers
LSU (1986)
Opponents
- 84-87 20T win over Purdue (South East 6 seed)
- 83–81 win over Memphis State (Southeast 3 seed)
- 70-64 Wins Georgia Tech (South East 2nd seed)
- 59-57 Won Kentucky (Southeast 1st Seed)
- 88-77 loss to Louisville (West 2nd seed).
Margin of victory: 4.3 points per game
Key Players
- Derrick Taylor (16.2 ppg, 3.8 apg, 3.2 spg)
- Anthony Wilson (13.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.4 spg)
- Don Redden (21.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 51.9 field goal percentage)
- Ricky Blanton (9.2 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 70.4 field goal percentage)
- John Williams (14 ppg, 9.0 RPG, 4.0 apg)
George Mason (2006)
Opponents
- 75–65 win over Michigan State (DC 6 seed)
- 65–60 win over North Carolina (DC 3 seed).
- 63-55 win over Wichita State (DC 7 seed)
- 86–84 OT win over UConn (DC 1 seed)
- 73-58 loss to Florida (Minneapolis 3 seed)
Margin of victory: 6.3 points per game
Key Players
- Jay Lewis (11.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.8 spg)
- Lamar Butler (14.4 ppg, 55.8 field goal percentage)
- Wire Thomas (13.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg)
- Tony Skin (11.3 ppg)
- Folarin Campbell (15.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.6 apg, 62.5 field goal percentage)
MORE: Which is the lowest seed to make the Final Four in the NCAA tournament?
VCU (2011)
Opponents
- 59–46 win over USC (Southwest 11 seed)
- 74-56 win over Georgetown (Southwest 6 seed)
- 94–76 win over Purdue (Southwest 3rd seed)
- 72–71 OT win over Florida State (Southwest 10 seed).
- 71–61 win over Kansas (Southwest 1st seed).
- 70-62 loss to Butler (Southeast 8 seed)
Margin of victory: 12 points per game
Key Players
- Jamie Skeen (17.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 47.8 field goal percentage)
- Bradford Burgess (15.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.2 spg, 1.7 bpg)
- Joey Rodriguez (9.0 pps, 7.7 apg)
Loyola Chicago (2018)
Opponents
- 64-62 win over Miami (South 6 seed)
- 63–62 win over Tennessee (South 3rd seed)
- 68-68 win over Nevada (South 7 seed)
- 78–62 win over Kansas State (South 9 seed)
- 68–57 defeat for Michigan (West 3rd seed).
Margin of victory: 4.8 points per game
Key Players
- Clayton Custer (12.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.4 apg)
- Donate ingram (7.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg)
- Cameron Krutwig (10.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.8 apg)
- Andre Jackson (11.8 ppg, 57.5 field goal percentage)
UPS limit by seed
15 vs 2 | 14 vs 3 | 13 vs 4 | 12 vs 5
How does UCLA compare
Opponents
- 86-80 OT win over Michigan State (East 11 seed)
- 73–62 win over BYU (ex 6 seed)
- 67-47 win over Abilene Christian (ex 14 seed)
- 88-78 win over OT Alabama (East 2nd seed)
- 51–49 win over Michigan (former 1st seed)
Margin of victory: 9.8 points per game
Key Players
- Jaime Jaquez Jr. (14.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.6 spg)
- Johnny Jujang (21.6 ppg, 3.6 RPG, 47.7 field goal percentage)
- Tiger Campbell (8.8 ppg, 3.8 RPG)
- Jules Bernard (10.8 ppg, 7.4 RPG)
- Kodi Riley (8.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg)
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