UCLA rallies from slow start to beat Duke, stake its claim in the Final Four
The Bruins faced a rare test from the Blue Devils and passed with a dominant second half. A rematch in the Final Four against the only team that's beat them potentially awaits.
UCLA was tight early against No. 3 Duke on Sunday and went into halftime trailing for just the second time this season. But the top-seeded Bruins settled in after halftime for a 70-58 win in the Sacramento 2 regional final.
With the win, UCLA advances to the Final Four. It joins reigning champion UConn, which beat Notre Dame earlier Sunday . Duke takes early control for rare UCLA test UCLA entered the tournament and Sunday’s game as a heavy favorite to make the Final Four.
The Bruins took a 34-1 record into Sunday’s with its only loss this season in November against Texas. Since then, the Bruins rolled through a difficult Big Ten slate to earn a No. 1 seed and enter the NCAA tournament as the perceived top challenger to UConn’s throne.
But Duke, fresh off a thriller to topple 2 seed LSU, entered Sunday’s game with confidence. And the Blue Devils forced the Bruins off their game for the first 20 minutes. A UCLA team that averaged 12.