The Gonzaga Bulldogs are going to the national championship game thanks to a near-halfcourt buzzer-beater from Jalen Suggs. The Zags beat UCLA in the 2021 Final Four, 93-90 in overtime, in one of the greatest endings in the history of college basketball.
Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs hits near halfcourt buzzer-beater to send Zags to national title
The superstar freshmen hit a shot at the buzzer to send the Zags to the national title.
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
After UCLA star Johnny Juzang tied the game with under five seconds left, Gonzaga inbounded the ball to Suggs for one last shot. Suggs pulled up from just past halfcourt and drained a shot at the buzzer to maintain Gonzaga’s undefeated record and put the team in the national championship game.
Here’s a look at the shot:
UCLA played Gonzaga better than anyone has all year. The Zags have only had one win in single digits on their way to a 31-0 record. Few people gave the No. 11 seed Bruins a chance coming into the night, but they were so close to pulling a historic upset.
No college basketball team has been crowned as an undefeated national champion since Indiana in 1976. Gonzaga is one win away from doing it. It won’t be easy against a powerhouse Baylor team who earned their way here with a blowout win against No. 2 seed Houston.
That’s one of the best college basketball games you will ever see. Suggs, a projected top-three pick in the 2021 NBA draft, showed why he’s one of the best freshmen in the country. Suggs also had this game-saving block on UCLA center Cody Riley near the end of regulation.
UCLA was down five points in overtime and still battled back. All credit to the Bruins for playing their hearts out. UCLA couldn’t have done much more:
That’s one of the best Final Four games ever. It’s a shame one team had to lose.
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