Live coverage: BYU Cougars take on UCLA Bruins in NCAA Tournament’s first round

BYU players warm up for their NCAA Tournament first-round game against UCLA at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday, March 20, 2021. | BYU photo

No. 6 seed BYU will face a familiar opponent — the 11-seed UCLA Bruins — when the Cougars play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years Saturday night.

The first-round matchup is the fifth time BYU and UCLA will play in the NCAA Tournament — the two programs have split their four previous NCAA meetings, though it’s been 40 years since they met in the national tournament.

The Cougars won the last time these two teams met — BYU beat UCLA 78-63 in the 2019 Maui Invitational. BYU hasn’t played since March 9, when it lost to Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference Tournament championship, while UCLA is coming off an overtime win over Michigan State in an NCAA First Four game on Thursday.

The game is set to tip at 7:40 p.m. MDT. Follow along with the action in our live coverage below.

Pre-game

How will BYU look coming out of the gate? The Cougars haven’t played in 11 days.

It's been 11 days since BYU played a game. Will the Cougars look like they did in the first half against Pepperdine in the WCC semis? Or like they did in the first half against Gonzaga in the WCC title game?

— Jeff Call (@AJeffreyCall) March 21, 2021

Here are a few stories link to prep you for tonight’s game, as BYU returns to the NCAA Tournament:

A Twitter List by desnewssports

from Deseret News https://ift.tt/3vKux90