USC and UCLA are among the teams headed to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament after both schools notched convincing wins Monday.
For UCLA, Johnny Juzang scored 17 points and 11th-seeded team carefully brushed off pesky Abilene Christian 67-47 to become the fifth team to go from First Four to Sweet 16.
The Bruins will play Alabama, the second seed in the East Region, in their first regional semifinal appearance since 2017 — and their first with second-year coach Mick Cronin.
The Trojans, meanwhile, handily took apart No. 3 seed Kansas.
Isaiah Mobley hit four 3-pointers and scored 17 points, All-American big brother Evan added 10 points and 13 rebounds, and sixth-seeded USC rolled to an 85-51 victory Monday night inside Hinkle Fieldhouse — more than doubling the worst margin of defeat for the Jayhawks in 49 trips to the NCAA Tournament.
Next, the Trojans play seventh-seeded Oregon, which cruised past No. 2 seed Iowa earlier in the day, in a Pac-12 showdown for a spot in the West Region finals. USC beat the Ducks in February in their only meeting this season.
UCLA vs. Alabama is scheduled to take place at 4:15 p.m. Sunday, and USC vs. Oregon at 6:45 p.m. Sunday. Both games will be broadcast on TBS.
“It’s been in Ohio as early as the mid-1850s at least, brought in as an ornamental plant because of its unique foliage and white flowers,” Gardner said. “It was actually planted in people’s landscaping, and it has been spreading.”
Monday continued a banner tournament for the Pac-12, which is now 9-1 with four of its five teams reaching the Sweet 16. The only team to lose is Colorado, which beat the Trojans in the conference tournament.
The other Pac-12 team headed to the Sweet 16 is Oregon State, a twelfth seed that knocked off No. 4 seed Oklahoma State Sunday night.
UCLA started its tournament Thursday by rallying to beat Michigan State in overtime and is the first First Four team to get to the round of 16 since Syracuse in 2018.