Johnny Juzang poured in 28 points while playing most of the second half on a hurt ankle, and UCLA survived a series of nail-biting misses by top-seeded Michigan in the closing seconds for a 51-49 victory Tuesday night that made the Bruins the fifth No. 11 seed ever to reach the Final Four.
The Bruins’ win comes after crosstown rivals USC failed to advance past the Elite Eight Tuesday, falling 85-66 to No. 1 seed Gonzaga, who UCLA will face Saturday in the Final Four.
A crowd of at least 100 Bruin fans on 10900 block of Roebling Avenue in Westwood following the win, celebrating around a large fire in the street as Sky5 arrived above the scene at about 9:45 p.m. It appeared to be a couch that was burning, but firefighters moved in and extinguished the flames at about 10 p.m. Mick Cronin’s bunch of stubborn overachievers survived a set of nail-biting misses by the Wolverines in the final seconds for a victory that made the Bruins only the fifth No. 11 seed to reach the national semifinals.