Thrillers and a statement win

Good morning! Hope you started the day with a Pop Tart.

Let’s get to the college hoops from Saturday and Sunday.

1. Yet another wild finish for UCLA vs. Gonzaga

UCLA’s 65-62 win over No. 14 Gonzaga on Saturday won’t go down as one of the most best games in their rivalry.

But it might end up as one of the most memorable.

The No. 22 Bruins shot just 36.4% from the field, and got just 7 points from leading scorer Tyler Bilodeau., But their defense — long the strength under coach Mick Cronin — carried them against Gonzaga (9-4), which didn’t get much production beyond Graham Ike (24 points) and Ryan Nembhard (16).

"We knew it was going to be a war, we knew they weren’t going to go anywhere. Although they were sixth in the KenPom, they really don’t have a big win outside of Baylor at home,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “They don’t have a win over a ranked team, so we knew they were coming to get us.”

It’s a Bruins team (11-2) that could prove to be just potent enough to win the Big Ten without any NBA talent on the roster.

As for Gonzaga, it’s a loss that’ll sting for a few weeks — and possibly most when NCAA Tournament seeding rolls around — but it wasn’t a terrible game. They looked better throughout, and if the offense didn’t have a drought (or have to adjust to the loss of Khalif Battle due to a Flagrant 2 call), they probably win the game. After all, they were in position to tie when Nembhard’s layup got them to within 1 point. but he missed the ensuing free throw, and the final shot wasn’t exactly ideal.

That’s life for the Zags this season. It had big leads, then lost to West Virginia and Kentucky, and came up short vs. UConn at MSG.

“Obviously we feel like we’ve been in a bunch of close games that we felt like we should have won all of them. We’ve got to close out these games and learn to win these close games,” Nembhard said.

Will that limit the Zags’ ceiling come March? Is it surprising that one of the sport’s most experienced teams, with one of the its best point guards, can’t close out games? All questions the After Dark crew addressed.

2. Penny’s message to Memphis: We’re not soft

Most people probably spent last week embracing the holiday cheer. not Penny Hardaway.

After a “soft” performance vs. Miss State on Dec. 21, Hardaway dropped the hammer heading into its showdown Saturday vs. No. 16 Ole Miss.

“All week long, I was an asshole,” he told the After Dark crew.

It worked, too.

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