From First Four to Final Four

Who would have thought UCLA would be the Cinderella at this ball?

The Bruins are one of college basketball’s traditional blue bloods, dominating the sport between 1964 and 1975 when they won 10 national championships under John Wooden, then adding another in 1995.

But they almost did not make the bracket this season after losing their final four games of the regular season. The Bruins were one of the last teams invited to the NCAA tournament, seeded 11th.

But they became the biggest surprise in this year’s Final Four, winning a play in game against Michigan State and then four more, defeating second seed Alabama in overtime and squeaking by top- seed Michigan to win their region.

UCLA will meet unbeaten top seed Gonzaga in one national semi-final Saturday. Second-seed Houston will face top-seed Baylor in the other game.

This trip did wonders for Mick Cronin’s street credibility with the Bruin faithful, who questioned the move to hire Cronin to replace Steve Alford. There were questions about Cronin’s fit, not only for a Cincinnati kid moving to the West Coast, but in terms of how his grind it out style would work at a school that was used to Lakers’ Showtime basketball.

But it worked just find when the Bruins out toughed Michigan, shocking the Big Ten Wolverines, 51-49, in a breathless finish that ended when Michigan’s Mike Smith three- point attempt with six seconds to play rimmed out and Franz Wagner missed a desperation three just before the buzzer.

“Unreal, man. Unreal. I Iove every single one of these guys,’’ UCLA sophomore guard Johnny Juzang said. “Surreal. Surreal. Something growing up, you just dream about. And to do it with such an amazing group of guys, such incredible staff, such incredible coaches, makes it all wonderful. It’s beautiful, sharing this moment with your brothers and just great, great people. Incredible.

Juzang, who grew up in Los Angeles and transferred back to the West Coast from Kentucky, led the Bruins with 28 points, 18 in the first half, then playing much of the second half with a left ankle injury that briefly forced him out of the game.

The players celebrated by dancing on the floor. Cronin celebrated by leading the pep band in the UCLA fight song, then offered a touching tribute to his dad Hep, a former Cincinnati high school basketball coach and major league baseball scout who became the team’s unofficial good luck charm after driving to each game as part of his son’s deepest post season run.

The two hadn’t seen each other for a year. “Well, you know, the bubble is wild,’’ Cronin said on TBS. “but I wanted to stay another week. I’m going to fly Hep first class to L.A. when this is over. But I wouldn’t be here without him. Love you dad.’’

This will be UCLA’s first trip to the Final Four since 2008.

“We’ve got some lionhearted guys on this team’’ Juzang said after having his injured ankle re-taped in the second half and pounding his chest twice before re-entering the game. “We got some warriors, man. So if I have an injury I’ve going back out there and leaving my heart of the floor.’’

It wasn’t easy. UCLA only had 21 field goals, 11 by Juzang and 5 from point guard Tyger Campbell.  But the Wolverines survived with a defense that held Michigan without a field goal over the last 5:22. The Wolverines missed their last eight shots. Center Hunter Dickinson scored 11 points and was the only Wolverine player in double figures. Michigan also committed 14 turnovers to Michigan’s eight. The Bruins successfully rotated bigs Cody Riley and Kenneth Nwuba to limit Dickinson inside took away the Wolverines off the ball movement and kept the tempo under control. “To find a way to beat them with defense the way we did, obviously proud of our team,’’ Cronin said It was just resilience. I think that stat sheet can get crumbled up tonight.’’

The Bruins had to be resilient all year. Five-star point guard recruit Daishen Nix opted to go to the G-league. Chris Smith, arguably the team’s best player, tore his ACL early and center Jalen Hill missed the past two months with personal issues. But they made the most of their opportunities in March.

“We had our ups and downs during the season, but it’s such a beautiful thing we have come together for this post season,’’ Juzang said. “It’s like one unit and we’re just all sharing in each other and rooting for each other.’’