Well, NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, you collection of crafty oracles, you got what you wanted.

No. 2 seed UCLA vs. No. 3 seed Gonzaga for a trip to the Elite Eight.

A rematch of two of college basketball’s great games of the past 2 decades. A battle to potentially represent the West Region by two of the West Region’s best. Mark vs. Mick, Timme vs. Tyger, Jaime vs. Julian.

Here are my first impressions from what should be a thrilling matchup Thursday night in Las Vegas …

Can UCLA stop the clock on Timme Time?

The list is made up of some of the greats of college basketball: Princeton’s Bill Bradley, UConn’s Richard Hamilton, Houston’s Elvin Hayes, Kansas’s Danny Manning, Michigan’s Glen Rice and Arkansas’ Corliss Williamson.

Add Drew Timme to that spectacular sextet.

Timme became the 7th player in college basketball history to record 9 20-point NCAA Tournament games, with his 28-point performance in a Round of 32 win over TCU putting him in such illustrious company.

Timme was terrific against the Horned Frogs, connecting on 12-of-21 shots while he displayed the most impressive array of rec league moves since the glory days of Rucker Park. He even hit a 3-pointer, his 3rd of the year.

“Listen, I think he’s the best player in college basketball. I’ve said that,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “I think he’s going to go down with the amount of success and the wins and all he’s been able to do. I think he’s one of the greatest college players that’s ever played. When you think about that stat we were looking at earlier in the year when he had spent as many weeks ranked No. 1 as he hadn’t spent weeks, these are just crazy numbers. He’s racking up all kinds of NCAA Tournament wins, and he delivers in the NCAA Tournament.”

Can Campbell get his groove back?

UCLA senior point guard Tyger Campbell had a super late-season stretch, averaging 19 points per game, more than 4 assists and fewer than 1 turnover in the last 2 weeks of the regular season and the Bruins’ 3-game Pac-12 Tournament run.

He’s been quiet in the NCAA Tournament, though, totaling 19 points on 2-of-16 shooting.

Campbell has been effective in other ways, combining for 17 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals and 14-for-14 free throws, including a 12-for-12 showing against Northwestern in the Round of 32.

“We’re fortunate to grind it out even though Tyger didn’t make a basket,” coach Mick Cronin said of the win over the Wildcats. “If you would have told me Tyger wouldn’t make a basket, I wouldn’t have liked our chances. He’s 12-of-12 at the foul line, so he’s money.”

It’s not like Campbell to struggle in the tourney. In his previous 6 tournament games, Campbell averaged just shy of 15 points.

Which 3rd scorer steps up for Zags?

Gonzaga knows what it’s going to get out of Timme, Justin Strawther is good for anywhere from 8 to 28 — usually somewhere in the middle — and Rasir Bolton had 17 points, including 2 3-pointers on Sunday.

But Nolan Hickman was just 1-for-5 for 2 points against the Horned Frogs, and Anton Watson had 9 points on 3-of-8 shooting.

In what should be a primetime matchup of two great offenses, the Zags will need one more player to show up.

Will Jaylen Clark’s absence continue to galvanize Bruins?

After closing out Northwestern in a hard-fought game, TNT caught up with Cronin and Jaquez. While sharing their thoughts, Jaylen Clark’s name came up, and both Cronin and Jaquez looked directly into the camera and shouted out their fallen comrade. Clark’s Achilles’ injury in the regular-season finale against Arizona could have been a game-ender for the Bruins, but they’ve responded well emotionally.

They’ve also responded well defensively. No one player has shouldered the burden, but in the aggregate, UCLA has played just as well, if not better, than they were with Clark, arguably the best defender in the country. Northwestern shot just 37.3% from the field and 27.3% from 3-point range.

Can the Baby Bruins take another step?

Speaking of shouldered .. .Adem Bona’s return to the starting lineup was yet another galvanizing force for UCLA against the Wildcats. Clearly not at full strength, he wasn’t terribly productive in the win, but he made an obvious impact on the defensive side.

Thrust into even more critical roles in the absence of Clark, both Bona and fellow freshman Amari Bailey will be pivotal against the Zags, as will Dylan Andrews.

If UCLA gets a solid 30 points in 60 combined minutes on Thursday, they’ll likely have the goods for an Elite Eight berth.

A taste of the familiar

This will be the 3rd straight year UCLA and Gonzaga have played.

Last year, the top-ranked Bulldogs beat the Bruins by 20 early in the season, with guard Adam Nembhard leading the way with 24 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds.

In 2021, they met in an iconic Final Four matchup, when Jalen Suggs’ Hail Mary connected to give Gonzaga the 93-90 overtime win.

“They have a lot of guys back from the Final Four game, especially with Tyger and Jacquez,” Few said. “I’ve seen them play a lot. We played them last year, and obviously played them the year before. There’s definitely some familiarity. Mick has done a great job of just instilling his personality and toughness into that program, very defensive-minded, and a lot of isolations. Ball is going to be in Jacquez and Tyger’s hands a lot.”