UCLA now has its dance partner for the Sweet 16 — and it’s an all-too-familiar one.

A day after the Bruins punched their ticket, No. 3-seeded Gonzaga defeated Texas Christian 84-81 in the second round of the NCAA tournament Sunday to advance to the West Regional semifinal.

UCLA and Gonzaga will meet Thursday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. PDT and will follow the match-up between No. 4-seeded Connecticut and No. 8-seeded Arkansas.

The Razorbacks upset top-seeded Kansas, 72-71.

UCLA, the No. 2 seed, will make its third consecutive regional semifinal appearance, sharing the distinction with Gonzaga, Arkansas and Houston.

The Bulldogs secured their eighth consecutive trip to the Sweet 16 dating back to 2015. The COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 NCAA tournament.

UCLA and Gonzaga will add another chapter to a head-to-head series the Bulldogs lead 5-2.

In the most recent meeting, Gonzaga posted a 20-point regular-season victory on Nov. 23, 2021. That game was also played at T-Mobile Arena and came seven months after a classic Final Four showdown, which the Bulldogs won 93-90 in overtime to advance to the 2021 national championship game.

Bulldogs star Drew Timme is the lone Gonzaga holdover who appeared in the thrilling national semifinal, while UCLA seniors Jaime Jaquez Jr., Tyger Campbell, David Singleton and Kenneth Nwuba all made appearances.

Singleton expects to play despite rolling his right ankle in the closing seconds of the second-round win over Northwestern.

“I’ll be fine,” Singleton told Bruin Blitz in the locker room after the game.

UCLA junior guard Jaylen Clark, who also played in that Final Four, is expected to miss the entire tournament with a lower leg injury.

After the Bruins clinched their spot in the Sweet 16, Clark tweeted that he will accompany the team to Las Vegas.

The game will also mark the 17-year anniversary of UCLA’s 73-71 win over Adam Morrison and Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 in 2006.