After a heartbreaking loss in the middle of what was thought to be a momentum-building stretch, UCLA will try to pick up the pieces Tuesday in Los Angeles with a Big Ten Conference visit from Rutgers.
The Bruins (15-7, 7-4 Big Ten) went two overtimes at home Saturday before falling 98-97 against Indiana. UCLA rallied from a 10-point deficit with less than two minutes remaining in regulation before Donovan Dent and Tyler Bilodeau fouled out in extra time.
With Skyy Clark (hamstring) out for the eighth consecutive game, Trent Perry stepped in and scored 25 points with seven rebounds for the Bruins. Dent had 24 points with 11 assists and Bilodeau scored 18 points with 11 rebounds.
UCLA, which entered the week at No. 44 in the NET ranking, is in a mellow portion of the schedule with games against Northwestern, Oregon, Indiana, Rutgers and Washington. Starting Feb. 14, they face four top-10 teams over their last seven games, as well as two games against rival Southern California.
UCLA head coach Mick Cronin showed Saturday just how much pressure is mounting.
“We went through a stretch where we were pouting and letting one shot affect the next shot,” Cronin said. “We couldn’t score for a long time. That’s how we got down 10, (by) missing wide-open shot after wide-open shot because we act like somebody stole our favorite toy and we’re a 3-year-old.”
Rutgers (9-13, 2-9) is on a five-game losing streak after a 78-75 loss to USC on Saturday. The Scarlet Knights trailed 74-57 with 4:34 remaining and nearly pulled off the comeback by preventing the Trojans from scoring a field goal the remainder of the game.
Tariq Francis made his last four shots and finished with 26 points as he continues to thrive coming off the bench, but he turned the ball over at midcourt in the closing seconds. Dylan Grant added 14 points with 10 rebounds.
Francis’ late turnover was just the eighth for the Scarlet Knights, their second-lowest in a road game this season.
“We have emphasized turnovers as much as any team in the country since (the staff) has been here,” Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell said. “They have to run at the end of practice for turnovers. We spend a lot of time rebounding too.”
The Scarlet Knights were competitive in an 88-79 overtime home loss to then-No. 7 Michigan State last Tuesday, but are on their first five-game losing streak since 2020-21.
–Field Level Media
