Coming off the high of a signature win over No. 5 Purdue, UCLA kept the momentum rolling with a 71-64 victory over Northwestern at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday. It wasn’t always pretty-especially in a second half that turned into a grind-but the Bruins did enough early and held on late to move to 14-6 overall and 6-3 in Big Ten play.
The first 20 minutes were where UCLA did its damage. The Bruins came out firing, building a 10-point lead by halftime thanks to a trio of standout performances from Tyler Bilodeau, Donovan Dent, and Trent Perry.
The ball movement was crisp, the shot selection was smart, and the confidence? Unmistakable.
Let’s start with Bilodeau, who continues to look like one of the most reliable offensive weapons in the conference. The senior forward was unconscious in the first half, dropping 16 of his 18 points before the break on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting performance-including four makes from deep.
At this point, it’s almost jarring when Bilodeau doesn’t hit a shot. He’s in that kind of rhythm.
Dent, meanwhile, played the kind of aggressive, attacking basketball UCLA’s coaching staff has been waiting to see consistently. He was in control, getting into the paint at will and creating high-quality looks for himself and others.
He tallied seven points on 3-of-5 shooting in the first half and added four assists-all in just 15 minutes of action. His pace and poise gave the Bruins a clear edge.
When Dent hit the bench for a breather midway through the first half, Perry made sure the offense didn’t miss a beat. The freshman guard showed off his growing confidence with a series of tough, composed buckets.
He knifed through the defense for a bank shot, then answered a Northwestern three with a smooth step-through runner off the glass. Add in a baseline jumper and a strong driving layup, and Perry’s fingerprints were all over UCLA’s first-half surge.
By the time Dent returned, the Bruins had stretched their lead to 12.
Defensively, the numbers were solid-even if the film showed room for improvement. UCLA held Northwestern to 38% shooting and limited the Wildcats’ offensive efficiency to 103.3.
The Bruins made life difficult for Nick Martinelli, who came in as the nation’s leading scorer and had scored at least 20 in 10 straight games. Martinelli did get to 20 again, but it took him 19 shots to get there.
That’s a win for the Bruins’ defense, which kept him out of rhythm for most of the afternoon.
UCLA also brought the heat in the turnover department, racking up steals from six different players. Dent had a highlight-reel swipe in the first half, picking Martinelli’s pocket from behind and turning it into an easy layup. The Bruins also limited Northwestern to just eight offensive rebounds and won the second-chance points battle 9-5.
Still, this game could’ve-and probably should’ve-been put away much earlier. Two things kept Northwestern hanging around: free throws and late-game execution.
At the line, it was a tale of two teams. Northwestern knocked down 17 of 20 (85%), while UCLA struggled mightily, going just 11-of-21 (52%).
Dent, who otherwise had a strong outing (13 points, 5-of-10 shooting, five assists, one turnover), went just 2-of-7 from the stripe. That’s now 60% on the season for the senior, and it’s a real concern for the Bruins moving forward.
Dent is going to have the ball in his hands late in close games-especially come March-and he needs to be someone Mick Cronin can trust at the line. Right now, that’s a question mark.
And then there was Eric Dailey Jr., who had a rough afternoon defensively. Too often, Northwestern guards blew by him with little resistance. Cronin eventually pulled him after one too many breakdowns, including a clean drive to the rim by Angelo Ciaravino.
Dailey’s second-half sequence summed up his day: he grabbed a rebound, dribbled up the sideline, spun, lost the ball out of bounds, and watched Northwestern turn the mistake into two free throws. He did respond with a strong post finish on the next possession, but the rollercoaster continued.
He chased down a loose ball to give UCLA a second chance, but the Bruins came up empty. Then Singleton beat him off the dribble for two more free throws, and Dailey missed a three on the next trip down.
For the record, he’s now 2-of-29 from beyond the arc over his last 12 games. That’s not a typo.
Late-game execution didn’t help either. Perry, who had been so steady earlier, committed a costly turnover by stepping on the end line against full-court pressure.
He also had to burn a timeout in the backcourt as UCLA’s press break plan seemed to boil down to “Give it to Perry and hope for the best.” It made for a nervy finish in a game the Bruins had largely controlled.
Still, when UCLA holds an opponent to 64 points, it usually means a win-and that was the case again here. The Bruins are now 7-1 this season when keeping teams under 65.
The defense, while not always airtight, did enough. Northwestern found some clean looks, but UCLA simply had more shotmakers.
Now comes a key stretch. The Bruins head to Oregon before hosting Indiana, Rutgers, and Washington.
According to the predictive metrics, UCLA is favored in all four. After that?
A three-game gauntlet: at Michigan, at Michigan State, and home against Illinois-who just knocked off Purdue.
If UCLA wants to be a real factor in March, they’ll need to look more like the team that took down Purdue and less like the one that let Northwestern hang around. The pieces are there. The challenge now is consistency.