UCLA is riding high after its biggest win of the season - and now, the Bruins are looking to keep that momentum rolling when they host Northwestern in a Big Ten clash Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles.
Let’s start with the headliner: UCLA stunned No. 4 Purdue 69-67 on Tuesday night, snapping the Boilermakers’ nine-game winning streak in dramatic fashion.
The Bruins clawed back from a 12-point first-half deficit and trailed by six with under two minutes to play - and still found a way to win it. The dagger came with just eight seconds left, when Tyler Bilodeau drilled a cold-blooded three to give UCLA the lead for good.
But for head coach Mick Cronin, it wasn’t just about the final score. It was about the fight.
“I’d have been pleased if Tyler missed the shot and we lost,” Cronin said after the game. “I just want us to fight, man. I thought we fought.”
That fight was embodied by senior point guard Donovan Dent, who delivered one of his best performances in a UCLA uniform. Dent dropped 23 points and dished out 13 assists, bouncing back in a big way after a rough outing at Penn State where he went 0-for-6 from the field and was held scoreless.
Cronin didn’t mince words when talking about the conversation he had with Dent leading up to the Purdue game.
“‘You know, you’ve got to perform, man,’” Cronin recalled telling him. “‘You can’t stand around when your team needs you.
You’ve got to get in there and throw punches. Who sits there and lets their career end?’”
That message clearly landed. Dent came out swinging, and the Bruins - now 13-6 overall and 5-3 in Big Ten play - look like a team finding its identity at just the right time.
Next up: a Northwestern team that’s trying to build some momentum of its own.
The Wildcats snapped a five-game skid and picked up their first Big Ten win of the season on Wednesday, taking down USC 74-68 on the road. At 9-10 overall and 1-7 in conference play, it’s been a bumpy ride for Chris Collins’ squad, but the win in Los Angeles may signal a turning point.
“We’ve had some good dialogue as a team,” Collins said. “What we talked about as we started this road trip was, ‘Guys, we’re going to work hard, we’re going to have fun, the vibe is going to be good and the energy is going to be good.’”
At the center of it all is Nick Martinelli, who’s been nothing short of electric. Entering Friday’s games, Martinelli was leading the nation in scoring at 23.6 points per game. He’s scored 20 or more in 10 straight contests - a feat only three other players in Big Ten history have pulled off.
Against USC, Collins made a bold move: he started three true freshmen - Tre Singleton, Tyler Kropp, and Jake West - marking the first time since at least the 2004-05 season that Northwestern opened a game with three first-year players.
“My instincts were to shake it up and start those young kids,” Collins said. “How great did they play on the road? Nick did his thing, and we needed other guys.”
So now we’ve got two teams coming off emotional wins, both trying to turn a corner in the heart of Big Ten play. UCLA is looking to prove that Tuesday night wasn’t just a one-off - that they can string together wins and make noise in their new conference. Northwestern, meanwhile, is hoping that a shake-up in the lineup and a spark from their star scorer can help them find some consistency.
Saturday’s matchup in Westwood has all the makings of a gritty, high-stakes battle between two programs with something to prove.