CONTACT US

Contact Form

    News Details

    UCLA stuns Michigan State to reach Big Ten Tournament semifinals
    • March 14, 2026

    CHICAGO — Donovan Dent had 23 points and 12 assists, Trent Perry added 22 points and UCLA held off No. 8 Michigan State, 88-84, in a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal on Friday night despite losing star Tyler Bilodeau to a leg injury.

    Bilodeau had to be helped off the court late in the first half and spent the second half on the sideline with his right knee wrapped. The Bruins led by 15 early in the second half and withstood several big pushes down the stretch to advance to a semifinal matchup with seventh-seeded Purdue, which beat second-seeded Nebraska, 74-58.

    UCLA was clinging to an 82-80 lead when Brandon Williams scored on a fast-break layup to make it a four-point game with 25 seconds remaining. Carson Cooper made a layup for Michigan State with 12 seconds left. UCLA’s Trent Perry immediately answered with two free throws.

    Jeremy Fears Jr. then drove for a layup to cut it to 86-84 with six seconds remaining, but Perry sealed the win with two more free throws.

    Bilodeau went down clutching his right knee when his leg buckled as he tried to defend Cooper in the post. The non-contact injury happened away from the ball with 3:33 remaining and the Bruins leading 35-23.

    The team’s leading scorer and rebounder, Bilodeau made both his shots and had five points in 10 minutes.

    Eric Dailey Jr. had a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds for UCLA. Skyy Clark scored 15 points.

    UCLA led by as many as 13 points in the first half before taking a 44-33 advantage into halftime.

    Fears had 21 points and 13 assists for the Spartans (25-7), who were unable to duplicate the dominance from their 23-point home win against UCLA last month. The Spartans shot 45.2% compared to 55.6% for the Bruins while committing 12 turnovers.

    Carson Cooper and Kur Teng scored 13 points apiece for the Spartans, while Coen Carr had 12 points and eight rebounds.

    Dent (12 points) and Perry (10) combined on 8-for-13 shooting for the Bruins in the first 20 minutes. UCLA shot 63% in the first half while Michigan State shot 32.1%.

    A fast-paced start helped the Spartans to an early advantage. Leaping in tandem with Cooper, Carr stuffed home an alley-oop feed from Fears for a 9-5 lead at the 16:09 mark.

    Ball-control issues sprouted soon after, though. Michigan State had nearly as many turnovers (seven) in the first half as made field goals (nine).

    Michigan State fell to 0-4 this season when trailing by double digits at the break.

    More to come on this story.

    UP NEXT

    UCLA faces Purdue on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. PT (CBS, Ch. 2). The Bruins beat the Boilermakers, 69-67, on Jan. 20 at Pauley Pavilion when Bilodeau hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with eight seconds remaining.

    ​ Orange County Register 

    News