| Men’s Basketball |
|---|
| UCLA — 57 |
| UConn — 73 |
Heartbreak and despair.
“It’s hard for our seniors,” said junior forward Eric Dailey Jr., visibly emotional. “Those guys are crying in the locker room right now, it’s not a good feeling.”
No. 7 seed UCLA men’s basketball (24-12, 13-7 Big Ten) began the 2025-26 season ranked No. 12 in the country, with hopes of making a deep run in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
Yet, an up-and-down journey composed of top-10 upset victories, disappointing losses, game-winning daggers and untimely injuries came to an end on Sunday night at the hands of No. 2 seed UConn (31-5, 17-3 Big East).
“It’s tough, man. It’s definitely tough. You feel like you’re so close to getting everything, all the pieces flowing, and to come out like that tonight, it’s hard,” added Dailey Jr.
The Huskies pulled off a gritty 73-57 win in front of nearly 20,000 fans at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, fueled by forward Alex Karaban, who dropped a career-high 27 points.
“You’re not gonna score 57 points and beat anybody in this tournament, let alone UConn,” said head coach Mick Cronin.
UCLA’s early tournament exit brought a sense of déjà vu, as the Bruins were eliminated in the round of 32 by Tennessee exactly one year prior.
The last time UCLA advanced to the Sweet Sixteen was 2023.
Senior forward Tyler Bilodeau, who averages 17.9 points and 5.6 rebounds, was ruled out an hour before tip-off, missing his third consecutive game with a knee injury.
“It doesn’t matter if we didn’t have Tyler,” said junior center Xavier Booker. “It’s still 5v5. We still have guys that are fully capable of winning the game, and we just didn’t get the job done today.”
Without their leading scorer and most efficient 3-point shooter, UCLA struggled offensively most of the night, shooting just 38.8% from the floor.
The Bruins, however, got off to a promising start.
Two minutes in, Booker set a screen for senior guard Donovan Dent, who came off it and tossed him up a highlight-reel alley-oop, giving UCLA an initial 6-2 lead. Soon after, Dent drilled one from beyond the arc, then swung it out to Booker on the next trip down for another triple.
The Bruins held onto the lead until 6:53 remained in the half, when UConn’s Jayden Ross knocked down an and-one three-pointer to tie it up.
Ross missed the free throw, but he sank a no-hesitation catch-and-shoot triple on the ensuing possession, giving the Huskies a 23-21 lead, their first of the night.
Both teams continued exchanging blows, and UCLA went into the locker room down 33-38.
Out of the break, sophomore guard Trent Perry drove to the hole and converted on a contested layup, helping spark a 9-2 run for the Bruins.
However, Karaban answered back for UConn with a little bit of everything. In a span of less than six minutes, the 23-year old senior scored off a cut to the rim, a driving layup, a putback and two triples.
“[Karaban] was a tough matchup for us because he runs around like a two-guard,” said Cronin. “If I were to do it over again, I would’ve probably put a guard on him”
At this point, UCLA was down 12 with ten minutes remaining, and all seemed bleak.
But the Bruins pieced together one final run.
Dent got to the line and nailed both, then Dailey Jr. followed with a catch-and-shoot three before finishing an and-one euro-step layup in transition.
Nevertheless, that proved to be the last spark of hope for UCLA.
UConn’s Tarris Reed Jr. found his way inside for an easy finish, and shortly after, Braylon Mullins was fouled from deep, where he made all three from the line. This marked the third time UCLA fouled UConn on a three-point attempt.
“It [three-point fouling] was destructive to our chances, given that we were struggling to score,” said Cronin. “If we had practice tomorrow, we’d be running.”
The Huskies continued to pile on, and with 4:41 remaining, Cronin was called for a technical foul for clapping his hands at the official.
When asked about the call, Cronin stated, “I have no comments about any of that.”
Karaban then canned both technical free throws, and it was barbeque chicken from there.
Despite their best efforts to fight back, the 2024 NCAA Champions proved too much for the Bruins. The Huskies controlled the glass, outrebounding UCLA 36-24, while also shooting 46.9% from the floor.
“Congrats to UConn, they were better than us tonight.” said Cronin. “They get to play next week and we get to go home.”
