It was more of an exhale than an exclamation point.
Four days after pulling a massive upset, UCLA built a big lead before persevering through a hideous stretch to prevail once again.
Oh, well. It counts just the same in the win column.
What’s most important is that the Bruins carried over many of the same essential elements during a 71-64 victory over Northwestern on Saturday at Pauley Pavilion.
There was sustained energy and effort — particularly on the defensive end — and strong encores from point guard Donovan Dent and center Xavier Booker after their breakthroughs against fourth-ranked Purdue.
Add in an epic heater from forward Tyler Bilodeau, who made his first seven shots despite battling illness on the way to 18 points, and the Bruins (14-6 overall, 6-3 Big Ten) were only momentarily threatened after building a 16-point lead against the Wildcats (9-11, 1-8).
Any remaining drama ended when Jamar Brown took a cross-court pass from Trent Perry for a three-pointer that pushed the cushion back to nine points with 2½ minutes left.
Here are four takeaways from the Bruins’ second consecutive victory:
Give me more of that
Dent stayed on the attack against the Wildcats.
His array of layups and smart passes was reminiscent of what he did against the Boilermakers, Dent finishing with 13 points, five assists and two steals to go with only one turnover.
He did miss five of seven free throws and needed one reminder, though, after missing a dunk in transition: A layup will do just fine. Cronin said he was working with Dent on both his free throws and his ability to move on from bad moments.
“He lets Play A affect Play B or Shot A affect Shot B,” Cronin said, “and it’s just, you can’t be like that.”
Meanwhile, Booker’s energy meter continued to rev into the red after so many lackadaisical showings earlier this season. He played active defense and grabbed a season-high-tying eight rebounds to complement his five points and one block.
Once all he did was stand and hold his arms up. It was enough, his imposing presence forcing Northwestern’s Jayden Reid to throw the ball away.
Top billing?
One could make a case that Perry has become this team’s best player.
Given an extended run in the starting lineup because of the absence of Skyy Clark, Perry has become a player who might be hard to take off the court once Clark returns from his hamstring injury. He could still get starter’s minutes in a sixth-man role backing up both Clark and Dent.
Cronin will want him on the court as much as possible given a breakthrough fueled by soaring confidence.
Perry continued to unleash a variety of impressive moves against the Wildcats. There was a driving layup off a hesitation move, the selling of a foul on a corner three-point attempt and a baseline jumper. And that was just in the first half.
“Just playing basketball, being confident,” Perry said. “The coaching staff is just telling you to let it fly, be aggressive.”
Perry complied while making six of 12 shots on the way to 18 points, continuing a rise that Cronin said he hoped continued into next season.
“I was able to trick him into coming here,” Cronin cracked while Perry grimaced in a corner of the media room, “hopefully I can trick him into staying.”
A familiar look
Known for relentless defense since coach Cronin’s arrival, UCLA had appeared almost unrecognizable for much of the season’s first few months.
There were late rotations, lagging effort and an inability to stay in front of almost anyone.
The Bruins have fixed most of those issues in recent weeks — with the exception of giving up 86 points against Ohio State — largely as a result of more sustained energy.
Northwestern had trouble scoring for long stretches, missing eight of nine shots at one point in the first half. After halftime, the Wildcats went more than 10 minutes without a field goal and finished the game shooting 37.7%.
“We’ve been trying to adjust defensively how we do things, stuff that obviously to the lay person you might not see in our team defense to not give up layups and dunks,” Cronin said. “So we have some weaknesses that we have to hide.”
A real opportunity ahead
How quickly the tenor of a season can change.
Having now won four of their last five games, the Bruins have a chance to keep rolling given their home-heavy schedule over the next two weeks.
Up next is a road game against Oregon – which UCLA has already beaten – followed by home games against Indiana, Rutgers and Washington. The Bruins should be favored in all four, and a 4-0 record would provide heavy insulation from the brutal stretch that follows against Michigan, Michigan State and Illinois.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
