Short-handed UCLA men hold off UCF in NCAA Tournament opener

PHILADELPHIA — UCLA was expecting to get leading scorer Tyler Bilodeau back in the lineup for its NCAA Tournament opener. Coach Mick Cronin had to scuttle that plan, but his Bruins adjusted on the fly, emerged bloodied and battered and extended their season.

Eric Dailey Jr. scored 20 points, Xaiver Booker had 15 points and eight rebounds to make up for the absence of Bilodeau and seventh-seeded UCLA withstood every serious challenge to beat 10th-seeded UCF, 75-71, in a first-round game of the East Regional on Friday night.

“During the year, we have been in games where we have been down and come back,” Dailey said. “All that was practice for this moment.”

The Bruins (24-11) – with guard Skyy Clark minus a tooth – will face No. 2 seed Connecticut (30-5) in a second-round game on Sunday night (5:45 p.m. PT, TNT). The Huskies navigated their own injury issues and beat 15th-seeded Furman, 82-71, late Friday.

Trent Perry had 15 points and five rebounds for UCLA, while point guard Donovan Dent shot just 4 for 17 from the field but found other ways to contribute, finishing with 10 points, five rebounds, five assists, six steals and no turnovers. Clark had eight points, and Booker added four blocked shots.

Jordan Burks scored 22 points and hit six 3-pointers – including one that made it 72-69 with 10 seconds left – to almost single-handedly carry UCF (21-12) to a comeback win. Riley Kugel added 13 points, but the Knights shot a meager 5 for 16 at the free-throw line and committed 17 turnovers that led to 19 UCLA points.

Bilodeau was ruled out with a knee sprain shortly before the game. He was previously listed as questionable to play on the team’s injury report.

“He had a good practice yesterday, but he looked stiff at shootaround today,” Cronin said. “I didn’t like the way he looked. He wanted to play. I said ‘No.’ I’m not going to put that kid in harm’s way.”

Bilodeau, a senior forward who averages 17.6 points per game, sustained the injury in the Bruins’ Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal victory over Michigan State last week. An MRI later revealed a mild sprain, enough to knock him out for their Big Ten semifinal loss to eventual tournament champion Purdue.

Despite Bilodeau’s absence, the Bruins are back in the second round for the second straight tournament after missing out in 2024.

The often combustible Cronin preached to his players to hit the reset button after losing in the Big Ten semifinals and skipping the NCAA selection show. With every alley-oop dunk the Bruins looked rested and sent the UCLA fans in the arena into a frenzy.

Following a fast-break jumper by Booker that gave UCLA a 46-32 lead, the Knights answered with an 11-0 burst fueled by two 3-pointers from Burks and another from Devan Cambridge that had “U-C-F!” chants roaring through the arena with 14 minutes left.

But for every run the Knights went on, the Bruins brought them back to reality. UCF went cold – failing to convert a field goal for the next 6:45 – and Perry, Booker and Dent fueled a 12-1 run to rebuild their double-digit advantage, building what proved to be a valuable cushion.

UCF shot just 15 for 40 from 2-point range but kept the game interesting with its eight second-half 3-pointers.

“They have five wins this year where they came back from 10 down or more,” Cronin said. “We talked about it with our team and although at times it didn’t look like it, we worked all week on our press offense.

“We knew it was coming. But congratulations to them. Their kids never gave up. They fired in some tough shots, especially Burks late. Crazy stuff happens in March.”

A Burks corner 3-pointer brought UCF within 63-56, but Booker responded with a three-point play with 2:01 remaining. Jamichael Stillwell made two layups to get the Knights back within six.

Along the way, Clark lost part of a tooth late in the game when he dove for a loose ball and appeared to get elbowed in the face in a tie-up with Fulks. The tooth went flying and members of the UCLA staff scurried around to try and find it, with UCLA walk-on Jack Seidler eventually finding it.

Clark wrestled a rebound away from UCF’s Themus Fulks with 16 seconds left and began to dribble away – only to lose the ball out of bounds. UCF got Burks open in the left corner for his final 3-pointer to cut it to 72-69 with 10 seconds left, but UCLA converted its free throws and ran out the clock to win for the seventh time in nine games.

Clark, who had stayed in the game after the tooth incident, made the final free throw to secure the win.

The Bruins started the game 0 for 7 from the field, only to make their next eight shots, ignited by three in a row from Dailey. The highlight of the half was a transition alley-oop dunk from Dent to Dailey.

Soon after, UCF’s 7-foot-2 John Bol accidentally tipped a missed 3-pointer into his own basket, giving UCLA its largest lead at 35-21. But Cambridge and Carmelo Pacheco made 3-pointers to cut the margin to eight points by halftime.

Fulks and Jamichael Stillwell scored 10 points each for UCF, and Stillwell added a game-high 13 rebounds.

UCF outrebounded UCLA, 53-41, but couldn’t overcome its poor free-throw shooting.

CLARK GRINS AND BEARS IT

Clark flashed a gap-toothed smile and said there was only one place to put a chunk of the top front tooth that he lost.

Under the pillow, of course.

There was no telling what Clark would find there in the morning – though if anyone in the Philadelphia area had the name of an oral surgeon, the Bruins guard would gladly take one.

In the locker room after UCLA beat UCF – a win that Clark secured when he shook off throbbing pain to sink the final free throw – Clark said he was at about a nine on a scale of 10.

“It definitely hurt,” he said. “I have a little lisp going on.”

Clark indeed spoke differently – Dailey compared him to boxer Mike Tyson – in the aftermath of the incident.

“He looked so good in the locker room,” Cronin said. “Looks like a boxer. Keep trying to talk to these guys about my old days. He just looked tough. Looks tough. In the locker room, smiling. There’s blood.”

When Clark’s tooth went flying late in the game, members of the UCLA staff scurried around to try and find it.

Seidler, who found the tooth, has a simple role on the team: “Whatever they ask me to do, I’ll do it. Whatever helps the team.”

In this instance, Seidler – who has played in just seven games all season – had the assist of the night.

“Somebody’s got to get it, somebody’s got to get it,” Seidler said his teammates and other staff yelled as Clark got up off the court.

Seidler got it. He said his cellphone blew up with social media posts and direct messages about his 15 minutes of fame.

He gave all the credit to Clark for staying in the game and helping the Bruins hold off a late push by UCF.

“That’s toughness right there,” Seidler said. “Losing half a tooth and coming back into the game to help us get the win.”

As for that foul shot, Clark said it was all part of the game.

“I had my adrenaline going so I really didn’t feel it,” he said.

Clark is part of a toothless trend of late. New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes had some teeth knocked out before he won Olympic gold in hockey for Team USA last month.

The Bruins – they are no March Madness Cinderellas but could still use a tooth fairy – are on to the second round and Cronin would like everyone to have a full mouth of teeth when they face Connecticut on Sunday.

“(We) need – what is it? The dental stuff. An oral surgeon,” Cronin said. “We need a late-night oral surgeon.”