UCLA stuns Michigan State to reach Big Ten Tournament semifinals

CHICAGO — Anyone who is still on the fence about whether the UCLA men’s basketball team has turned things around can ask Michigan State coach Tom Izzo about it.

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, avenging an earlier blowout loss despite losing star Tyler Bilodeau to a leg injury late in the first half.

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 (23-10) 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, but 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.

“We were playing like our life was on the line,” Dent said. “That’s what you have to do in these types of games.”

The night after he authored the first triple-double in Big Ten Tournament history, the senior point guard continued his stellar late-season play, adding six rebounds and a game-high four steals to his points and assists.

It was a decidedly different night for Dent than his first game against the Spartans (25-7). He finished with just six points, four assists and four turnovers in that 23-point loss in East Lansing. In the seven games since, he has racked up 77 assists and just six total turnovers while hitting his share of big shots.

“That time of season, we didn’t know who we were yet,” he said of the previous matchup. “We were still trying to figure things out. … We have a whole different mindset as a team [now].”

The Bruins were a markedly different team in the rematch.

“I really wanted to redeem myself from the first time we played,” Dent said. “I think we all did. We didn’t really show them our full selves.”

As well as they’ve been playing lately while removing themselves from the NCAA Tournament bubble they were sitting on last month, the Bruins’ future is again uncertain.

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 in the first half and the Bruins leading 35-23. Bilodeau had to be helped off the court, then spent the second half on the sideline with his right knee wrapped.

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

UCLA coach Mick Cronin sounded hopeful that Bilodeau has “some sort of sprain” rather than a more serious injury and said the senior would have more imaging. But exactly how long he will be out is unclear.

“My concern is for him, for him. If I didn’t have bad luck, I’d have no luck at all, my friend, since I’ve been at UCLA with injuries. It could have cost us the national championship. We lost two NBA players in March three years ago,” Cronin said, referring to Jaylen Clark and Adem Bona. “My concern is for him and his career and how it affects his teammates, because I don’t base my career off wins and losses. Legacy is the most overrated thing in life.”

Cronin said it would take “literally a miracle” for him to play on Saturday.

Bilodeau, meanwhile, said: “I’m good.”

Cronin said playing the way his team did without Bilodeau was “monumental for us,” and he was thrilled that his team kept its composure as Michigan State rallied in the second half.

“The guys didn’t flinch, and I was proud of that,” Cronin said. “Offensively, they were rolling, but we kept answering them. We showed a lot of poise and made big shots.”

When the Bruins needed a big play on defense, Dent intercepted a pass from Michigan State’s Kur Teng with 1:10 remaining, drew a foul and hit two free throws.

Perry, as usual, remained a cool customer at the free-throw line to help close out the win.

“We’re a dangerous team when he’s playing like that,” Dent said of his teammate. “I think we’re peaking at the right time.”

Eric Dailey Jr. had a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds for UCLA, which led by 13 points in the first half and held a 44-33 advantage at halftime. Skyy Clark scored 15 points.

Fears had 21 points and 13 assists for the Spartans, who were unable to duplicate the dominance from their earlier dismantling of UCLA. The Spartans shot 45.2% compared to 55.6% for the Bruins while committing 12 turnovers.

“Really disappointing how we played,” Izzo said. “I give a lot of credit to UCLA. We beat them by 30 at our place, and Mick, like he should do, he got his team ready, and they played harder, tougher. It doesn’t happen to my team very often, but for some reason we didn’t answer the bell coming out. They definitely kicked us from start to finish. They deserved to win the game.”

Carson Cooper and 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%. The Spartans had nearly as many turnovers (seven) in the first half as made field goals (nine).

“I think they made us play that way,” Izzo said. “They came at us. They punched us in the mouth, and we didn’t respond. That doesn’t happen very often. We’ll figure out why, and then we’ll move forward.”

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.