Home sweet home, indeed.
The unranked UCLA Bruins won their sixth straight game Tuesday night, pulling out a 63-61 win over No. 9 Michigan State at Pauley Pavilion, an environment they desperately missed most of January.
The game-winning shot from @UCLAMBB‘s Eric Dailey was 😱#B1GMBBall pic.twitter.com/pTYfIq4Pqb
— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 5, 2025
One month ago, one of the best basketball programs in the history of college hoops started to spiral. On Jan. 4, UCLA lost the first of four consecutive games, all on the road. The Bruins fell to non-basketball powers like Nebraska and Rutgers, as well as Maryland and Michigan, all while fifth-year coach Mick Cronin grumbled about Big Ten travel and the absurdity of spending nearly 10 days straight back east.
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Then the Bruins came back West, and things got better. A lot better.
Tuesday night the Bruins didn’t just deny Michigan State coach Tom Izzo a chance to tie the Big Ten all-time wins record but reminded everyone in college basketball, particularly the selection committee, that they can do damage when they’re locked in.
It’s UCLA’s third consecutive win against a ranked team, too, after picking up victories over No. 18 Wisconsin on Jan. 21 and No. 16 Oregon Jan. 30 — a game in which it held the Ducks to a season-low in scoring.
Against Michigan State, UCLA did a little bit of everything, including show a lot of guts.
After building a double-digit lead, the Bruins let MSU come all the way back, tying the game 54-54 with 7:09 to play. It was back and forth from there, until a costly Michigan State turnover with 23 seconds to go and the game tied 61-61 gave UCLA the ball, and a shot to win.
The Bruins did exactly that on a tough leaner from Eric Dailey Jr. that the sophomore forward managed to bank in over the outstretched arms of two Spartan defenders. The make put UCLA in front 63-61 with seven seconds left. Michigan State got a decent look, but Jaden Akins’ 3 was short.
Perhaps the best news for the Bruins: They’ve still got four home games to go. Win those and pull off a surprise on the road — UCLA has games this month at No. 23 Illinois and No. 7 Purdue — and the Bruins will inch up the seed line. Steal both of those ranked road contests and end the regular season on a 14-game win streak, and Selection Sunday could be very sweet.
It’s taken time for UCLA — and the rest of the Big Ten — to adjust to season-long cross-country travel. Now that they’ve settled, Dailey Jr. told the Peacock broadcast team UCLA’s message to the Big Ten is clear: “We belong, and we’re contenders in this conference.”
If they can play on the West Coast in March, they’ll be contending for a deep postseason run, too.
(Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Imagn Images)
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