UCLA
11-3,2-1Big Ten
Nebraska
12-2,2-1Big Ten
No. 15 UCLA Suffers 66-58 Defeat at Nebraska
January 04, 2025 | Men's Basketball
LINCOLN, Neb. โ No. 15-ranked UCLA men's basketball team suffered its first Big Ten Conference loss, falling to Nebraska, 66-58, on Saturday afternoon before a crowd of 15,167 at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
ย
The Bruins (11-3, 2-1 Big Ten) struggled from beyond the arc, hitting just 4-of-28 attempts from 3-point range. UCLA posted an overall shooting percentage of 38.6 on Saturday afternoon.
ย
Tyler Bilodeau paced the UCLA offensive with a team-high 15 points while connecting on six of his nine shot attempts. This was the junior's 10th game in double-figure scoring.
ย
Also ascending into double-digits was Lazar Stefanovic, making a pair of 3-pointers to highlight his 10-point performance against Nebraska (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten).
ย
"If you shoot the ball as poorly as we did, the only chance you have is to take care of the ball," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "You can't give up 17 points off of your turnovers. You've got no chance. You can't overcome it."
ย
Kobe Johnson pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds and contributed eight points on the offensive end, finishing just two shy of a double-double. In his first start of the season, Sebastian Mack dropped nine points and handed out six assists.
ย
Nebraska saw four players reach double-digits, led by Brice Williams' 16-point display. Williams accumulated 11 of his 16 points from the free-throw line. As a team, Nebraska shot 25 of 29 from the free throw line (86.2 percent).
ย
UCLA's defense dominated the opening minutes, shutting Nebraska out for over four minutes to fuel a 7-0 scoring run to start the contest. Skyy Clark ignited the run with a powerful finish inside, earning an 'and-one' thanks to an assist from Dylan Andrews. The Bruins stifled the Cornhuskers with five consecutive stops and three forced turnovers.
ย
However, UCLA entered a scoring drought of over six minutes, allowing the Cornhuskers to rally for a 15-0 run and secure a 15-7 cushion. Bilodeau finally ended the drought for UCLA by sinking the team's first 3-pointer at the 9:30 mark. That shot helped to launch a 15-0 scoring run in response for UCLA. Key 3-pointers from Johnson and Stefanovic spearheaded the Bruins' comeback, restoring their lead.
ย
Nebraska responded with a 9-2 run in the last 5:09 of the half, tying the score at 24-24 by halftime. This marked UCLA's lowest-scoring half of the season.
ย
After jumpers from Clark, Bilodeau, and Stefanovic opened UCLA's second-half scoring, the Bruins missed its next seven shots from the field, allowing Nebraska to build a six-point lead with just over 10 minutes left to play.
ย
Mack poured in a layup to end the drought and Bilodeau added a dunk, but the Cornhuskers surged for a 10-2 run in just over two minutes of action to take a 12-point lead at the under-eight media timeout.
Stefanovic buried a triple, Aday Mara threw down a dunk, and Johnson completed an old-fashioned 3-point play to cut the deficit to four with less than a minute left in the contest. Mara then made a jump shot to make it four straight made field goals for UCLA.
ย
Despite holding Nebraska without a field goal for the last 7:15 and forcing seven straight misfires, UCLA was unable to complete the comeback after the hosts connected on 13-of-16 free throws in the last four minutes.
ย
The Bruins will return to action at home against Michigan on Tuesday, Jan. 6. Game time in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom is set for 7 p.m. (PT). The Bruins' home game will be available for viewing on Peacock (NBC's streaming service).
ย
Following Tuesday night's home game, the Bruins will return to the road to play at Maryland (Friday, Jan. 10) and Rutgers (Monday, Nov. 13).
