University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
21-10,13-7Big Ten
USC
18-13,7-13Big Ten
Men's Basketball Cruises Past USC, 89-68
March 07, 2026 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES โ The UCLA men's basketball team defeated crosstown rival USC, 89-68, before 8,441 fans at Galen Center on Saturday night in the regular-season finale for both programs.
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The Bruins (21-10, 13-7) secured their second win over USC in as many weeks after an 81-62 victory at Pauley Pavilion on Feb. 24. UCLA closed the regular season with four wins in its final five games and will enter next week's Big Ten Tournament as the No. 6 seed in the 18-team field. The conference bracket will be finalized Sunday evening.
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UCLA also extended its winning streak against USC to four games, having won the regular-season series last season and this year.
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Donovan Dent led UCLA with 25 points, including 19 in the second half, while adding seven assists with no turnovers. Over the Bruins' last five games, Dent has compiled 53 assists and just two turnovers. Dent shot 11-for-15 overall and was 1-for-1 from 3-point range.
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Eric Dailey Jr. scored 19 points โ 18 in the second half โ and Tyler Bilodeau added 16 points, all in the first half. Eric Freeny contributed a season-high 10 points. Freeny was 4-for-6 shooting and knocked in 2 of 3 attempts from 3-point distance.
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"Our bench was the big key today," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "Sometimes it's easier to get Tyler [Bilodeau] shots at the five depending on how they're defending him. It also creates mismatches for Eric Dailey. We're also just trying to get our best five players on the court, not that it's rocket science."
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UCLA led 45-30 at halftime after using an 18-3 run late in the first half to break open a game that had been tied, 21-21, with 9:15 remaining.
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Bilodeau sparked the surge with a turnaround jumper before Trent Perry converted a layup to give the Bruins a 25-21 lead. Bilodeau then hit back-to-back jumpers to extend the margin to 29-22, and Freeny followed with two quick baskets as UCLA pushed the lead to 33-22.
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USC (18-13, 7-13) cut the deficit to 53-42 with 15:35 remaining in the second half, but UCLA responded with a 17-4 run to build a commanding 70-46 advantage with 11:30 left. Freeny's 3-pointer with 12:58 remaining made the score 63-44.
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Alijah Arenas led USC with 20 points on 7-of-18 shooting, including 3-of-7 from 3-point range. Ezra Ausar recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Jacob Cofie added 10 points and five rebounds.
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The Bruins set a program record for points scored at USC's Galen Center with 89, its highest total in 20 all-time meetings at the arena. The win also marked the UCLA's first 20-point road victory over USC since an 82-52 victory on March 9, 1974.
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UCLA shot 57.6 percent from the field and 52.9 percent from 3-point range (9 of 17), out-rebounded USC 37-26 and finished with 19 assists and six turnovers.
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UCLA will be back in action on Thursday, March 12, in the Big Ten Tournament at United Center in Chicago. The tournament begins on Tuesday, March 10, and will run through the title game on Sunday, March 15.
Game Notes: Donovan Dent has scored 55 points, totaled 15 assists and had no turnovers in two games this season against USC (he had 30 points and eight assists in the game at UCLA on Feb. 24) โฆ Tyler Bilodeau has led the Bruins in scoring through 31 games (averaging 18.0 ppg) โฆ Bilodeau also leads UCLA and all Big Ten players in 3-point shooting percentage (46.2%, 60-for-130) โฆ Donovan Dent entered Saturday's game ranking among the top 10 in the nation in assist-turnover ratio โ he now has totaled 225 assists and 58 turnovers (3.88 ratio) โฆ Trent Perry was 4-for-4 from the free throw stripe and has now made 17 of his last 18 free throw attempts through UCLA's last six games โฆ through the Bruins' past 10 games, Donovan Dent has registered 93 assists and 15 turnovers while averaging 14.6 points per game โฆ the Bruins have now won eight of their last 10 games against USC and each of their past three showdowns against USC at Galen Center โฆ for the second consecutive season, UCLA has posted a 13-7 record in Big Ten play.
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