University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes - UCLA 88, Michigan State 84
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 88, Michigan State 84
Big Ten Tournament (Quarterfinal Round)
Chicago, Ill. (United Center)
March 13, 2026
ย
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coach
opening statement
โTremendous effort by our players. Michigan State, obviously a great team, great coach. We matched their physicality and played an unbelievable first half. Guys never flinched, kept knocking in big shots, both these guys next to me and Skyy Clark. Four guys in double figures. Obviously, to win this game with Tyler only playing 10 minutes is monumental for us, monumental for us. Brandon Williams, big night, nine points and four rebounds. Obviously, we've got to get more out of Xavier Booker and Steve Jamerson next couple days.โ
on the deflection total
โForty. I think they said 25 at half. We've got really smart kids on our team. We watched film in the first half of some things we did well, some things we need to adjust at halftime. Then Coach Savino goes over that. As I come in to talk to them, before I said anything, Trent goes, โGuys we'd better be ready. You know Coach Izzo is killing those guys right now. You know they're going to come out in the second half and give us everything.โ They played great in the second half.โ
ย
on Tyler Bilodeauโs availability for tomorrowโs game
โIt would take literally a miracle for him to play tomorrow, meaning that I would let him play. Right now, I'm just โ I don't want to speculate, trying to stay positive that he's got some sort of sprain, for him. But it would take a modern miracle for him to play tomorrow.โ
ย
on what the three-guard lineup gives this UCLA team
โHard to guard. I will say this to you, when you play small, you have to be hard to guard because you get destroyed on the backboard. 23 to six, second-chance points. So you must make up for it with shot making and play making because you're smaller. Especially against a program like that. Especially with Tyler out. Book fouled out, and we're playing two forwards and three small guards against them. We can't block them out when we're healthy. But you have to โ if you play three small guards, you have to be really good offensively, or it doesn't work because you're not going to rebound great.โ
ย
on the team responding to adversity
โThe guys didn't flinch, and I was proud of that. Offensively they were rolling, but we kept answering them. We showed a lot of poise and made big shots. Saved our shots for tonight. We didn't need them last night. Saved our shot making for tonight, made 13 3s. Which we're capable of. We're the leading 3-point shooting team in the Big Ten statistically, percentage-wise. It all evens out. Last night we were 7 for 22. Now we're 20 for 49 in the tournament, if my numbers are right.โ
on his guardโs ability to distribute the ball
โWell, anybody's really. All three of those guys, they can beat you off the dribble and they're good passers. So when they help, they find the open man and shoot it in. We had obviously very short prep for this game. So thanks to my friend Gary DeCesare, we were over at De La Salle this afternoon going through some stuff on how we're going to have to score on them. They're hard to screen because he's such a great coach, they're so physical. I think spacing is paramount when you play Michigan State because it's so hard to screen them because they just fight so hard.โ
ย
on Tyler Bilodeauโs availability moving forward
โMy 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. 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, Jeff Van Gundy. I'm worried about impact on my players. That's teaching them basketball and teaching them how to be a better man. I know nothing about his injury, my friend. I'm a little bit busy. They're taking him somewhere to get imaging. I don't know how long that will take.โ
ย
on responding to Michigan Stateโs runs in the second half
โPlayers win games. Like you were talking about the effectiveness, somebody -- about the spread offense. You still got to beat your man and kick it and find the open man at the right time, and you've got to make a shot. That's players. Trent, Skyy, Eric, and obviously Donny, they were great. Those guys played great. You're not winning high level games if guys don't perform. You're trying to get guys, coach them all year to get them to perform at the right time at the highest level. I give them guys all the credit because those are big time plays off the dribble, scoring and finding the open man, and banging in shots. When Michigan State's crowd is roaring, they're making shots. Those guys -- it's easy to make them when you're up 20, but when the other team is on a run and you silence them, which we did a lot. Those guys did. Big time players.โ
ย
on Trent Perryโs game
โTrent did the same thing at the foul line to lead Harvard-Westlake to the state title. I watched every game, I saw him play a lot, guys. I don't know if I've ever seen him miss a pressure free throw. I'd have to ask Dave Rebibo, but I know that's how they closed out Salesian in his senior year up north. Literally, we were just talking about how we were going to play defense. He's not going to miss. Donny is like, are we going to foul if we're up three? I said, well, we're going to be up four. Trent's at the line. Then he walked away to shoot, and I told Donny, we're going to foul at half-court. In all seriousness, I've never seen him miss a big free throw, and I saw him play a lot of high school games.โ
ย
on the teamโs play after the game at Michigan State in the regular season
โGetting Skyy back to health. That lineup was coming before Skyy tore his hamstring. I mean, it was coming, getting our best five players on the floor because Trent was growing every day and his confidence was growing. So that lineup, it was โ I just couldn't go to it until we got Skyy back.โ
ย
UCLA sophomore Trent Perry
on making free throws in clutch moments
โJust staying calm and trusting the work and having the trust in my teammates. Even Coach, we're in the huddle they're saying you're going to knock these down. We're going on the other end.โ
ย
on his free throw routine
โYou see at the beginning of my routine, I'm just kind of looking at the basket, breathing, taking everything in, and staying true to myself.โ
ย
on Donovan Dentโs play
โHe's all right, I'm playing [joking]. Four steals, 12 to two assist-to-turnover ratio, he's amazing. He's amazing, though. That's our PG, and he's finding everybody.โ
on the offense improving towards the end of the season
โCoach has always just said offense is going to come. Again, it's all about defense. Michigan State is a great offensive team, great defensive team, just a great program in general. We've got to worry about our defense, and I think we just executed that tonight.โ
on Tyler Bilodeau going down and the team stepping up
โMy initial reaction, I just really prayed that he was okay, and I'm glad that he's okay. Again, like I said, it's a team effort. We had guys step up. Brandon Williams had a great game, big game for us. Eric Dailey again, offensive rebounding, defensive rebounding. Just doing it all our there, both of those guys. Tremendous effort from both of them. Kudos to them.โ
ย
UCLA senior Donovan Dent
on coming out and beating Michigan State after losing to them in the regular season
โI talked about it yesterday. We have a whole different mindset on our team. Weโve always been able to score the ball, that's not the problem, but we changed our mindset on the defensive side, and we were able to showcase that tonight. The first game they lit us up from every aspect. Like we were turning the ball over unreasonably. Today we got to show the chance of our real defense, and we did a good job of that tonight.โ
ย
on the teamโs attitude
โFor sure just our attitude. We didn't ever really get down on ourselves. They went off on a run, and we responded right back. We were talking about it in the huddle, we just have to keep answering the punches. You can't go down without a fight, and they were fighting hard, so we just kept fighting back. We just never quit on the game really. It was really a test of our fight and will.โ
ย
on Tyler Bilodeau going down in the first half and the team stepping up
โEven Eric Freeny stepped in and got two offensive rebounds. With this team, it was very unfortunate that Tyler went down, but we have so much depth to where the next man can step up any time. It was big time for us.โ
ย
on the team being able to win on back-to-back nights
โIt's big time. You want to be able to win games any way you can, whether it's offense or defense, whoever you need that night. It just shows how good of a team we really are.โ
ย
on having another strong performance after last nightโs triple-double
โI really wanted to redeem myself from the first time we played. I think we all did. We didn't really show the our full selves, and we went there and got embarrassed. Coming into the game tonight, we all got fired up. Coach got us fired up in the shootaround. These are the type of games you have to win. These are the heavyweight matchups we talk about in the preseason, and you've got to come out and perform.โ
ย
on UCLAโs first-half defense
โWe were just communicating and scrambling. We were playing like our life was on the line. That's what you have to do in these type of games. We had 25 deflections in the first half. We always talk about having 40-plus deflections. We were just out there hustling and playing hard.โ
ย
UCLA 88, Michigan State 84
Big Ten Tournament (Quarterfinal Round)
Chicago, Ill. (United Center)
March 13, 2026
ย
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coach
opening statement
โTremendous effort by our players. Michigan State, obviously a great team, great coach. We matched their physicality and played an unbelievable first half. Guys never flinched, kept knocking in big shots, both these guys next to me and Skyy Clark. Four guys in double figures. Obviously, to win this game with Tyler only playing 10 minutes is monumental for us, monumental for us. Brandon Williams, big night, nine points and four rebounds. Obviously, we've got to get more out of Xavier Booker and Steve Jamerson next couple days.โ
on the deflection total
โForty. I think they said 25 at half. We've got really smart kids on our team. We watched film in the first half of some things we did well, some things we need to adjust at halftime. Then Coach Savino goes over that. As I come in to talk to them, before I said anything, Trent goes, โGuys we'd better be ready. You know Coach Izzo is killing those guys right now. You know they're going to come out in the second half and give us everything.โ They played great in the second half.โ
ย
on Tyler Bilodeauโs availability for tomorrowโs game
โIt would take literally a miracle for him to play tomorrow, meaning that I would let him play. Right now, I'm just โ I don't want to speculate, trying to stay positive that he's got some sort of sprain, for him. But it would take a modern miracle for him to play tomorrow.โ
ย
on what the three-guard lineup gives this UCLA team
โHard to guard. I will say this to you, when you play small, you have to be hard to guard because you get destroyed on the backboard. 23 to six, second-chance points. So you must make up for it with shot making and play making because you're smaller. Especially against a program like that. Especially with Tyler out. Book fouled out, and we're playing two forwards and three small guards against them. We can't block them out when we're healthy. But you have to โ if you play three small guards, you have to be really good offensively, or it doesn't work because you're not going to rebound great.โ
ย
on the team responding to adversity
โThe guys didn't flinch, and I was proud of that. Offensively they were rolling, but we kept answering them. We showed a lot of poise and made big shots. Saved our shots for tonight. We didn't need them last night. Saved our shot making for tonight, made 13 3s. Which we're capable of. We're the leading 3-point shooting team in the Big Ten statistically, percentage-wise. It all evens out. Last night we were 7 for 22. Now we're 20 for 49 in the tournament, if my numbers are right.โ
on his guardโs ability to distribute the ball
โWell, anybody's really. All three of those guys, they can beat you off the dribble and they're good passers. So when they help, they find the open man and shoot it in. We had obviously very short prep for this game. So thanks to my friend Gary DeCesare, we were over at De La Salle this afternoon going through some stuff on how we're going to have to score on them. They're hard to screen because he's such a great coach, they're so physical. I think spacing is paramount when you play Michigan State because it's so hard to screen them because they just fight so hard.โ
ย
on Tyler Bilodeauโs availability moving forward
โMy 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. 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, Jeff Van Gundy. I'm worried about impact on my players. That's teaching them basketball and teaching them how to be a better man. I know nothing about his injury, my friend. I'm a little bit busy. They're taking him somewhere to get imaging. I don't know how long that will take.โ
ย
on responding to Michigan Stateโs runs in the second half
โPlayers win games. Like you were talking about the effectiveness, somebody -- about the spread offense. You still got to beat your man and kick it and find the open man at the right time, and you've got to make a shot. That's players. Trent, Skyy, Eric, and obviously Donny, they were great. Those guys played great. You're not winning high level games if guys don't perform. You're trying to get guys, coach them all year to get them to perform at the right time at the highest level. I give them guys all the credit because those are big time plays off the dribble, scoring and finding the open man, and banging in shots. When Michigan State's crowd is roaring, they're making shots. Those guys -- it's easy to make them when you're up 20, but when the other team is on a run and you silence them, which we did a lot. Those guys did. Big time players.โ
ย
on Trent Perryโs game
โTrent did the same thing at the foul line to lead Harvard-Westlake to the state title. I watched every game, I saw him play a lot, guys. I don't know if I've ever seen him miss a pressure free throw. I'd have to ask Dave Rebibo, but I know that's how they closed out Salesian in his senior year up north. Literally, we were just talking about how we were going to play defense. He's not going to miss. Donny is like, are we going to foul if we're up three? I said, well, we're going to be up four. Trent's at the line. Then he walked away to shoot, and I told Donny, we're going to foul at half-court. In all seriousness, I've never seen him miss a big free throw, and I saw him play a lot of high school games.โ
ย
on the teamโs play after the game at Michigan State in the regular season
โGetting Skyy back to health. That lineup was coming before Skyy tore his hamstring. I mean, it was coming, getting our best five players on the floor because Trent was growing every day and his confidence was growing. So that lineup, it was โ I just couldn't go to it until we got Skyy back.โ
ย
UCLA sophomore Trent Perry
on making free throws in clutch moments
โJust staying calm and trusting the work and having the trust in my teammates. Even Coach, we're in the huddle they're saying you're going to knock these down. We're going on the other end.โ
ย
on his free throw routine
โYou see at the beginning of my routine, I'm just kind of looking at the basket, breathing, taking everything in, and staying true to myself.โ
ย
on Donovan Dentโs play
โHe's all right, I'm playing [joking]. Four steals, 12 to two assist-to-turnover ratio, he's amazing. He's amazing, though. That's our PG, and he's finding everybody.โ
on the offense improving towards the end of the season
โCoach has always just said offense is going to come. Again, it's all about defense. Michigan State is a great offensive team, great defensive team, just a great program in general. We've got to worry about our defense, and I think we just executed that tonight.โ
on Tyler Bilodeau going down and the team stepping up
โMy initial reaction, I just really prayed that he was okay, and I'm glad that he's okay. Again, like I said, it's a team effort. We had guys step up. Brandon Williams had a great game, big game for us. Eric Dailey again, offensive rebounding, defensive rebounding. Just doing it all our there, both of those guys. Tremendous effort from both of them. Kudos to them.โ
ย
UCLA senior Donovan Dent
on coming out and beating Michigan State after losing to them in the regular season
โI talked about it yesterday. We have a whole different mindset on our team. Weโve always been able to score the ball, that's not the problem, but we changed our mindset on the defensive side, and we were able to showcase that tonight. The first game they lit us up from every aspect. Like we were turning the ball over unreasonably. Today we got to show the chance of our real defense, and we did a good job of that tonight.โ
ย
on the teamโs attitude
โFor sure just our attitude. We didn't ever really get down on ourselves. They went off on a run, and we responded right back. We were talking about it in the huddle, we just have to keep answering the punches. You can't go down without a fight, and they were fighting hard, so we just kept fighting back. We just never quit on the game really. It was really a test of our fight and will.โ
ย
on Tyler Bilodeau going down in the first half and the team stepping up
โEven Eric Freeny stepped in and got two offensive rebounds. With this team, it was very unfortunate that Tyler went down, but we have so much depth to where the next man can step up any time. It was big time for us.โ
ย
on the team being able to win on back-to-back nights
โIt's big time. You want to be able to win games any way you can, whether it's offense or defense, whoever you need that night. It just shows how good of a team we really are.โ
ย
on having another strong performance after last nightโs triple-double
โI really wanted to redeem myself from the first time we played. I think we all did. We didn't really show the our full selves, and we went there and got embarrassed. Coming into the game tonight, we all got fired up. Coach got us fired up in the shootaround. These are the type of games you have to win. These are the heavyweight matchups we talk about in the preseason, and you've got to come out and perform.โ
ย
on UCLAโs first-half defense
โWe were just communicating and scrambling. We were playing like our life was on the line. That's what you have to do in these type of games. We had 25 deflections in the first half. We always talk about having 40-plus deflections. We were just out there hustling and playing hard.โ
ย