PHILADELPHIA — Some cried with towels covering their faces. Others roamed the room with a dazed expression.
Deep within the winding Xfinity Mobile Arena corridor and inside the UCLA locker room, silence washed over 15 players — six of whom had likely just donned the blue and gold jersey for the final time. Down the hall, a UConn placard was slapped on a lifesize bracket that signaled the Huskies’ third Sweet 16 appearance in the last four seasons.
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The Bruins knew it was an uphill battle. They knew they’d have to play perfect to stay close. But they couldn’t match the moment.
Without leading scorer Tyler Bilodeau for a third straight game due to injury, their offense went dark and no one filled the void. No. 7-seeded UCLA made one of its last nine shots and didn’t score a point for a final 2:55 of Sunday’s NCAA tournament second-round clash with No. 2-seeded UConn. It resulted in a quiet, season-ending exit — the Bruins’ 73-57 loss marked their second-fewest points in a game this season.
Sophomore guard Trent Perry, tugging on his jersey and holding back tears, took accountability.
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“This tournament, I didn’t perform for my team at all,” he said. “I let my seniors down, I let my teammates down … I got to be better.”
UCLA Bruins guard Trent Perry (0) dribbles the ball against the UConn Huskies in the first half during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
UCLA Bruins guard Trent Perry (0) dribbles the ball against the UConn Huskies in the first half during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
But it wasn’t a down year for Perry, who elevated his scoring average by nine points and showed star-level flashes. There was growth in the margins for the Bruins, who held a players-only meeting in February after dropping back-to-back games by 20-plus points before winning six of their next seven. Senior guard Donovan Dent made history with the first triple-double in a Big Ten tournament game last weekend.
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They just didn’t show up Sunday.
After last year’s season-ending loss, also a Round of 32 game, coach Mick Cronin didn’t want to look ahead to this season.
“My biggest concern is how bad the seats are … on that terrible plane that we’re going to have to fly home tomorrow,” he said.
UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin reacts in the second half during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin reacts in the second half during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Cronin steered the conversation away from basketball again Sunday. He gave a “no comment” on the technical foul he was called for with 4:41 left. When asked about UConn senior forward Alex Karaban’s season-high 27-point night, he said he couldn’t “access what he did all season.”
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Instead, he shared a more sobering thought.
“Right now is not the time to coach. Right now is the time to try to be a father figure for those guys,” Cronin said.
UConn coach Dan Hurley, who spoke with the refs before entering his team’s huddle to begin most of Sunday’s timeouts, watched the Huskies reel off a 9-0 run across a 1:05 stretch late in the second half — a strong response to a 10-2 UCLA surge right before it.
UCLA Bruins center Xavier Booker (1) attempts to get a rebound against the UConn Huskies in the second half during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
UCLA Bruins center Xavier Booker (1) attempts to get a rebound against the UConn Huskies in the second half during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
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The Bruins, hampered without Bilodeau’s 6-foot-9 frame, had trouble with UConn’s size on both ends. UCLA converted just two of their first 10 layup attempts, a majority of which came off isolation drives from Dent and Eric Dailey Jr., and let the Huskies score 10 more paint points.
“All due respect, our offense got us beat, or lack thereof I should say,” Cronin said. “Got to be able to finish at the rim or get fouled. We just couldn’t do it. It just puts way too much pressure on your defense. You’re not going to shut them out.”
It took the Bruins more than three minutes to score a basket in Friday’s first round win over UCF — they missed their first seven shots and looked disjointed early, then surged ahead before the break.
Sunday was the opposite.
UConn Huskies guard Malachi Smith (0) dribbles the ball against the UCLA Bruins in the second half during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
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UConn Huskies guard Malachi Smith (0) dribbles the ball against the UCLA Bruins in the second half during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Skyy Clark gave UCLA a steal and fast-break layup just 20 seconds in. It provided the Bruins with a lead they protected for nearly 13 minutes, until a three by UConn’s Jayden Ross evened it up at 20 — setting up five eventual lead changes and six ties.
The Bruins struggled at times to break the Knights’ sporadic man press Friday, which made way for a rocky second half. The Huskies employed a similar full-court tactic, speeding them up and dwindling the shot clock on UCLA’s offensive possessions.
It resulted in seven UConn steals and 11 Bruin turnovers, just the second time UCLA committed 10 or more during its final nine games of the season.
UCLA Bruins center Xavier Booker (1) reacts against the UConn Huskies in the first half during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
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UCLA Bruins center Xavier Booker (1) reacts against the UConn Huskies in the first half during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Karaban, who was on pace for 44 points after the game’s first 10 minutes, joined Braylon Mullins and Jayden Ross for all six of UConn’s first-half 3-point makes — already more than the Huskies’ five total in Friday’s Round of 64 win over Furman and three against St. Johns in last weekend’s Big East tournament championship.
Xavier Booker (13 points) was the only Bruin with double-digit points before the break. Dent, Dailey (12 points) and Clark joined him in the second half, but on mixed efficiency.
UCLA’s three-guard starting core of Perry (five points), Dent (11 points) and Clark (11 points) combined to shoot 4-for-15 after the break.
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Dent, who transferred to Westwood last offseason after spending his first three seasons at New Mexico, stared at the floor. He talked in a library voice after his final college game.
“We just missed shots that we normally make,” he said. “It just sucks that that’s how we went out, not playing up to our best ability … This season was a rollercoaster for us.”
