LOS ANGELES – New UCLA football head coach Bob Chesney formally introduced himself to the UCLA crowd Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion and he and his staff were certainly treated to a show, just not with the end result that any Bruins fans were hoping for.
UCLA (15-7, 7-4) battled it out with Indiana (15-7, 6-5) for a full two halves plus two overtime periods in front of a roaring home UCLA crowd, but the final score favored the Hoosiers 98-97.
Advertisement
UCLA head coach Mick Cronin wasn’t impressed with the fight his team showed for all 50 minutes, rather he had one observation that he made throughout his postgame conference.
“Defense was awful all night. We deserved to lose,” Cronin said. “We went through a stretch where we were pouting and letting one shot affect the next shot. We couldn’t score for a long time, that’s why we got down by 10. Missing wide open shot after wide open shot.”
UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau (34) fights for possession during a Big 10 basketball game against Indiana, Saturday, January 31st, 2026 in Los Angeles, California
John Panganiban-The Sporting Tribune
UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau (34) fights for possession during a Big 10 basketball game against Indiana, Saturday, January 31st, 2026 in Los Angeles, California
Advertisement
Poor defense and poorer shooting
It was a poor shooting night for the Bruins across the board with just a 39.5% field goal percentage and 31.8% from three. While the Hoosiers started off equally slow, they found their shot in a big way throughout the second half. At one point, Indiana went on a 12-0 run and led by as much as 10 at multiple points late in the second half, while the Bruins suffered a dismal stretch of shooting, going 0-11 from the field at one point in a scoreless stretch that lasted nearly seven minutes.
The Bruins surged back with a minute-and-a-half remaining and with just a single second left on the clock sophomore guard Trent Perry, while being double teamed, fired a three pointer from the top of the arc to tie the game at 76 and send the game into overtime.
“At the end of the day, I’m just proud of how fought. Sent a good team into double overtime,” Perry said. “We’re going to carry on with this lesson and move on to the next one.”
UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau (34) tips off for overtime during a Big 10 basketball game against Indiana, Saturday, January 31st, 2026 in Los Angeles, California
John Panganiban-The Sporting Tribune
Advertisement
UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau (34) tips off for overtime during a Big 10 basketball game against Indiana, Saturday, January 31st, 2026 in Los Angeles, California
The Bruins found their defensive intensity in the first overtime, but the offensive accuracy didn’t follow. Five minutes went by and the score remained, this time at 84, when Perry missed his second attempt at saving the game for UCLA in the final seconds.
Foul trouble followed UCLA into the second overtime period. 10 of the Hoosiers’ 14 points in the second overtime came off of free throws, including the pivotal point that sealed the game for Indiana.
The final plays of the game unfolded with an immense amount of drama. Tied at 97, both Bruins and Hoosiers scrambled for a rebound after a missed layup by Indiana freshman forward Trent Sisley.
UCLA guard Trent Perry(0) celebrates a buzzer beater during a Big 10 basketball game against Indiana, Saturday, January 31st, 2026 in Los Angeles, California
John Panganiban-The Sporting Tribune
Advertisement
UCLA guard Trent Perry(0) celebrates a buzzer beater during a Big 10 basketball game against Indiana, Saturday, January 31st, 2026 in Los Angeles, California
The Hoosiers came down with the ball briefly until it was knocked out of bounds. The ball was awarded to the Hoosiers and Cronin challenged. The result remained the same after the replay review, and even through Cronin maintained his belief that the ball went off of a Hoosier first before it went out of bounds, he resigned himself to the result.
Indiana inbounded the ball and Sisley cut in for a game-winning layup. Senior guard Donovan Dent went up to defend against the layup but fouled Sisley in the process, sending the freshman to the line to make the game-winning free throw with less than a second left.
Learning a lesson from the loss
Cronin was especially frustrated with how this play went down, stating that that exact scenario was something UCLA had practiced multiple times over the last few days.
Advertisement
It wasn’t the result that UCLA was looking for, but the fact that they battled back at all is something that the Bruins are taking pride in after the loss.
“We rallied back down late… that builds a confidence as a team. We know we can fight back,” Dent said. “It just gives you confidence going into the next one.”
