B10 Tournament Preview: UCLA vs. Purdue rematch

On Friday night, Purdue and UCLA had two of their best performances of the season and walked away with wins from it.

Purdue dominated Nebraska for forty minutes as it tries to secure a 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament and show that tournament version of Purdue, and the end of the season version of Purdue are different creatures. Purdue took down Nebraska 74-58, showing a concerted, 40 minute defensive effort that bodes well for a team that gave up 97 points at home to end the regular season.

UCLA collected one of its best wins of the season, taking a lead against Michigan State in the second half and then holding on for an 88-84 win over the Spartans.

But the Bruins win came at a cross. One of its stars Tyler Bilodeau went down early and his status remains unclear for today’s game against Purdue.

UCLA won first matchup

UCLA handed Purdue its first loss in the Big 10 when Purdue lost its second game of its west coast trip.

The Bruins won on a last second three-pointer from Tyler Bilodeau on a botched pick and roll cover to end the game.

But it was Donovan Dent and a physical defense that gave UCLA the chance for the upset. Dent had 23 points and 13 assists and had complete control of the game.

UCLA was 9 of 20 from three. Purdue was 7 of 27.

Bruins did a good job throwing bodies at Smith. Smith had one of his few pedestrian games of the season with just 4 assists to go with 4 turnovers.

UCLA turned TKR into a passer with doubles in the post. TKR was a perfect 4 of 4 inside, but had 5 assists and couldn’t get into a rhythm.

Both teams playing three days straight

Usually these games are played with the design in mind that the higher seeds get the rest advantage.

Instead, Purdue and UCLA will both be going into this game on three days straight of games. UCLA has taken on Rutgers and Michigan State on back to back nights while Purdue got Northwestern and Nebraska.

You’ll probably hear about this from Mick Cronin, so I’ll say it here. Purdue did get the earlier of the two games. So in theory, Purdue has a few hours advantage of rest on UCLA. With the earlier start time on Saturday, every little bit of rest probably does help.

Tyler Bilodeau likely out for UCLA

But UCLA’s biggest concern is Tyler Bilodeau. The star stretch four went down early against Michigan State with an apparent knee injury.

Cronin said after the game it would probably take a miracle for Bilodeau would play and with the NCAA Tournament less than a week ago, it might criminal to even risk that.

Without Bilodeau, UCLA will lean on Eric Dailey and Brandon Williams more. Both were great against the Spartans, combining for 23 points on efficient scoring.

But with the absence of Bilodeau, Purdue’s focus will be even more clear – stop Donovan Dent.

It couldn’t in the first matchup and has struggled against lead guards this season.

But will Purdue’s new found defensive focus continue for a third straight day on no rest?

It’s gonna be a good one in Chicago on Saturday afternoon when we find out.