Inside Gonzaga’s Secret Weapon That Crushed UCLA’s Defense and Shattered Their Winning Streak

You know, when a team like UCLA keeps trying the same old fixes and nothing quite sticks, it’s downright frustrating to watch. Shifting Tyler Bilodeau back to center, toggling between zone and man-to-man — the Bruins went all in to patch up that glaring hole protecting the rim. But, man, it just didn’t last. They got hammered inside again, handing No. 8 Gonzaga an 82-72 victory in what should’ve been a statement game for UCLA’s NCAA tournament hopes. The Bulldogs’ big men, Graham Ike and Braden Huff, were relentless near the basket, and UCLA’s late-game flubs—missed layups, botched passes—only made matters worse. Despite some sparks from Bilodeau’s 24 points, it wasn’t nearly enough to turn the tide. If you’re watching Bruins basketball, it’s clear that shoring up the paint defense is urgent—and there’s no quick fix in sight. LEARN MORE

They tried going back to the zone defense. They tried moving Tyler Bilodeau back to center.

Nothing the UCLA Bruins did to combat their lack of rim protection worked for more than a couple of possessions at a time.

And so a coach known for defense had to watch his team get bludgeoned inside once again while giving up an unusually frightening number of easy baskets.

There doesn’t appear to be any quick defensive fix in sight for No. 25 UCLA after it suffered an 82-72 setback against No. 8 Gonzaga on Saturday night at Climate Pledge Arena in the West Coast Hoops Showdown, the Bruins faltering late in their final bid to secure a signature nonconference triumph.

The Bruins were overmatched inside, the Bulldogs frontcourt tandem of Graham Ike (25 points) and Braden Huff (21 points) finding success at the rim far too often. It also didn’t help that UCLA’s late-game execution was once again pitiful, point guard Donovan Dent doing too little once he reached the rim thanks to a flurry of missed layups and bad passes.

UCLA (7-3) lost despite shooting 49% in part because the Bulldogs (10-1) shot 50%, took 13 more free throws and grabbed seven more rebounds. Bilodeau’s 24 points were nothing more than a footnote.

Gonzaga guard Jalen Warley, right, drives as UCLA forward Xavier Booker defends him during the first half Saturday. (Jason Redmond / Associated Press)

Early in the second half, there had been one stretch that seemed to portend a different ending.

A faint “U-C-L-A!” chant broke out among the heavily pro-Gonzaga crowd after the Bruins went on a 9-0 run sparked by defense.

A Dent steal led to a Brandon Williams layup in transition, an Eric Dailey Jr. steal allowed him to throw down a reverse dunk on the fast break and then a Bilodeau block resulted in a Dent layup in transition.

The Bruins were suddenly up by a point and their defensive woes from earlier in the game were momentarily forgotten.

But soon Bilodeau picked up his third foul and departed, leading to a Gonzaga push in which the Bulldogs outscored the Bruins 10-4 to retake control.

This was a game that UCLA needed to win as an NCAA tournament resume builder given a previous lack of meaningful victories and a relatively bad loss to California. The Bruins’ remaining nonconference games — against Arizona State, Cal Poly and UC Riverside — can do little to boost their prospects, meaning they will need an elite showing in Big Ten play to earn a good seeding come March.

UCLA went back to an old look in the last few possessions before halftime, putting Bilodeau at center. There seemed like little choice given starting center Xavier Booker’s inability to protect the rim and backup Steven Jamerson’s three fouls that sent him back to the bench.

Bilodeau compounded matters by committing a bad foul near midcourt with only four seconds left before halftime, sending Gonzaga’s Mario Saint-Supery to the free-throw line for the points that gave the Bulldogs a 45-40 lead at the game’s midpoint.

Defensive struggles were the big storyline for the Bruins given they trailed despite shooting 57.1% and making five of eight three-pointers (62.5%). Gonzaga’s lead came as a result of shooting 58.1% and committing just three turnovers.

Not surprisingly given how little resistance UCLA put up around the rim, Bulldogs forwards Ike and Huff combined for 29 points while making 12 of 14 shots in the first half. Ike had the crowd roaring when he drove for a ferocious one-handed dunk over Booker in which he was fouled.

Bilodeau had 16 points by the game’s midpoint but did not receive nearly enough support.

It was a theme that would continue for the rest of the game.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.