UCLA basketball can’t withstand injuries during Big Ten Tournament loss to Purdue

CHICAGO — Already missing its leading scorer, things deteriorated significantly for UCLA midway through the first half Saturday.

Point guard Donovan Dent, whose late-season revival had sparked his team’s turnaround, limped toward the locker room, followed by the team doctor.

What happened next was entirely unexpected.

Putting up a considerable fight with a hodgepodge of reserves, UCLA found itself tied with Purdue with less than four minutes left in its Big Ten Tournament semifinal.

Ultimately, the Bruins did not have enough manpower — let alone star power — to keep pace.

The sixth-seeded Bruins’ 73-66 loss to the seventh-seeded Boilermakers at the United Center allowed them to shift into recovery mode.

The hope is that UCLA (23-11) can be back to full strength for its NCAA Tournament opener next week.

“That’s the way it’s looking, for sure,” guard Skyy Clark said afterward. “Coach [Mick Cronin] didn’t want to risk anything” by putting Dent back in the game.

Dent tweaked his right calf and did not return after playing only 10 minutes, but the injury is not believed to be serious. He said his calf “just like locked” when he accelerated before he took a step-back jumper over Trey Kaufman-Renn, necessitating a trip to the locker room shortly thereafter.

Dent returned to the team bench in the final minute before halftime with a white sleeve over his right leg. He suggested that he would be back for the Bruins’ next game.

“We’ve got some good time here off now,” Dent said, “we’ll get some rehab, get some treatment, it will be good.”

There was also an encouraging status update on forward Tyler Bilodeau, who watched the game in a black sweatsuit. The star forward suffered only a mild right knee sprain against Michigan State on Friday, with no structural damage.

What it means

Playing its best basketball of the season, UCLA was hoping to continue its surge into March.

Winning a game of this magnitude — especially with Bilodeau and Dent sidelined — would have portended very promising things for the rest of the month.

Now the Bruins must hope to quickly recalibrate if they can get their top two players back.

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Turning point

The Bruins pulled into a 62-62 tie after Trent Perry (15 points, nine assists) found a cutting Brandon Williams for a dunk with less than four minutes to play.

But Purdue’s Oscar Cluff countered with a tip-in, and a Perry turnover led to a breakaway layup by Boilermakers guard C.J. Cox. Cluff added another putback, and the Boilermakers were back up by six points with two minutes left.

MVP

It was a good thing the Bruins were accompanied by Dr. David McAllister, their head team physician and chief of sports medicine at UCLA.

The injuries to Bilodeau and Dent kept McAllister busy, and his presence gave the players immediate insight into the nature and severity of what they were dealing with.

Up next

UCLA will learn its NCAA Tournament fate on Sunday afternoon. The Bruins are widely expected to be a No. 7 or a No. 8 seed, according to most bracket projections.