December 28, 2024; Inglewood, California, United States; UCLA Bruins forward Tyler Bilodeau (34) and guard Kobe Johnson (0) reach for a rebound past Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Ben Gregg (33) during the second half at Intuit Dome. Mandatory credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Photographs
Both No. 22 UCLA and host Rutgers look to snap out of their slumps as the visiting Bruins continue their Huge Ten Conference swing on the East Coast on Monday in Piscataway, New Jersey.
The host Scarlet Knights (8-8, 1-4 Huge Ten) are closing out a three-game homestand looking to salvage something from a rough stretch after home losses to Wisconsin last Monday and Purdue on Thursday.
Rutgers’ two home losses followed an 84-74 setback at Indiana on Jan. 2. The Scarlet Knights’ three-game slide coincided with freshman standout Dylan Harper dealing with an illness.
Harper, who averages a team-leading 20.1 points per game, missed the trip to Indiana, was held scoreless in 15 minutes against Wisconsin and shot just 2 of 9 from the field for six points against Purdue.
With Harper struggling, Rutgers’ production against Wisconsin (63 points) and Purdue (50) marked its two lowest-scoring outings of 2024-25.
“We’ve shown signs of that this year, of being tough and trying hard,” Scarlet Knights coach Steve Pikiell said, citing the team getting within four points against Purdue and three against Wisconsin.
“So we’re not done. We don’t do the things we have to do. We don’t make the big plays. We have to solve that part, definitely.”
While Rutgers enters Monday’s league game on an offensive lull, UCLA (11-5, 2-3) looks to regroup after its worst defensive performances of the season.
The Bruins led the nation in opponent points scored per game at one point early in the campaign, and held off top-scoring Gonzaga in a 65-62 victory on Dec. 28.
That game was UCLA’s last victory. Since then, the Bruins lost conference games at Nebraska on January 5, 66-58; against Michigan on Tuesday, 94-75; and at Maryland in the first leg of their East Coast swing on Friday, 79-61.
Crushing losses to Michigan and Maryland marked the two most porous defensive performances of UCLA’s season. The Bruins’ season defensive output is now 62.6 points per game, No. 17 nationally through Saturday’s games.
The two losses and UCLA’s trip to the East Coast coincide with ongoing wildfires ravaging Los Angeles and surrounding communities, including the Palisades Fire, which is located very close to campus.
“My house is about to be evacuated,” Bruins coach Mick Cronin said while putting the losing streak into perspective. “It is an incredibly horrible situation. We lost the other night (Tuesday). I went home and packed, and there are still bags by my front door with valuables and things like that. That’s my only concern.
“What is our record? We are in a difficult stretch of games and we have to put in the effort. I knew it would be difficult the first year in the Huge Ten. It is what it is”.
UCLA is looking for more consistent offensive production to complement leading scorer Tyler Bilodeau, whose production is up to 14.9 points per game after his 18-point effort at Maryland.
While they are first in the Huge Ten in points allowed, the Bruins rank 15th with 75.0 points scored per game, ahead of only Northwestern, Washington and Minnesota.
–Media at field level
