March 12, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Trent Perry (0) shoots against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the second half at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Image Tyler Bilodeau scored 21 points and Donovan Dent recorded the first triple-double in Big Ten tournament history to lead sixth-seeded UCLA to a 72-59 win over 14th-seeded Rutgers in a third-round game Thursday in Chicago.
Dent finished the game with 12 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, becoming the fifth player in Bruins history to record a triple-double. Trent Perry also scored 12 points and Eric Daley Jr. added 10 for UCLA (22-10), which won for the fifth time in six games.
The Bruins will face No. 3 seed and No. 8 Michigan State in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Reno Mark scored 17 points as the only double-digit scorer for Rutgers (14-19), whose two-game winning streak was halted.
Legends Bill Walton (1973), Jelani McCoy (1995), Toby Bailey (1995) and Kyle Anderson (2013) are other Bruins who have recorded triple-doubles.
UCLA made 38.3% of its field goal attempts, with 7 of 23 (30.4%) being 3-pointers. The Bruins held a 40-30 rebounding advantage.
The Scarlet Knights connected on 37.9% of their shots and were 6 of 19 (31.6%) from behind the arc.
UCLA took a three-point lead early in the second half before using a 14-2 spurt to open a 46-31 lead on Dent’s basket with 15:18 remaining.
Xavier Booker’s tremendous left-handed dunk just before midway through the second half gave the Bruins a 51-38 lead.
The Scarlet Knights moved within single digits when Dylan Grant drained a trey to cut UCLA’s lead to 57-48 with 5:51 remaining.
Moments later, Bilodeau hit four free throws in 15 seconds to give the Bruins a 63-50 lead with 4:24 left.
Mark made back-to-back baskets for Rutgers before attempting a 3-pointer. The ball got to Dent for his 10th board to complete the triple-double.
Dent, on the other hand, fed Bilodeau for a trey to put UCLA on the board to make it 66-54 with 2:33 remaining.
Both teams shot 31% from the field in the first half, but the Bruins took a 30-24 lead thanks to 8-of-9 free throw shooting.
UCLA trailed by one point before going on a 12-2 run to take a 23-14 lead on Bilodeau’s two free throws. Rutgers was within three points late in the first half before the Bruins took a six-point lead at the break.
–Field level media
