February 21, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA guard Donovan Dent (2) was fouled by Illinois guard Keaton Wagler (23) while driving toward the goal in the first half at Foley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Image After coming off a pair of wins to get its NCAA Tournament hopes back on track, UCLA has no time for complacency as it visits Minnesota on Saturday in Minneapolis.
The Bruins suffered losses at Michigan State and Michigan State earlier this month, and to make matters worse, UCLA coach Mick Cronin had to apologize for his on-court antics when the team returned home. But the Bruins (19-9, 11-6 Big Ten) regrouped.
After a 95-94 overtime win over No. 10 Illinois last Saturday, UCLA crushed rival Southern California 81-62 on Tuesday. Bruins point guard Donovan Dent not only delivered the game-winning layup at the buzzer against the Illini, but also scored a season-high 30 points against the Trojans.
According to Opta STATS, Dent combined for 44 points, 23 assists and no turnovers in two games, making him the only Division I player in the last 30 seasons to have 40 points, 20 assists and no turnovers in consecutive games.
Despite poor outside shooting this season, Dent made a season-high five 3-pointers against USC, but only shot 24.1% from 3-point range.
“I mean, this is the best time to get hot,” Dent said. “I struggled at the beginning of the season, so I’m not feeling great right now. I feel like (it’s) going to be a big deal for our team and for myself. If I hit a few shots early, it’s just going to affect everything.”
Minnesota (13-15, 6-11) is a handful at home this season, going 11-4. The Golden Gophers have earned home wins over three ranked teams: Indiana, Iowa and Michigan State.
Short-handed Minnesota fell 77-67 at No. 3 Michigan on Tuesday, with Cade Tyson scoring a game-high 20 points for his 12th game of at least 20. This loss was even tighter than UCLA’s 86-56 loss at Michigan on Feb. 14.
“I’m really proud of our team,” Gophers coach Nico Medved said. “Michigan is as good analytically as any team in college basketball in the last 15 years. (We) showed a ton of heart. Every punch we punched, we punched. We did a lot of good things. We tailed it and didn’t give up.”
Minnesota’s second-leading scorer, Jaylen Crocker-Johnson (foot), missed his fourth straight game. In November, the Gophers lost point guard Chansey Willis and center Robert Vaihola for the remainder of the season.
–Field level media
