WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The UCLA men’s basketball team had hoped to secure a top-four seed and a coveted double bye for the Big Ten Tournament, but that goal likely vanished Friday night.
Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 29 points and Braden Smith added 23 to help No. 20 Purdue beat UCLA, 76-66, a defeat that essentially ends the Bruins’ chances for a top-four finish in the regular-season standings.
The Bruins (20-9 overall, 11-7 Big Ten) came into the night in a three-way tie with Purdue and Maryland for fourth place in the league. UCLA fell a game behind the Boilermakers and is a half-game behind Maryland, with both Purdue and the Terps now owning the head-to-head wins over the Bruins, who have two games left next week.
Tyler Bilodeau had 15 points and seven rebounds and Sebastian Mack scored 10 points off the bench for the Bruins, who could not keep up with a Purdue team that shot a torrid 11 for 22 from 3-point range and used a 12-0 run to pull away in a game that had been tight throughout.
Kaufman-Renn shot 11 for 15 from the field and 7 for 10 from the free-throw line as the Boilermakers (20-9, 12-6) snapped a four-game losing streak. Fletcher Loyer scored 11 points.
Purdue shot 52% from the field while UCLA hit 48% in a game that went back and forth until the final six minutes.
Trailing 56-55, Kaufman-Renn scored six consecutive points to put Purdue ahead 61-56 with 5:35 left. Camden Heide and Loyer then made 3-pointers to cap a 12-0 run that had the home crowd erupting and UCLA calling a timeout with 3:38 left.
UCLA missed six of seven shots before Aday Mara hit a turnaround jumper to make it 67-58 and end the Bruins’ scoring drought, but Smith helped Purdue to effectively seal it with two 3-pointers – the first with 2:54 left and the second about a minute later, with plenty of time to set up before his swish elicited another eruption from the home fans. UCLA went the final 2:33 without a field goal.
Smith finished 6 for 10 from behind the arc, had eight assists to break the program’s career assists mark and added four steals. Kaufman-Renn added three steals and a blocked shot.
The Bruins finished with a 31-23 rebounding advantage and a 30-8 margin in bench scoring, but they shot just 5 for 18 from long range and had trouble slowing Purdue’s top scorers.
Purdue shot 60% in the first half to take a 37-35 lead at halftime. UCLA made 46% from the field but held a 20-7 edge in rebounds, including 10-1 on the offensive boards.
Purdue built a 29-19 lead, only to see it nearly erased by an 8-0 surge from UCLA. Purdue’s Loyer hit a 3-pointer to give Purdue a 32-27 lead, but the Bruins outscored Purdue 8-5 to end the half.
UP NEXT
UCLA plays at Northwestern on Monday at 6 p.m. PT.