UCLA pays its first visit to State College, Pa., on Wednesday when the Bruins visit a Penn State team seeking its first win in Big Ten play.
The Nittany Lions (9-7, 0-5 Big Ten) are riding a three-game losing skid that might also rank as their best three games of the year. Yes, they lost to No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Purdue and No. 13 Illinois — but by a combined 18 points.
Penn State followed its dramatic near-miss against then-No. 2 Michigan on Jan. 6 with a 93-85 loss Saturday at Purdue. The Nittany Lions were within a point of the Boilermakers at halftime before falling short.
“With these guys, I do have a lot of hope because they’re doing things the right way, they’re acting the right way, they’re working the right way,” Penn State coach Mike Rhoades said Monday. “You just want to see results.”
UCLA (11-5, 3-2) also seeks new results from its visit to Penn State — specifically its second win away from Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins improved to 10-0 on their home floor with Saturday’s 67-55 win over Maryland. They had to weather a 48-29 rebounding disparity as forward Tyler Bilodeau was limited to 21 minutes due to foul trouble.
UCLA also has been dealing with the absence of senior guard Skyy Clark, who sustained a hamstring injury in the Jan. 3 loss at Iowa. Clark was sidelined in the subsequent setback at Wisconsin, which dropped the Bruins to 1-5 away from home, as well as the Maryland win.
The status of Clark, who averages 13.5 points per game, is unclear for Wednesday.
In Clark’s absence, Trent Perry has moved into a more prominent role on both ends of the floor. The sophomore guard pushed his average to 10.3 points per game with his team-high 16 points against Maryland. And, according to Bruins coach Mick Cronin, Perry made eight deflections in the team’s stingiest defensive performance since Nov. 21.
“I’ve just been confident throughout this entire year,” Perry said. “(Forward) Eric (Dailey Jr.), who is like my big brother, told me to keep pushing and keep my mindset correct.”
Penn State’s backcourt also faces a significant injury. Freshman point guard Kayden Mingo (14.9 ppg, 4.5 apg) missed the Michigan and Purdue gamesdue to a broken nose. Rhoades told reporters at Purdue that the Nittany Lions “will get (Mingo) back when he’s ready.”
In the meantime, freshman guard Melih Tunca (10.4 ppg) joins Freddie Dilione V (15.0 ppg) to form Penn State’s top scoring combination.
–Field Level Media
