Falling stars finish their run

Bruins miss leading scorer Bilodeau and lose playmaker Dent in loss to Boilermakers

- BY RYAN KARTJE

BRANDON WILLIAMS (5) of UCLA battles Braden Smith (3) for a rebound in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Saturday.

(MICHAEL REAVER Getty Images)

His best shooter had already been ruled out. Then, midway through the first half, his star point guard left for the locker room.

It was the kind of worst-case scenario in the lead-up to March that UCLA coach Mick Cronin had probably only considered in his nightmares. But here was Tyler Bilodeau, UCLA's leading scorer, dressed in an all-black sweatsuit on the bench, and here was Donovan Dent, the Bruins' ascending senior point guard, slumped in his chair a few seats down, a sleeve wrapped around his injured leg.

Both Bilodeau and Dent should be OK by next week, a school spokesperson said, when UCLA is expected to draw a seventh or eighth seed in the NCAA tournament. Bilodeau’s injury was a minor knee sprain suffered in the win over Michigan State on Friday, while Dent suffered a minor calf strain.

In a pinch, Cronin said the pair could have played. Dent even said after that he was "feeling good."

Cronin ultimately opted to hold them out as a precaution, knowing a Big Ten tournament title only meant so much. The loss of both ultimately proved too much for the Bruins to overcome in a 73-66 loss to Purdue.