Donovan Dent left Saturday’s game against Purdue with a calf injury. It is not seen has something that will be long-term. With his availability for the NCAA tournament being good to go. But it still is something to watch and could hamper him. Dent has been playing his best basketball of the season recently. It is a shame to see that he had to leave the Purdue game. Considering UCLA played so well to even hang in that game without him and Tyler Bilodeau.
Donovan Dent hurt and sitting on the UCLA bench. Doesn’t look like he’s coming back. Damn shame kid has been balling. Bruins already without Bilodeau and still hanging with Purdue.
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) March 14, 2026
UCLA has been playing a different level of basketball since the viral moment of Mick Cronin getting into it with a reporter. With him asking why he was having his voice raised at? The Bruins made it all the way to the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament as the No. 6 seed. With them possibly making it to the championship game if they were fully healthy. But now we march on towards the NCAA tournament.
The Bruins will need a healthy Dent to be able to make some noise. This team is very good when they’re playing consistent basketball and are healthy. Bilodeau and Dent are the team's top two scorers and are leaders on this team. If both of them are healthy and able to give their full effort. This could be a team that can make a run from a No. 7 or No. 8 seed. They will need to pull off some upsets, but they have shown the season that they’re capable of doing that. With four wins over top 10 opponents this season.
Update on Tyler Bilodeau: He's not playing today but tests revealed nothing serious structurally, I've been told.
— Ben Bolch (@calpostbbolch) March 14, 2026
A calf injury is a tough one to overcome. Especially for a player like Dent who relies a lot on explosiveness downhill. He will have five days to rest up and get as healthy as possible. We know that he won’t be 100%, but he will be able to push through and give them good minutes with rest. Bilodeau being in the same boat. It would help a ton if UCLA was able to get a Friday game instead of a Thursday game. 24 extra hours to rest would be very integral for this team.