Tyler Bilodeau was the leading score for the Bruins last year. He is expected to play a big part of the teams plans this season. But going down with an ankle injury will test the Bruins early. Now without their starting power forward they will need to see how their depth is. It has been a mixed bag of results this year. But Brandon Williams had his best game of the season filling in against Presbyterian.
Per a UCLA spokesperson, Tyler Bilodeau sustained a left knee sprain yesterday in practice. He will not play tonight. His return to the court is to be determined.
— Bruin Report Online (@BruinReport) November 22, 2025
Mick Cronin decided to leave his top two bench guys of Jamar Brown and Trent Perry in their normal roles. Giving the Bruins more size and a closer experiment to Bilodeau being out there. You are not going to be a better team without one of your best players. But if other guys can step up and elevate their games, you can help weather the storm. That’s what the Bruins need to do and players like Eric Dailey Jr. and Skyy Clark have shown their ability to pick up what is needed.
Mick Cronin on Tyler Bilodeau's sprained knee: "It could be two weeks, it’s tough to say. We’ll know more every couple of days. ... We caught a big break. I saw it, I saw it happen and I got sick to my stomach for the kid."
— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) November 22, 2025
Bilodeau’s game has taken another step this year. As his shooting lines have had a blistering start. He has a shooting line of 51.9/41.2/86.7 to start the year in five games. He has shown his ability to space the floor and also play back to the basket. Playing with a tough grit and being able to use his strength to score the ball and wear the defense down.
Tyler Bilodeau’s shot diet vs EWU:
— Those Four Letters (@krisjohnsonlive) November 6, 2025
5-10 2P | 3-6 3P
Balance. pic.twitter.com/UDedqpPFKP
The hope is this is a short-term injury, and he can return soon. UCLA will have a tough matchup with California that they should still be favored in. But after that begins the Big Ten schedule. From there on out, there will not be too many games UCLA can afford to slack off. Bilodeau will play a key role in that mix and his 14.8 points per game will be needed.