UCLA had a tough defeat on Saturday afternoon. After working so hard to send the game to overtime after they were trailing late. UCLA dropped their contest to Indiana 98-97, moving them to 15-7 on the season. In a controversial ending where UCLA lost on a free throw in the final second. Just a possession after Eric Dailey Jr. tied the game at 97. Both teams struggled from the field on the day, but ultimately it was the free throw that helped propel Indiana. They made 31 on the day and UCLA made 30.
Indiana wins a double OT classic over UCLA at Pauley Pavilion. A classic college basketball game with a semi controversial finish. Hoosiers kept possession with 1.5 seconds left in double OT off a deflection that looked like it clearly went off Indiana. A foul and FT followed.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) February 1, 2026
UCLA shot 39% from the floor and only 7-22 from 3-point range. They again played very good defense on the day holding Indiana to 42% shooting from the floor. Take away the 98 points scored from the final review. As there were 10 extra minutes played. You will see UCLA has started to turn the corner on that Mick Cronin style defense. UCLA led the day in rebounds and points in the paint. While they were narrowly edged in assists 22 to 19 and points off of turnovers 11 to 10.
This is a tough loss for the Bruins. They did everything that they needed to win the game. They had a ton of momentum going into overtime. As they were down 71-62 with 1:15 to play and scored 14 points to tie it at 76. Which all culminated in a Trent Perry 3-point bucket with two seconds left. With UCLA trying to get a big time win on a day that thy welcomed new football coach Bob Chesney. Pauley Pavilion was absolutely electric after his speech.
UCLA’s new football coach Bob Chesney introduced to crowd, said he’s been on campus for a month and there’s nothing average about school, “understand we’re about to win a Big Ten championship” pic.twitter.com/rMR0nrTHkY
— Michael Niziolek (@michaelniziolek) January 31, 2026
At 15-7 on the season, UCLA will now have a home matchup with Rutgers to try and bounce back. Donovan Dent with 24 points and 11 assists and Tyler Bilodeau with 18 points and 11 rebounds both had double doubles. While Trent Perry led the team in scoring with 25 on the day. This was a game that UCLA did everything right to win. Just a puzzling finish and a tough way to end the winning streak.