CHICAGO - The three D's led UCLA to a 72-59 victory over Rutgers in the third round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday: Donovan Dent and defense.
Starting with the star senior guard, Dent finished the game with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists to become the first player in Big Ten tournament history to record a triple-double and he was just the fifth Bruin in UCLA's storied history to record a triple-double, joining a list with storied names like Bill Walton.
New rebounding heights
Dent's 10 rebounds were a new career-high and his relentless effort at grabbing boards was spurred on by some motivation from head coach Mick Cronin at halftime, who pushed Dent and his fellow guards to be more aggressive with offensive rebounds.
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Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Lino Mark (2) looks to pass the ball against UCLA Bruins guard Donovan Dent (2) during the second half at United Center.
"Coach was telling us we needed more second chances, because we were just getting one shot... So, we just flipped our mindset in the second half crashing on offensive rebounds," Dent said (via UCLA Athletics).
Dent has reached another level in the past few weeks for UCLA and his abilities as a playmaker have shined brightest. He has a remarkable 65 assists with just four turnovers in his last six games, showcasing remarkable control of the ball while displaying the kind of court vision that the Bruins have sorely needed from him.
When he joined the Bruins after a stellar career at New Mexico, Cronin made it clear to Dent that some changes were going to be made to his game. In his own postgame presser, Cronin didn't mince words when saying he didn't believe Dent took care of the ball very well in his time with the Lobos and Cronin wasn't going to budge in his efforts to push Dent to be a cleaner playmaker.
"I think once he realized there was a fight he wasn't going to win, which I told him when I recruited him. There's only one person in charge and it's not a democracy and you're going to take care of the ball. You're talented enough," Cronin said. "Changing habits, I give him all the credit. He signed on for it. I don't think he knew what that was going to entail, but he's gotten so much better along the way."
The senior guard had a slow start this season while adapting to the Bruins' play style, but just in time at the end of the season he's become one of the brightest stars not only in the program, but in the entire college basketball world.
Newfound defensive prowess
UCLA's defense is clicking in all the ways that Cronin has been asking them to be all season, which was crucial in Thursday's game as the shots were just not falling for most of the game.
The Bruins shot just 38.3% from the field and 30.4% from three, one of the lowest field goal percentages in a win all season. Their ball movement, powered primarily by Dent, was setting up open looks left and right, but those looks simply didn't translate into scores.
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UCLA Bruins guard Brandon Williams (5) defends against Rutgers Scarlet Knights forward Dylan Grant (9) during the first half at United Center.
That's why UCLA's defensive effort was so valuable. For the third-straight game, UCLA has held their opponents to under 70 points and even though Rutgers made it interesting a number of times with a handful of comeback runs, it simply wasn't enough to fully close the gap.
"When we're all playing for each other, playing hard, Coach Cronin style defense, that's when we're successful. So, we've got to keep that up," senior forward Tyler Bilodeau, who led the game with 21 points, said.