Checking In On UCLA's Favorite Star

The Bruins suffered a heart-breaking loss to the Indiana Hoosiers in double overtime, and Tyler Bilodeau was one of the players that was affected the most.

He had fouled out in the final minutes of the thriller and had to watch as his team fought to no avail, which could be crushing for any player in any league.

Tyler Bilodeau, UCLA — Jan 31, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins forward Tyler Bilodeau (34) is fouled by Indiana Hoosiers forward Tucker DeVries (12) in the second half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Along with many of his teammates, he needed to prove that he was still in good shape and could play well after the thriller, even if just for the disappointed fans.

So how did Bilodeau play after the tough loss to the Hoosiers, and could the loss somehow have been good for him and his teammates?

How Bilodeau Played After The Tough Loss

When he could have easily gone on a bad streak of games or gotten into a bad mindset, Bilodeau was able to keep on par with his season averages and do what he needed to do for his team to win.

He scored slightly above normal in points, having 19 compared to his normal 18, had about one extra rebound, and the same amount of assists as usual with one on the game.

His shooting also became better compared to the Indiana loss, in which he shot 17% better against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights beyond the arc and 13% better overall to lead the team to a victory.

The numbers surrounding Bilodeau were all generally the same as normal and on some cases were a bit better, which begs the question, could the loss to Indiana be good for Bilodeau's growth at UCLA?

Could Bilodeau Benefit From The Tough Loss?

Since he is the backbone for the Bruins, Bilodeau was given a lot of the responsibilty of the game against Indiana. and when the team lost it would be hard to move on from.

However, the same way that Eric Dailey Jr. has been taking it, Bilodeau likely will be using it as motivation for the rest of the season to never lose a close game like that again.

If he was not planning on doing that he would have let his numbers slip against the Scarlet Knights and left a bunch of energy on the court.

But he did not do that in the slightest, he hit his season averages and even got past them in some small ways, which may not necessarily be improvement but it does prove one thing: Bilodeau can grow from the Hoosiers loss.

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