How UCLA Was Able to Bounce Back From Indiana Loss

After a tough, mentally draining double overtime loss to Indiana last week, the UCLA Bruins were able to bounce back with an emphatic blowout win over Rutgers.

The Bruins were tested to the best of their abilities against Indiana, being sent to double-overtime after overcoming a large deficit in regulation, where they would eventually lose 98-97.

Clutch shots from Trent Perry, and big performances from Donovan Dent and Tyler Bilodeau were all wasted after the Bruins ended up dropping a home game to the Hoosiers. At a time where it appeared they were turning a corner, heartbreak was all the Bruins could think about.

However, Mick Cronin’s squad responded well to the adversity, cruising to an emphatic 98-66 win over Rutgers. The win helped UCLA improve to 16-7 overall, and 8-4 in Big Ten play.

The hero against Rutgers was none other than Xavier Booker, who enjoyed the game of his life in the win. Booker scored a career-high 24 points on 10-11 shooting, and 4-4 shooting from three-point range.

Feb 3, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins forward Xavier Booker (1) shoots a three-point basket over Rutgers Scarlet Knights center Emmanuel Ogbole (21) in the second half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Booker’s thoughts

Speaking on the Bruin Insider Show, Booker talked about how the Bruins were able to bounce back after that deflating loss to Indiana.

“We just had to tighten up a few things on defense,” Booker said. “Just making sure we stay in front of guys, and just rotating to the right spots on defense. That was definitely something we needed to tighten up.”

The Bruins have been able to turn around their season in recent weeks thanks to their increased intensity on the defensive end. Additionally, they’ve gotten much better performances out of key transfer players such as Dent, who has started to figure it out of late after a brutal start to the season as UCLA’s most prized pickup in the portal.

Feb 3, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Donovan Dent (2) is defended by Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Lino Mark (2) and forward Chris Nwuli (11) as he drives to basket in the first half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

They’ve also been to withstand Skyy Clark’s absence due to injury. Perry in particular has stepped up nicely filling Clark’s shoes as he continues to grow into a go-to scorer for the Bruins.

They’ll look to carry this momentum following their blowout win over Rutgers into the rest of the regular season. UCLA has worked its way back into the NCAA Tournament picture after slipping out of it, so they’ll need to keep stacking up wins heading into Selection Sunday next month. Despite a rocky season, the Bruins have enough talent on the roster that makes them capable of going on a deep run in the tournament if they get in.

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