Travis Perry Explains UCLA’s Late-Season Turnaround

The UCLA Bruins are an improved team heading into the Big Ten Tournament, as they have finally found their identity at the right time.

The Bruins are winners of four of their last five games at the end of the regular season, and received votes in the AP Poll for the first time since before the start of conference play. Their recent win over #9 Nebraska was their third win over a top-10 team this season, joining their victories over Illinois and Purdue.

Mar 7, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Donovan Dent (2) shoots the ball against Southern California Trojans guard Ryan Cornish (9) first half at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Bruins haven’t found much consistency this season, but they’ve gotten it lately. Most notably, New Mexico transfer Donovan Dent has finally found his stride, dishing out 53 assists to just two turnovers over his last five games, including two 15-assist outings. It took him a while, but Dent seems to have turned his season around at the right time.

UCLA Is Now Fully Healthy

Feb 17, 2026; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Skyy Clark (55) drives past Michigan State Spartans center Carson Cooper (15) during the first half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images | Dale Young-Imagn Images

UCLA struggled while Skyy Clark was out, suffering several bad losses and struggling to find an identity on either side of the floor with one of their top scorers and perimeter defenders out. However, since his return, the Bruins are 4-3, including their wins over Illinois and Nebraska, proving that they can hang with some of the top teams in the country when fully healthy.

Guard Trent Perry, who did a solid job of filling in while Perry was out, talked about the team finding its stride at a very important time in the season.

Perry’s Thoughts

“I feel like now we’re just coming together at a really good time,” Perry said. “We’re just meshing together as well. Donnie, [Tyler Bilodeau], everybody else is making plays, and everybody’s getting very well connected. We’re talking a lot more on defense, and offense. We’re spreading it out a little bit more, it’s been great.”

“Just our willingness to defend,” he added when asked what has contributed most to the turnaround. “We just don’t want each other to lose, especially for the seniors at the end of the day. I see that now. I just think we’re just going to keep moving that forward. I think it’s been great so far.”

Mar 7, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Trent Perry (0) shoots the ball against Southern California Trojans guard Jerry Easter II (8) in the first half at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Bruins hold a 21-10 record overall and a 13-7 record in the Big Ten, good for the sixth seed in the conference tournament. It’s been a strange, up-and-down season for UCLA, but they’ve proven they can beat top talent, so they can’t be counted out as a potentially dangerous team in the postseason.