Bruins' Dailey Sounds Off on Rivalry Battle, Honoring Seniors

UCLA Bruins sophomore forward Eric Dailey Jr. is geared up for his second meeting with bitter rival, USC, Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion. He spoke on the seniors that will be honored and finishing the season on high note with sweep of the Trojans.

Feb 23, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes forward Devin Royal (21) and UCLA Bruins guard Eric Dailey Jr. (3) jockey for position during the second half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins (21-9, 12-7) are preparing for their final regular season game of the year and it just so happens to be a home matchup with in-state, bitter rival, USC Trojans (15-15, 7-12). The Bruins will seek the two-game, season series sweep and move into the Big Ten Tournament on a high note.

Sophomore forward Eric Dailey Jr. spoke to the media prior to practice on Thursday, looking forward to the anticipated rivalry game. The Bruins took down USC on the road a few week ago, 82-76. There is a lot on the line for this Trojans team as they need a win to avoid missing the Big Ten Tournament.

"We'll just take it as another game honestly," Dailey said. "As our last game of the season, we just want to finish strong as a team. We've been having ups and downs this season and we just want to end on a great note going into the tournament. So that's that's the goal this weekend."

Dailey is only a sophomore, but there will be a few seniors to be honored on Saturday night. He spoke on how senior guards Kobe Johnson and Lazar Stefanovic have been integral pieces to this team that have filled valuable rolled and helped the Bruins to their bounce back season this year.

"We definitely got to show out for our seniors, 'Laz' [Lazar Stefanovic] and Kobe [Johnson]," Dailey said. "We definitely got to send them off the right way. They had great college careers and sadly it's time for them to move on. They've been great teammates, great leaders for us, and we just got to give them the praise back with a win."

As a transfer from Oklahoma State this past offseason, Dailey has built an extremely strong relationship with both seniors in just one year. That directly reflects the type of bond and chemistry this group has and their ability to mesh together with so many new pieces added this year.

Dailey is averaging 11.6 points on 51.5% shooting with 4.2 rebounds per game. He led the Bruins wth 16 points, six rebounds, and two steals in their first meeting with USC this year and will seek to have a similar performance to complete the sweep.

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