UCLA's Clark's Return to Champaign Ends in Defeat

UCLA junior guard Skyy Clark knew the Bruins' latest opponent quite well, as the veteran had spent his freshman season at Illinois.

For the first time since 2023, Clark was back out on the floor of the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois, this time donning the blue and gold.

Unfortunately for him, it was a bitter-sweet return, as Clark's Bruins were bested by the Fighting Illini, despite a major second-half push.

Clark finished the contest with 9 points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal. He made a clutch 3-pointer two cut it to 2 in the final half-minute, giving UCLA life after it had faced a 16-point deficit with 4:51 remaining.

Ultimately, it wasn't enough, as the Bruins came up just short in an 83-78 loss.

UCLA has struggled in Big Ten road games this season, and that seemed to be the case again as they tried to block out a hostile Illinois crowd. But the Bruins performed admirably down the stretch, nearly pulling off what would have been an epic comeback.

“I’ve played here, so I know how the fans get," Clark said after the game. "I told [the team] that it was going to get loud, they were going to be heckling, they were going to be saying some crazy things, but we had to stick together. I was tuning the crowd out. I already knew what to expect going into the game, so I just tuned out, focused on trying to get the win.”

After the game, Clark had a brief moment with his former coach, Illinois coach Brad Underwood, in the handshake line.

“It’s all love with the coaching staff, and it’s all love with the players," Clark said. "They know that, I know that. I talked to them before the game, and we talked after.”

UCLA's loss on Tuesday ended its seven-game win streak. Clark, of course, knew the threat the Illini would pose to the streak.

“It’s hard, we’re not invincible," he said. This is the Big Ten, Illinois is one of the toughest places to play in the whole country. We needed to really come in and bring our stuff to get a win here.”

Clark averaged 12 minutes per game at Illinois, averaging 7.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 13 games before leaving the team that January due to personal reasons.

He then transferred to Louisville before transferring to UCLA last offseason.

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