UCLA Bruins Insider Podcast: Recapping Bruins' Loss to Wisconsin

Our latest episode of the UCLA Bruins Insider Podcast recaps the Bruins' brutal loss to the Wisconsin Badgers in their first-ever Big Ten Tournament game. An offensive explosion from the Badgers led to a 17-point loss for UCLA.

Mar 14, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Sebastian Mack (12) shoots the ball while Wisconsin Badgers guard Max Klesmit (11) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins (22-10, 13-7) could not keep pace offensively as they fell to the Wisconsin Badgers (25-8, 13-7) on Friday afternoon by a final score of 86-70. 19 made 3-pointers for the Badgers was the significant difference and kept the Bruins out of reach of a comeback.

In this episode of the UCLA Bruins Insider Podcast, UCLA Bruins On SI beat writer Tom Cavanaugh breaks down the Bruins' loss to the No. 5 seed Badgers in the Quarterfinal round of the Big Ten tournament.

You can watch the episode below:

Wisconsin made a program-tying record of 19 3-pointers in the win, with senior guard John Tonje going a perfect 6-6 from downtown. He finished with a game-high 26 points, being virtually unguardable for a majority of the game.

UCLA has just two scorers in double figures, with sophomore guard Sebastian Mack leading the way with 18 points. Senior guard Kobe Johnson helped out with 14 points and five rebounds, but the remaining Bruins simply did not score enough to keep pace with the high-powered Badger offense.

The Bruins' top two scoring stars were extremely silent as the Badger defense completely shut them down. Junior forward Tyler Bilodeau netted just 2 points on 1-7 shooting, while sophomore guard Eric Dailey Jr. was scoreless on 0-6 from the field. It simply was not the Bruins' day.

In all fairness, the Bruins did almost everything right. They forced 11 turnovers while coughing it up just five times. They pulled down 40 rebounds, 20 of which came on the offensive glass. The Achilles heel of the game was their ability to find the bottom of the net.

Due to the Bruins being a bottom-five offensive team in the Big Ten, it was hard for them to keep pace against the fourth-best offense in the conference. Coming into the game, the Bruins required strong defensive play and a fair share of missed shots from the Badgers and neither came to fruition.

The Bruins had a short trip to Indianapolis as they will now head back to Westwood, awaiting their matchup and seeding in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. The good thing for UCLA is the fact that they will have several extra days of rest before they get set for another run in The Big Dance.

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