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Social Media Reacts To Scrappy MSU Rematch

The Bruins faced MSU again, and the game was a scrappy back-and-forth learning opportunity for UCLA.
Nathan Berry|
UCLA guard Donovan Dent (2) celebrates a play against Michigan State during the second half of Big Ten tournament quarterfinal at United Center in Chicago on Friday, March 13, 2026.
UCLA guard Donovan Dent (2) celebrates a play against Michigan State during the second half of Big Ten tournament quarterfinal at United Center in Chicago on Friday, March 13, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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UCLA Bruins

The Bruins were able to make it out of their first game in the Big Ten tournament with a solid win against Rutgers, advancing to play the #3 seeded Michigan State Spartans.

The first game was a learning experience of sorts, and the second game ended up being another learning experience in it's own right; both with injuries and excessive fouling.

Social media was along for the wild match, and they had many things to say about the highs and lows of the Bruins by the end of the game.

An Up And Down Learning Game For UCLA: The First Half

In UCLA's last match against the Spartans they got blown out and were down by 20 points going into halftime, so expectations were high at the start of the game but with an heir of caution.

However, the Bruins came out on fire and they were able to pull ahead fairly quickly, which not only caught MSU off guard but it caught social media off-kilter as well.

Things seemed to be going to well for the Bruins, and once they caught a double digit lead one of the worst things that could have happened occured: Tyler Bilodeau fell to the ground injured.

Not only was he injured but a few Bruins were already in foul trouble, and social media was concerned for the team because of those two things despite their lead.

Bilodeau would end up not coming back in for the rest of the game and his status would remain up in the air at the game's end, so the responsibility of the game rested on Dent's shoulders as the main leader left.

He was able to rally the Bruins to hold firm by halftime, and they ended the first half with a double digit, 44-33 lead, which was amazing compared to their blowout loss last time they faced the Spartans.

An Up And Down Learning Game For UCLA: The Second Half

Coming out of the locker room UCLA was in the same state of mind that they were in before, and they continued to hold their lead and, at times, extend it past 11 points.

However, MSU was able to make some comeback attempts after Steven Jamerson II recieved a flagrant foul, and the rest of the game became a dogfight that UCLA would have to win without Bilodeau.

The game came down to a scrappy last couple minutes without Bilodeau, and in the final five minutes without Xavier Booker as he fouled out, which let the Spartans get back into the game and have a chance to win it.

However, the Bruins were able to hold of MSU without some of their big defensive pieces, and they won 88-84, which had social media shocked and conflicted.

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Nathan Berry
NATHAN BERRY

Nathan Berry is a senior at NCCS and was raised a Michigan State Spartan fan. With a great interest in sports and writing, journalism is a great avenue to pursue both.