Bruins' Dailey Offers Optimism During Recent Struggles

The UCLA Bruins lost their fourth-straight game on Monday, falling to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on the road. Sophomore guard Eric Dailey Jr. spoke to the media postgame and had a message for his team through the struggles.
Jan 13, 2025; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Eric Dailey Jr. (3) goes to the basket during the first half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Jersey Mike's Arena. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Jan 13, 2025; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Eric Dailey Jr. (3) goes to the basket during the first half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Jersey Mike's Arena. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
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The UCLA Bruins (11-6, 2-4 B1G) continue to struggle as they lost their fourth-straight game in a 75-68 result on the road against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (9-8, 2-4 B1G) on Monday. All four losses have come in conference play and this team has lost the mojo they gained early in the year.

Bruins sophomore guard Eric Dailey Jr. commented on his team's recent struggles following another loss. After another tough night shooting the ball, the Bruins shot 42.4% from the and another disappointing performance from 3-point range, making six of their 19 attempts for 31.6%.

Despite the poor shooting, UCLA's defense has maybe been an even bigger concern. Over its last six games, it has allowed more points than its average per game this season of 62.6 points per game. The Bruins are still the No. 1 defense in the Big Ten but have not been playing like it.

"[We] just got to get back to our flow, [making] shots is a part of it, but at the end of the day, our defense creates our offense," Dailey said. "We have to get back to being ourselves on defense, it's tough right now, but we got to get ourselves out this slump. We just got to come together, stay strong, stay tight through moments like this. Every team is going to go through something similar to this and we just got to find ourselves, find a way to get out of this, that's it."

Dailey understands how important it is for the group to stick together and maintain being one unit instead of pointing fingers and becoming divided. It is beyond ideal that the Bruins work together to move out of think funk and it seems that Dailey is going to be one to lead the charge.

The sophomore posted a team-high 16 points on 8-15 shooting with three rebounds and three assists. He is still recovering from a facial injury that he suffered against Gonzaga a few weeks ago and is playing well while wearing the black carbon fiber protective mask.

Dailey defended one of his veteran teammates and fellow leader of the program. Bruins' leading scorer, junior forward Tyler Bilodeau, had one of his worst shooting performances of the season, going 0-7 from the field with all six of his points being generated from the free-throw line.

"I mean sometimes [the] shots not going to fall," Dailey said. "He [Bilodeau] went 0-7, but it's been games he hasn't scored and we still won. So we have to find a way to still win through the tough times, that's really it."

UCLA will have another chance to get right and break its losing streak with a home matchup with the Iowa Hawkeyes (12-4) on Friday at Pauley Pavilion. An all-around performance will be needed as Dailey highlighted their defensive success being the main priority.

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