Concerns Peak With Bruins' Bilodeau Missing Another Game
![Jan 10, 2025; College Park, Maryland, USA; UCLA Bruins forward Tyler Bilodeau (34) looks to shoot the ball during the second half against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images Jan 10, 2025; College Park, Maryland, USA; UCLA Bruins forward Tyler Bilodeau (34) looks to shoot the ball during the second half against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4239,h_2384,x_1381,y_277/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/all_bruins/01jjq2bxxf2nv1j5f4vv.jpg)
The UCLA Bruins (15-6, 6-4) have earned their last two wins without the help of leader scorer, junior forward Tyler Bilodeau after he suffered a nasty ankle injury in the opening minutes of last week's contest against the Washington Huskies. His injury status has grown as a concern for the group.
Bilodeau was listed as questionable for Monday night's road win over the USC Trojans (12-8, 4-5) but would not play at all. Bruins coach Mick Cronin provided some context on the reasoning for not playing his top scorer in an important rivalry game.
"I didn't like what I saw in shoot around," Cronin said after the game. "He [Bilodeau] wanted to try to warm up, but he'd have had to come in jumping through the roof. Because in my mind, he wasn't playing after what I saw at 11 o'clock today. [FOX color analyst] Bill Raftery, he was here, and 'Raft' said, 'what do you think?' I said, 'Raft, he looks like me and you, that's not a good thing', I'm 53 and Raft's 83."
There was a bit of obvious comedic relief from Cronin, mentioning the former coach and current analyst for the network that covered Monday's rivalry game. The Bruins head coach seems to have a positive outlook on Bilodeau's status and is hoping to return him sooner than later.
In 20 games player this season, Bilodeau holds a team-high 13.9 points per game on 50.5% shooting from the field and pulling down 4.6 rebounds per game. His production has been a huge miss for this group but has not impacted their ability to win ballgames or continue to score efficiently.
Despite not having their best player, the Bruins have picked up the slack with a pair of key road wins over Big Ten opponents. They scored an impressive 82 points against the Trojans with four different scorers in double figures. Adding Bilodeau back to the recent success will be daunting for opponents.
Cronin did not provide a timeline for when the former Oregon State transfer will be returning to action, but there will be limited recovery time as the Bruins are set to host the No. 16 Oregon Ducks (16-4, 5-4) on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. His status is up in the air for that rematch.
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