UCLA Star Drops Season-High in Loss

The UCLA Bruins fought until the end against the North Carolina Tar Heels and saw junior forward Tyler Bilodeau drop a season-high in what ended up as a loss for the Bruins.

Dec 21, 2024; New York, NY, USA; UCLA Bruins forward Tyler Bilodeau (34) shoots the ball while being defended by North Carolina Tar Heels forward Ty Claude (0) during the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images / John Jones-Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins's incredible winning streak stops one win away from pushing it to double digits, as the North Carolina Tar Heels sneak away with a slim 76-74 victory on Saturday. Only being the second loss of the season for UCLA, the Bruins basketball team has tons of time to make amends.

One player who may not have to change what he is doing at the moment is junior forward Tyler Bilodeau. Bilodeau not only led the team in average points per game going into Saturday's game, but he just set himself a new season-high in points.

Bilodeau dropped 26 points for UCLA in 24 minutes of play. He also wrapped up an 83.3% 3-point percentage and had three rebounds on the game. Bilodeau furthers his claim as the point maker for UCLA as he now leads the squad with 14.1 average points per game.

UCLA has needed one guy to step up and lead the team by example this season, and Bilodeau has slid into that role nicely. In his first season with UCLA, Bilodeau has continued the success he found at Oregon State with the Beavers in 2023-24.

Bilodeau following Saturday's game, on the season, has a 35.5% 3-point success percentage, which is the highest it has been for Bilodeau in his collegiate career. He also hasn't missed a game yet for UCLA, playing in all 12.

Though Bilodeau was the star of the game for UCLA, the Bruins still walked out as the losers. Besides Bilodeau and Sebastian Mack off the bench, who dropped 22 points, the rest of the Bruins offense went silent.

Bilodeau and Mack combined for 48 total points, which equates to 64.86% of the Bruins total. In what was still a closely contested game, the Bruins experienced their first lopsided loss and were lucky to keep it as close as they did.

Going forward, UCLA cannot afford only two players on offense having fantastic games to carry the team to victory. While the Bruins had a good amount of rebounds and assists, it is important for the growth of the team to find ways to build confidence in other players, other than Bilodeau, if the Bruins wish to chase down that Big Ten championship.

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