Friday, November 18
Las Vegas, NV
6:30 PM
UCLA
3-1,0-0Pac-12
70
vs
79
Illinois
4-0,0-0Big Ten
1
2
F
Illinois
28
51
79
UCLA
37
33
70
Tyger Campbell (photo by Jan Kim Lim)
Photo by: Jan Kim Lim
No. 8 UCLA Loses in Las Vegas to No. 19 Illinois, 79-70
November 18, 2022 | Men's Basketball
LAS VEGAS โ The No. 8-ranked UCLA men's basketball team dropped a 79-70 decision to No. 19-ranked Illinois in an opening-round matchup of the Continental Tire Main Event at T-Mobile Arena on Friday night.
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Tyger Campbell scored a team-leading 22 points and Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished with 20 points and nine rebounds for UCLA (3-1).
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Illinois' Terrence Shannon Jr. finished with a game-leading 29 points and tallied 10 rebounds. He connected on 8 of 9 attempts from 3-point range and was 9-for-13 overall from the field.
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The Fighting Illini (4-0) overcame a 37-28 halftime deficit and outscored the Bruins by a 50-26 margin after UCLA had led, 44-29, with 17:50 to play in the second half.
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"This is real simple," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "They were a lot tougher than us in a lot of areas. We wilted. When the heat got turned up and the game got physical, they refused to go away. We caved. That's my fault."
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Dain Dainja had 13 points, Matthew Meyer totaled 11 points and Skyy Clark finished with 10 points to round out Illinois' double-figure scorers.
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Illinois took a 53-52 lead with 9:10 to play in regulation, scoring on a layup by Skyy Clark after the Bruins had missed a shot. The Fighting Illini had built their lead up to six points in the next minute, staking a 58-52 advantage with 8:02 to play in the game.
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UCLA reduced Illinois' lead to three points before Shannon Jr. nailed a 3-pointer with 6:13 to go, helping the Fighting Illini secure a 63-57 lead. From the point, the Bruins were not able to close the gap to any fewer than four points.
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Looking back at the first half, UCLA had trailed through the game's opening 13 minutes. The Bruins fell behind by a 19-12 margin with under 11 minutes left before halftime. But a 9-2 scoring run from UCLA helped the Bruins to tie the contest at 21-21. That sequence was capped by an old-fashioned 3-point play by Jaquez Jr.
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A 3-point basket by Shannon Jr. put the Fighting Illini ahead, 28-27, at the 2:42 mark. From there, UCLA outscored Illinois 10-0 over the next two-plus minutes to enter the locker room at the intermission ahead, 37-28.
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In the final minute of the opening half, Campbell drilled a 3-pointer with 43 seconds left to give UCLA a 35-28 cushion. After a turnover by the Fighting Illini, Jaquez Jr. scored on a layup with just two seconds remaining.
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No. 8 UCLA will return to action against No. 5 Baylor on Sunday afternoon at T-Mobile Arena. Game time is set for 2:30 p.m., as Illinois will take on Virginia in the championship contest at 12 p.m. (PT). UCLA's game against Baylor will be nationally televised on ESPN2.
Team Stats
Illini
UCLA
FG%
.529
.375
3FG%
.480
.409
FT%
.684
.500
RB
38
39
TO
21
15
STL
8
10
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
9
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
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