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 – 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.
Tyger Campbell scored a team-leading 22 points and Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished with 20 points and nine rebounds for UCLA (3-1).
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.
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.
"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."
Dain Dainja had 13 points, Matthew Meyer totaled 11 points and Skyy Clark finished with 10 points to round out Illinois' double-figure scorers.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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