2025-26 has been a rocky season for UCLA basketball to say the least, as the Bruins haven't quite been able to find the consistency to stay at the top of a very competitive Big Ten. However, UCLA is still battling on the NCAA Tournament bubble to try to keep its spot in the postseason.
On Saturday, the Bruins took a major step toward securing that bid with a shocking 95-94 upset win in overtime against No. 10 Illinois at home. The Illini took a 33-10 lead early thanks to some hot shooting and a UCLA squad that Mick Cronin called “rattled,” but his team battled back and eventually won it on an epic game-winning layup by star point guard Donovan Dent.
DONOVAN DENT WINS IT FOR UCLA 😱 pic.twitter.com/3XkFpKVk2x
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) February 22, 2026
Dent got all the way to the rim in just under five seconds and capped it off with a beautiful finish to give UCLA its biggest win of the season. After the game. Cronin revealed that the final play went exactly as he had drawn it up, via Tracy Pierson of 247 Sports.
“I didn't do anything–you know what, let me tell you about coaching,” Cronin said. “When the ball goes in, you look smart–Brandon Williams doesn't run with Donny and throw the right pass, you look dumb. Why is he taking it out? You know, Tyler set the back screen perfectly. You know, kids–in coaching man, you give the kids credit, so they executed perfectly, but it wasn't a play you've never seen before. Like, it's not that complicated, OK?
“I've seen Richard Pitino do the same play for Donny the last couple of years–maybe four or five times. He won games like that. I'm being dead serious, so you know, obviously in that situation, him flying at the rim is great.”
Dent didn't have his best night as a scorer despite scoring the most important bucket of the game, but he still finished with 14 points on 5-for-15 shooting. However, the prized New Mexico transfer played 42 of a possible 45 minutes and had 15 assists and no turnovers against a very good Illinois team, so Dent was in control for much of the day.
This win gives UCLA the kind of victory that not a lot of bubble teams have, which will be a big feather in its cap on Selection Sunday. The Bruins will look to back this win up on Tuesday night in a rivalry game against USC.
