On Facebook
On Flipboard
On Twitter
The UCLA Bruins' seven-game winning streak came to an end on Tuesday at the hands of the Illinois Fighting Illinis. After a quiet first half, the Bruins turned it up in the second to win the half but not the game. While junior forward Tyler Bilodeau did his part for UCLA, sophomore forward Eric Dailey Jr has fallen cold.
Dailey and Bilodeau have been the Bruins' premier shooters so far this season, both averaging more than 11 points per game. However, after Bilodeau's cold streak, he must have given it to Dailey.
On the Bruins win streak, Dailey was averaging 13 points a game, including two games in which he scored more than 20 points. In his last three games, he has averaged just 7 points. Against the Fighting Illini, Dailey dropped 5 points, with three assists and a steal.
Dailey has been UCLA's breakthrough player this season, giving Coach Mick Cronin options to rest Bilodeau while remaining confident when Dailey is on the court. Overall, from his freshman season to his sophomore, Dailey has improved in his shooting since joining the Bruins.
The sophomore has shot 33.3% inside the paint over the three games, when on the season overall, he has a 52.6% success rate. While the cold streak had not directly impacted the Bruins' season, it could if Dailey can't figure out his shooting ways.
UCLA has a tough schedule remaining, including games against the Indiana Hoosiers, Ohio State Buckeyes and Purdue Boilermakers before its rematch with its crosstown rivals, the USC Trojans. While the USC game is more than two weeks away, the Bruins will need everyone to play at the top of their game as they continue to climb the Big Ten standings.
The Bruins' loss pushes them 2.5 games back from the top of the standings. If Dailey can brush off his cold streak by the end of the week, he and the rest of the Bruins squad could have the chance to get back into the conversation of a Big Ten title, a feat that would serve as a remarkable way to cap off their first season in the conference.
Dailey has another chance to shake off the cobwebs when UCLA travels to take on Indiana.
Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE
More must-reads:
- How could Bruce Pearl's sudden retirement impact Auburn's Final Four chances?
- Patriots have Drake Maye concern after comments by Steelers LB T.J. Watt
- The 'Multiple 30-TD pass NFL seasons' quiz
Breaking News
Trending News
TODAY'S BEST
Auburn Basketball Head Coach Bruce Pearl Announces Retirement
After spending the last 11 years of his head coaching career helping to revive and establish the Auburn men’s basketball program as a powerhouse in the landscape of college hoops, Bruce Pearl has decided to call it a career. According to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Pete Thamel, Pearl’s son, Steven, will take over head coaching duties for the Auburn program moving forward. Steven Pearl has been part of the Auburn coaching staff during his father’s entire tenure as a coach at the university. Why the Sudden Retirement? While sudden retirements are not uncommon in the world of college basketball, as Villanova’s Hall of Fame head coach Jay Wright also abruptly retired just a few years ago, Pearl’s retirement is a distinct case. Rumors of the head coach’s interest in establishing a political career began to swirl this past summer, as reports indicated that Pearl was interested in running for senator in the state of Alabama. This occurred after the current Alabama senator, Tommy Tuberville, announced his intention to run for Governor of the state, leaving his seat vacant. According to a report from the Jewish Insider earlier this month, the article stated that Pearl would give himself until the end of the month to come to a final decision on that matter. However, there have been no confirmations as of yet from Pearl himself about a potential foray into politics post-coaching career. Pearl’s Coaching Legacy at Auburn When examining Pearl’s 33-year coaching career, it becomes clear that Pearl had nothing short of a successful career, no matter where he went. Pearl posted a career winning percentage of .725 with an overall record of 706-268. While Pearl had plentiful amounts of success before his tenure with the Auburn Tigers, he saw the best success of his career during his time in Auburn. During his 11 years at the helm of Auburn, he led the Tigers to their first two final fours in program history in both 2019 and 2025, as well as three regular-season SEC titles and two SEC tournament titles. While the Tigers will more than likely be fine this upcoming season without Pearl at the helm, his son Steven will have some mighty big shoes to fill moving forward.
Steelers' Once Promising Third-Year Defender Could Be Relegated On The Depth Chart
The Pittsburgh Steelers have begun the 2025 NFL season with a 2-1 record, however there are some things that need to be figured out. The defense is shaky at best despite forcing five turnovers in Sunday's win over the New England Patriots in Week 3. The group still struggles to get off of the field on possession downs, and stopping the run has been an issue throughout the first three weeks of the season. A lot of that starts with the front seven and the interior defensive line. Pittsburgh has been banged up in that area, but some healthy contributors returning could shake up the lineup. Pittsburgh was able to see the regular season debut of Derrick Harmon on Sunday. The organization selected Harmon in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but he suffered a sprained MCL in the preseason finale which kept him on the sidelines throughout the first two weeks of the regular season. He made an impact while serving in a limited role on Sunday against New England as he recorded a sack and two total tackles, and he is expected to help the run defense in the near future. Team insider Mark Kaboly spoke about the interior defensive line after the game on Sunday on the most recent episode of Kaboly + Mack, and he believes there will be two rookies starting in that area very soon. "They made some moves there, and it was able to help them out," Kaboly said. "That's a definite difference in what they were able to do. And I think it's just a matter of time until Yahya Black, Derrick Harmon and Cam Heyward's your one, two and three across the front. It's just a matter of time." Currently, Cam Heyward and Yahya Black are the starting defensive tackles for Pittsburgh while Keeanu Benton has been the starting nose tackle. That is the part of the lineup that will be shuffled, as Benton will likely switch to being a rotational piece, while Harmon enters the starting lineup. He will likely takeover the duties at defensive tackle, while Black shuffles to nose tackle. Benton was expected to take a leap forward going into his second season in 2024, but that didn't necessarily happen. He has made some big plays for Pittsburgh, but he has not been the consistent force that the organization had hoped he would be to this point. There was hope he would improve once again during the 2025 season, but if anything, the third-year pro has shown some regression since his rookie season. Moving to a rotational role where he can fill in at both defensive tackle and nose tackle might be best for Benton at this point. He doesn't necessarily have the size to be a true nose tackle in the NFL, so the coaching staff in Pittsburgh has seemingly been setting him up for failure a little bit in that regard. He would likely play better at defensive tackle, which is something the coaching staff could find out if the starting defensive line gets shuffled. Steelers Need To See Keeanu Benton Step Up No matter what role he is serving, Benton needs to play better moving forward. The interior defensive line is a key part of stopping the run, and Pittsburgh has struggled to do that. It is going to be hard to win meaningful games if that problem persists, especially against the better teams in the NFL that show up on the schedule later in the year. Benton needs to show some signs of progression, whether that be as a starter, or as someone who rotates in with the starting lineup throughout a game. Benton can still have a future in Pittsburgh, but he is going to need to improve in 2025 while setting himself up for success in 2026.
Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield drops harsh quote about former coach after win
Quarterback Baker Mayfield was forced to lead a game-winning drive against the New York Jets after a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown took away a chance for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to ice the game at 29-20 with less than two minutes to play. With 1:49 remaining in the fourth quarter, Mayfield engineered a seven-play, 48-yard drive that ended in a successful 36-yard field goal attempt by kicker Chase McLaughlin to give the Buccaneers a 3-0 start with a 29-27 win over the Jets in front of 62,872 fans at Raymond James Stadium. What Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield had to say about former coach Following the game, Mayfield said he felt vindicated by beating New York, especially defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, who cut the former first-round pick (after using him as a scout-team defensive lineman) when he was the interim head coach of the Carolina Panthers in 2022. “I loved it," Mayfield said of beating the Jets via Ari Meirov of the 33rd Team. "Their D-coordinator (Steve Wilks) was the one who cut me in Carolina. A lot of stuff was personal today. Haason Reddick. Former Jet. A lot of people.” The loss dropped Wilks and first-year head coach Aaron Glenn to 0-3. The Jets fought hard with backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor filling in for Justin Fields, who is still in the concussion protocol from Week 2. Mayfield didn't impress Wilks during his time in Carolina, but he showed the defensive coordinator why he's worthy to be a starter in the league. Mayfield went 19-of-29 passing for 233 yards and one touchdown on Sunday. He added 44 yards rushing on four carries against Wilks' defense.
The Commanders' defense is being led by a breakout player who actually leads the NFL in the one thing the team needed him to do
The Washington Commanders' defense needed to rebound against the Las Vegas Raiders after surprising a lot of people the week before, and they did just that. It wasn't perfect by any means, but the defense rallied behind impressive performances by some key contributors on Sunday. The team hit Ashton Jeanty in the backfield and put pressure on Geno Smith, and finished with five sacks as a team. One player, however, is off to an amazing start and leads the NFL in pressures. Dorance Armstrong's breakout season is loading Dorance Armstrong has been off to a hot start in his second season with the Commanders, and we all wanted him to do one thing: get to the quarterback. Through the first three games, Armstrong has three sacks, 18 pressures, and 11 hurries. His 18 pressures and 25% pressure rate actually lead the NFL right now. On Sunday, Armstrong finished with five tackles, one sack, two tackles for a loss, and a quarterback hit to help set the tone on defense. A second season with the Commanders after coming over with head coach Dan Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr from the Dallas Cowboys seems to be paying off massively. Dorance Armstrong Quick Facts This Season Dorance Armstrong is one of only seven players in the NFL this season to have a sack in all three games. Armstrong becomes the third player in franchise history to start the season with a sack in the first three games, joining only Preston Smith and Matt Ioannidis. First time in his career that he has had three straight games with a sack. He only played on limited snaps with the Cowboys as a rotational player, and came to the Commanders to be an every-down defensive end, and he's living up to the expectations. Last season, Armstrong finished with 51 pressures, 10 sacks, and 33 hurries, and he's on pace to clear that by a good margin if he can continue to dominate. The team needs youth to step up, and having a sure starter at an important position at only 28 years old will go a long way for the oldest team in the league. Not a one-trick pony Getting to the quarterback is obviously the flashy side of being a defensive end, but you can't be a liability in the run game like we saw last season. The run defense as a whole is playing much better than last year, and Armstrong is also off to his best start in the run game. Through three games, he has his highest PFF grade in run defense, and he's up to a 75 grade, which is vastly improved over his 41 grade in 2024. Landing a starting defensive end was one of the biggest storylines all offseason, but not enough people gave credit to Dorance Armstrong, who has stepped up massively, especially with Deatrich Wise out for the season on the other side of the line. The Commanders can rotate players on one side of the line, and it helps a lot knowing you have Armstrong holding it down and leading by example on the other side.
Customize Your Newsletter
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!
PRIVACY POLICY EDITORIAL POLICY CONTACT US
ABOUT YARDBARKER TERMS OF SERVICE
Use of this website (including any and all parts and
components) constitutes your acceptance of these
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
This site is for entertainment purposes only.
There is no gambling offered on this site.
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
