No. 2 UCLA suffers massive blow to title hopes with devastating injury news

UCLA forward Jaylen Clark has been a staple for the Bruins this season and one of the reasons they're ranked No. 2 in the AP Top 25 heading into the Pac-12 Tournament.

Unfortunately for Mick Cronin and his team, though, UCLA reportedly will go the rest of the way without Clark. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound junior forward excited UCLA's 82-73 regular-season win over No. 8 Arizona before returning to the sideline with crutches and a walking boot. Although the team has yet to confirm the news, ESPN's Jeff Borzello is reporting that Clark will miss the rest of the season with an Achilles injury.

This a huge blow for UCLA as it looks to win its first NCAA men's basketball title since 1995. Clark was recently named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, and he's considered one of the top defenders in the country. He was also named a second-team All-Pac-12 player.

If there's any consolation for UCLA, it's that the Bruins are still a talented team, even without Clark. Senior wing Jaime Jaquez Jr. was named Pac-12 Player of the Year, forward Adem Bona was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and Cronin was named the John R. Wooden Pac-12 Coach of the Year after leading the Bruins to a 27-4 regular-season record and the Pac-12 regular-season title.

Still, Clark will be hard to replace. He averaged 13.0 points and 6.0 rebounds this season for UCLA.