Feb 21, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA guard Trent Perry (0) reacts to scoring against Illinois during the second half while UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau (34) (left) and Illinois center Tomislav Ivisic (13) (right) look on at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

Perry Explains How Adversity has Helped UCLA

Originally posted on UCLA Bruins on SI | By Justin Backer | Last updated Feb 27, 2026 8:00 AM ET

Perhaps no team in the country has had a stranger season than the UCLA Bruins.

After entering the season ranked in the AP Poll top 25, and with high expectations after bringing in key transfer pieces such as Donovan Dent, and Xavier Booker, the Bruins came out the gates very sluggish, and for the majority of the season, they’ve struggled to climb out of that hole.

The past two weeks may have been some of the weirdest. Not only did UCLA get blown out in embarrassing fashion by both Michigan, and Michigan State on the road, but head coach Mick Cronin was also in the headlines thanks to a similarly embarrassing sequence against Michigan State, where he ejected Steven Jamerson from the game himself, and then lashed out on a reporter who asked about the student section’s reaction to Xavier Booker making his return to Michigan State.

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It can only go up from here, right? Well, that’s exactly what the Bruins did. Following that mess that went down at Michigan State, the Bruins were faced with another difficult task in #10 Illinois. Despite trailing by as much as 23 at one point, the Bruins rallied back to win in overtime thanks to Dent’s game-winning layup as time expired.

UCLA back on track

Not only did the layup complete the comeback, it essentially saved UCLA’s season, especially considering the direction things were headed before that took place. They then followed that miraculous win up with an emphatic win over USC, thanks to Dent’s 30-point performance.

They currently stand at 19-9, and 11-6 in Big Ten play. As it stands now, the Bruins are fighting to earn an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament, which they can certainly earn thanks to their wins over Illinois, and Purdue earlier in the season.

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Perry’s thoughts

After the win over USC, guard Trent Perry talked about how the adversity they’ve faced recently may have actually been a good thing for the team going forward.

“How I look at adversity, you could go one of two ways,” Perry said. “You could either fold, or you could push through it and come out stronger. I feel like right now, we’ve kind of grown closer as a team. We have a great bond right now, and the coach is also motivating us, we’ve got two down and we've got three to go.”

Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

They’ll look to keep the ball rolling over the final handful of regular season games as they try to solidify their spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins will see Minnesota, #12 Nebraska and USC again to close out the regular season.

This article first appeared on UCLA Bruins on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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