PHILADELPHIA — Once again, UCLA basketball was left to play its biggest game of the season without its leading scorer.
Forward Tyler Bilodeau was set to sit out a second consecutive NCAA Tournament game Sunday after failing to have sufficiently recovered from the sprained right knee he suffered last week at the Big Ten Tournament.
His absence took his averages of 17.6 points and 5.6 rebounds off the board for the seventh-seeded Bruins going into the second-round game against second-seeded UConn at Xfinity Mobile Arena. He participated in the morning shootaround before the decision was made to sit out again.
Things appeared to be trending in a positive direction going into this weekend. Bilodeau, who suffered no structural damage in his knee, returned to practice and seemed to be on the verge of playing against UCF on Friday.
But UCLA coach Mick Cronin held out Bilodeau as a protective measure, the Bruins going on to edge the Knights.
As he sat at his locker Saturday afternoon, Bilodeau did not seem optimistic about returning against UConn, saying he was still experiencing soreness in his knee.
Cronin said he would have to see significant improvement to allow Bilodeau to play.
“I got to see him moving with confidence,” Cronin said Saturday. “I got to watch him and make sure he’s not doubting his stability and his health on his knee. At the end of the day, I got to do whatever I think is right for him.”
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