The No. 1 team in the Big Ten didn’t exactly look the part in their conference opener. In their latest game of week 5 of the 2025-26 NCAA season, the UCLA Bruins barely made it against the Washington Huskies, where many expected them to have a comfortable win, leading coach Mick Cronin to deliver a reality check everyone needed.

In the post-game interview, opening up about the Bruins’ 82-80 win over the Huskies, Cronin said, “Conference basketball, you’re not blowing anybody out. We’re in the Big Ten. They have real players, and they have a first-round draft pick. (Hannes Steinbach – Huskies’ player). He’s got 29 and 10 and 32 minutes, three assists, one steal. Great win for us.”

However, he also warned his players, saying, “We worry about our own mission. Just because we won at Washington doesn’t mean we’re any good. I’ve got to remind the guys of that.”

And they have to think that way after they turned an easy win into a grueling one and after dropping games to Arizona and Cal, especially given how casual and unfocused they looked for most of November.

Because, as they say, one good win isn’t going to magically prove anything.

The Bruins had a 16-point lead in the final five minutes of the game against the Huskies, but their opponent stormed back with a 17–2 run that cut UCLA’s lead to just 78-77 with under 40 seconds remaining.

UCLA leaned on senior guard Skyy Clark and forward Tyler Bilodeau to carry the team. Donovan Dent also chipped in 17 points and eight assists, and Dent’s improvement was especially important for the Bruins, whose scoring had taken a hit in previous games because of his slow start.

UCLA shot 52.8% from the field, made 9-of-20 from 3-point range, and converted 17-of-24 free throws. And to give credit where it’s due, Clark was just unstoppable from deep. The 6-foot-3 star made six of his first six 3-pointers, ultimately finishing 6-for-7 overall. Bilodeau, on the other hand, who returned after missing the previous two games, scored 16 of his 21 points in a stretch of less than four minutes early in the second half.

For Washington, Steinbach was the one who scared Coach Cronin the most. He led his team with 29 points and 10 rebounds, while Zoom Diallo added 19 points.

And while the Bruins escaped with a win, fatigue due to Trent Perry being sidelined from the game, and Eric Dailey Jr., who was in foul trouble after 4 fouls in just 16 minutes, really tested the team’s depth in every way. Besides Dailey’s fouls and minutes, his scoreline had all zeroes.

“Eric (Dailey Jr.) had foul trouble, which really took him out of the flow. Got his third immediately and his fourth immediately. He’s got to grow out of that, because we really need him,” Mick Cronin added.

Also, not to forget that the Bruins were beaten on the boards, 33–21, with the Huskies leading 20–8 at halftime. UCLA did shoot better from the free-throw line than they did against Cal, going from 57% to 71%, but that’s still below their season average.

The Huskies’ late surge has now left too many questions for UCLA to answer, especially when it comes to their end-of-game play and surprisingly sloppy defense under a coach known for his defensive focus. After holding the Huskies to 2-for-8 from three in the first half, UCLA allowed seven of 16 shots from deep in the second.

“Our defense went to crap,” Dent said. “We let them get in a rhythm. They hit a lot of big threes in the end, and then we gave them a silly and-one.”

Decision-making ability is another area the coach would have to take care of.

In crunch time, UCLA called a timeout with 14 seconds left. Cronin said both Clark and Dent instructed the team not to foul, but Clark fouled anyway with eight seconds remaining.

“The guy that said, ‘Don’t foul,’ fouled,” Cronin said. “He said he tried to get out of the way, but you can’t leave it up to the officials in that situation.”

Next up for the Bruins are the Oregon Ducks. Trent Perry looked sharp in practice, so there’s a chance he’ll be back. But with one of Oregon’s top players also expected to return, the Bruins can’t afford to take them lightly, no matter what the odds suggest.

Ducks might pose a Steinbach-like problem for Cronin

Both UCLA and Oregon come into this matchup after losing the nonconference games that mattered most to them. They each played tight, down-to-the-wire openers in their first Big Ten outings this week. And with injuries hitting their top players, neither team has really had a fair shot at building rhythm between their returners and transfers.

UCLA does have the stronger record, but that alone doesn’t guarantee anything.

The Ducks just dropped an 82–77 game to No. 24 USC on Wednesday, and because of their rough start and the absence of their top scorers, it’s easy to overlook them. However, if Nate Bittle returns, things could swing fast.

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Bittle is expected to return Saturday after missing the last three games with an ankle injury. Even though he’s been in the same conference as UCLA for four seasons, injuries have limited him to only three career games against the Bruins. At 7 feet tall with impressive versatility, he poses the same kind of problems Washington’s Hannes Steinbach created on Wednesday.

“He can score inside,” Cronin said of Bittle. “He can block shots. He can really shoot it.”

And Bittle’s production says it all. He leads Oregon in scoring (16.3), rebounding (7.8), and blocks (2.3) per game. He’s been their steadiest presence so far.

For UCLA, rebounding has been all over the place this season, which makes this matchup even more critical. They would need their leading rebounder to step up to keep Bittle in check, that is, if he plays.