This post was updated Dec. 14 at 9:50 p.m.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The Bruins traded out the Southern California sun for the East Coast winter chills this week.

Hours before freezing rain and sleet hit College Park, they brought the cold with them inside the stadium to start Wednesday’s contest, missing their first six shots of the night.

But it didn’t matter, as the home team couldn’t get the lid off the basket and remained ice cold all night. The blue and gold left zero doubt in its largest win over a ranked team since the 2009-2010 season.

“Tonight, our mind was on defense,” said coach Mick Cronin. “For the first time in a long time, we were trying to win with defense.”

No. 16 UCLA men’s basketball (9-2, 2-0 Pac-12) quickly regained composure to jump out to a 29-point halftime lead over No. 20 Maryland (8-3, 1-1 Big Ten) and never looked back en route to an 87-60 win. Hours after the University of California Board of Regents officially confirmed the Bruins’ move to the Big Ten, they put the league on notice by handing the fourth-ranked team in the conference its largest loss of the year.

Neither team could get on the scoreboard early until junior guard Jaylen Clark converted an and-one putback opportunity three minutes in. The Bruins extended their lead to 7-0 as the Terps remained scoreless until guard Ian Martinez knocked down a 3-pointer two minutes after Clark’s initial basket.

Clark also led the charge on the other end of the floor, pounding the glass to grab rebounds and disrupting passing lanes to create fastbreak opportunities for UCLA. Clark and senior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. recorded seven of the team’s 10 first-half steals, while the former grabbed a team-leading six rebounds through 20 minutes of play.

“Jaylen, he’s been having a tremendous year. I’m just trying to catch him,” Jaquez said. “I’m just trying to follow right behind him and his lead, the way that he’s been playing his defense.”

The cheers from the Terps’ sold-out student section quickly turned to jeers as Maryland coach Kevin Willard called timeout down 26-7. Though they conceded four straight points out of the timeout, the Bruins’ defense once again took over as a steal and fastbreak dunk from Clark – who ended his night with 19 points – punctuated a 13-0 run by the blue and gold to answer.

Cronin had some high praise for Clark, who has now brought up his season steals total to 25 in 10 games played.

“He’s literally the best defensive player in the country,” Cronin said.

Fifth-year guard David Singleton provided some offensive spark off the bench, hitting a smooth turnaround jumper and a stepback before knocking in two 3-pointers to finish with 10 points in the first half. Singleton finished the night as the Bruins’ second-leading scorer, compiling 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

Singleton said he takes pride in playing a leadership role as one of the longest-tenured players on the squad.

“I feel like I’m playing the best basketball of my career,” Singleton said. “Not because I’m scoring, obviously I can shoot. That’s always been a part of my game. It’s because I’m actually leading the guys. … It’s kind of selfish of me, but part of it’s on me if we lose or we play bad because I feel like I’m an extension of the coach.”

The Bruins entered halftime with a commanding 49-20 advantage, forcing 11 turnovers and holding the Terps to 8-of-26 shooting from the field. Guard Jahmir Young – who entered the night averaging a team-leading 15.6 points per game – was held without a field goal while coughing up five turnovers in the half, finishing his night with no makes on eight attempts.

The break did not change much, as an offensive foul on Maryland forward Donta Scott on the opening play of the second half led to a layup for Jaquez.

Though some of the Terps’ shots started falling, the Bruins answered every time. Redshirt senior guard Tyger Campbell got his first points of the night in the middle of the period, scoring seven in the span of a minute and 15 seconds.

“It’s an away game, so it’s naturally going to be hard, but to beat real teams like Maryland, you have to stay focused, stay locked in,” Singleton said. “We know what it takes to win, so that’s what we did tonight.”

Freshman forward Adem Bona also deflated the home team and crowd even further with dunk after dunk inside, finishing his night with 14 points and seven rebounds and making 7-of-8 shots from the floor. The blue and gold turned the ball over just four times on the night while forcing 16 from its opponents.

Maryland’s student section nearly cleared out by the middle of the second half as the blue and gold continued to pile on points in a quieter arena. Bona said it was a refreshing experience to shut down the loudest opposing crowd he’s played against in his young career.

“The feeling is amazing,” Bona said. “Going to a team’s gym and you get the crowd silent, and you’re the one making the noise, it’s amazing.”

Cronin emptied the bench with five minutes remaining, and the Bruins kicked off their East Coast road trip with a statement victory over their future conference rivals.