A Mick Cronin-led squad has yet to triumph over Gonzaga.

But if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

With another chance to break its losing spell against the Bulldogs, No. 22 UCLA men’s basketball (10-2, 2-0 Big Ten) will contest No. 14 Gonzaga (9-3) in the West Coast Hoops Showdown at the Intuit Dome. Saturday afternoon’s matchup will mark the fifth consecutive season that has bore witness to a battle between the Bruins and Bulldogs.

The previous four decisions, however, have not gone in Westwood’s favor.

“You can’t win without guys who can put the ball in the basket,” Cronin said. “We tried that last year – it doesn’t work.

The most recent edition of the rivalry was business as usual for coach Mark Few’s squad. Forward Anton Watson’s career-high 32 points on 14-of-15 shooting netted a fourth consecutive Bulldog victory in as many years.

Despite coming up empty-handed in all four games, the Bruins have been competitive, holding a second half lead in three-of-four contests. However, play down the stretch has been problematic, and it reared its ugly head again against North Carolina last Saturday.

“We slipped that lead last game. I think we had that game,” said junior guard Skyy Clark. “There were a lot of mistakes I made and that we made as a team that we got to learn from to go into the future.”

UCLA built a 16-point second-half lead – much of it on the back of junior forward Tyler Bilodeau’s 26-point effort.

“The advantage for Tyler is he can score inside and out,” Cronin said. “He’s leading us in three-pointers made. He scores midrange, and he can score in the post.”

However, four fouls on the junior forward relegated him to the bench as the Tar Heels chipped away at the lead. Turnovers and eight misses from the charity stripe ultimately doomed the Bruins in their two-point loss.

Contrary to North Carolina’s guard-heavy lineup, Gonzaga boasts a strong presence on the inside – highlighted by forward Graham Ike.

“He’s a really good player,” Bilodeau said. “Really strong, physical down in the post, so he’s a tough player to guard.”

The 2023-24 AP All-American honorable mention leads the Bulldogs in scoring and rebounding with 15.5 and 6.6 per game, respectively. Though past Gonzaga teams have often been fueled by star power, it is depth that marks the current squad, as five others join Ike in averaging double figures.

Ryan Nembhard has been the facilitator on the offensive side of the ball. The guard – and brother of former Bulldog and current Indiana Pacer Andrew Nembhard – leads the nation in assists with 10.2 per contest.

“He’s really their only true, true point guard on that team,” Clark said. “If we can take him out of the game, then we’ll see if Gonzaga can run their offense without him.”

Nembhard hasn’t had fewer than seven assists in a game, while no Bruin has had a game with more than seven.

Despite the loss to the Tar Heels and a lack of success against the Bulldogs in recent showings, the Bruins have no plans to alter their mode of attack.

“We’re not going to change the way we play,” Clark said. “We’re still UCLA. We’re going to play UCLA basketball.”