Big men are a valuable asset in Big Ten men’s basketball.

And sophomore center Aday Mara and junior forward William Kyle III exemplify just that for the Bruins. Despite inconsistent minutes off the bench, the two sparked their team, Pauley Pavilion and Mick Cronin – a hard-to-please head coach – on Tuesday night.

Following a victory over No. 18 Wisconsin fueled by a dynamic performance from the pair, UCLA men’s basketball (13-6, 4-4 Big Ten) will face Washington (10-9, 1-7) on Friday night in Seattle. The two former Pac-12 foes faced off just 51 days ago at Pauley Pavilion, where the hosts prevailed 69-58.

Though neither Mara nor Kyle had a profound impact against the Huskies on Dec. 3, both may have earned themselves extra minutes Friday after recent performances.

“In practice, they’re getting a lot of reps doing what they do, and in the game, it’s translating,” said sophomore guard/forward Eric Dailey Jr. “Even though Will didn’t have as many minutes as Aday had, Will was still ready for his moment – and he had a big moment.”

Mara displayed strength, length, touch and footwork against Wisconsin on Tuesday, nabbing four offensive rebounds while earning six trips to the free throw line and netting a career-high 22 points. But with the Bruins up by a deuce and in need of a stop, Cronin inserted Kyle – the 2023-2024 Summit League Defensive Player of the Year.

Though Kyle posted season highs in points and minutes with 12 and 27, respectively, in UCLA’s game against Iowa on Friday, he only saw six minutes of action against Wisconsin.

Yet, when called upon in crunch time, he answered.

“I was just really trying to see where my man was and try and locate where the man with the ball was as well,” Kyle said. “Once I saw him go into the air to his shot, I committed to it. I didn’t expect to block it, just trying to get a contest on it, and luckily blocked the shot.”

Despite not being the primary defender, Kyle rallied to the ball and slapped off a Badger attempt in the paint with nine seconds remaining to preserve the Bruins’ slim lead and slam the door shut on any potential comeback.

Also coming off the bench, Sebastian Mack contributed 19 points, as he and Mara nearly equaled the scoring production from the Bruins’ starting five. The sophomore guard was also instrumental in UCLA’s first matchup with Washington.

With 16-point showings from Mack and junior forward Tyler Bilodeau in the Bruins’ first Huskies matchup this season, UCLA defended its home court, simultaneously being awarded its first Big Ten win and depriving Washington of its own.

It took nearly another month until Washington clinched its first conference win against Maryland – a team that beat UCLA by 18 points eight days later. However, playing against five consecutive ranked opponents has sent the Huskies into a tailspin.

A narrow defeat to then-No. 22 Illinois inflicted the first wound, allowing then-No. 16 Michigan State, then-No. 24 Michigan, then-No. 17 Purdue and No. 15 Oregon to smell blood in the water. All four pounced on Washington – each winning by double-digits – sending the Big Ten newcomers to the bottom of the conference standings.

Although this Husky team might be struggling, Great Osobor remains a force to be reckoned with.

“They don’t give in. They play unbelievably hard,” Cronin said. “They’re athletic, they got some size, and we all know Osobor is a heck of a player”

The 2023-2024 Mountain West Player of the Year has become the focal point of the Husky offense, leading the team in points, rebounds and assists in each of the past three games.

The forward led Washington with 14 points back on Dec. 3 against UCLA, but those points came at a cost. Osobor was hounded by the Bruins’ defense, committing eight turnovers – the worst mark in his four-year career.

Despite a midseason four-game slump, Cronin’s unit is still generating the sixth-most turnovers per game in the nation and is second in the conference in scoring defense.

And though the offense has spurred victories in the last two games, the defense might need to tighten its grip if the Bruins are looking to extend their winning streak.

“You got to be able to win in different ways. You can’t be reliant on one or two guys,” Cronin said. “That being said, we better get better defensively.”