How a team responds is often a test of its toughness.

And a comeback with less than two minutes remaining against a top-ranked opponent is one way to highlight a squad’s grit.

UCLA men’s basketball (13-6, 5-3 Big Ten) will face Northwestern (9-10, 1-7) Saturday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion, after defeating then-No. 4 Purdue 69-67 Tuesday night, when the Bruins overcame a six-point deficit in the game’s waning moments, earning their first-ranked victory of the season.

Coach Mick Cronin challenged his squad – specifically senior guard Donovan Dent – on Jan. 17, labeling his team as “soft” and publicly calling out Dent, along with other players, following their 12-point loss to Ohio State.

“It’s mental toughness, honestly,” said junior guard/forward Eric Dailey Jr. “He’s not doing it to drag us; he’s doing it to challenge us. When you’re challenged like that publicly, you have to respond publicly.”

And Dent responded with a team-high 23 points and a season-high 13 assists to orchestrate UCLA’s offense Tuesday night.

The Riverside local contributed to five of the Bruins’ final eight points, dishing out UCLA’s final pass of the game to senior forward Tyler Bilodeau on the wing for the game-winning shot.

“That’s how I should be playing,” Dent said. “I’ve been in a slump for a while, so my team still believed in me. Coach Cronin challenged me so bad this week, and it was what I needed.”

Still, Dent was not the only Bruin to find a resurgence.

Junior forward/center Xavier Booker played just 14 minutes across the two games before the victory against Purdue, and the former five-star recruit had notched just nine points from Jan. 3 to Jan. 19.

He matched that point ledger against the Boilermakers alone and commanded the interior, posting four rebounds and three blocks.

Cronin was particularly critical of both Dent’s and Booker’s lack of aggression throughout the team’s conference skid.

But when asked whether the head honcho held one-on-one meetings with players, he mentioned how the military breeds toughness among its cadets.

“You think they have one-on-one meetings in the Marines and basic training and (Navy) Seal training?” Cronin asked. “No, they tell you what time it is. In our program, it’s the same time for everybody, always.”

But a team needs to string together consistent success to boast the “tough team” title, especially when a squad has failed to win more than two consecutive conference matches.

And limiting complacency is how Cronin believes his squad can embody grit.

“My dad used to tell guys, ‘This ain’t fishing,’” Cronin said. “In my dad’s era, fishing meant you were lazy. You get a 12-pack of beer and sit on a boat all day. This is competitive sports. Fortitude matters. Passion matters.”

Although Northwestern has struggled throughout the 2025-26 campaign – the Evanston, Illinois, crew just achieved its first conference win against USC Wednesday – the squad’s perimeter defense could still stifle UCLA.

The Wildcats hold opposing teams to just 30% shooting from beyond the arc – the fourth lowest in the Big Ten.

Guards Angelo Ciaravino – who stands at 6-foot-6 – relies on his extensive reach to limit opposing shooters, and Jayden Reid, who leads the Wildcats in steals with 0.9 per contest, could match Dent’s and sophomore guard Trent Perry’s offensive skill.

Senior guard Skyy Clark’s continued absence will test the Bruins’ backcourt resilience, since the Bruins will likely be without his steady defensive presence on the perimeter and his team-leading 48.6% clip from the 3-point line against Northwestern.

Yet, the former Louisville guard’s injury has allowed Perry to flash his skillset while demonstrating the sophomore’s adaptability and toughness. Perry has averaged 15.8 points per game and has tallied nine total steals since Clark injured his hamstring on Jan. 3.

Still, the Bruins need to strain against all of their conference foes, not just the elite ones.

UCLA’s three Big Ten losses all came against unranked teams.

But the Westwood bunch has a chance to meet Cronin’s toughness standard Saturday.

“We can’t just do this because we were playing against Superman – that’s what I call (Purdue guard) Braden Smith,” Cronin said. “We have to play hard against Northwestern Saturday.”