After rebounding with a 95-94 upset over then-No. 10 Illinois Saturday evening at Pauley Pavilion, UCLA men’s basketball (19-9, 11-6 Big Ten) followed its historic performance with an 81-62 trouncing of crosstown rival USC (18-10, 7-10) Tuesday night at Pauley Pavilion. Daily Bruin Sports editor Connor Dullinger gives his five main takeaways from the rivalry victory over the Trojans.

[Related: Men’s basketball rolls over USC with 30-point performance from Donovan Dent]

Donovan Dent.

Two words – Donovan Dent.

The senior guard has officially hit his stride, becoming the player most envisioned when he came to Westwood from New Mexico after winning Mountain West Player of the Year and earning an All-American honorable mention nod.

Across the Illinois upset and the win over USC, Dent has garnered 22 assists to zero turnovers.

While Dent’s sheer number of assists is staggering, his zero turnovers are an even more impressive mark. This is especially true considering the senior played 79 minutes between the two affairs.

Fans may be disappointed in Dent’s scoring proficiency since coming to Westwood, but no one can be upset with his facilitation efforts. He ranks third in the Big Ten in assists per game with a 7.2 mark.

Not only did Dent log eight assists and zero turnovers against USC, but he probably had the best offensive outing of his Bruin tenure.

Dent scored a season-high 30 points, courtesy of his 5-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc – a career-high in made 3-pointers. Dent entered the game with just eight converted 3-pointers through 27 games, but Tuesday night he looked like a high-volume 3-point scorer.

There is nothing more important than peaking at the right time, and Dent looks to be heading toward the climax.

Is the defense back?

After the Bruins upset the Fighting Illini, coach Mick Cronin told reporters to trust his defense.

“We held them to 29 percent shooting in the second half and 22 percent in overtime, and they were the number one offensive team in the country,” Cronin said. “We have the capability of being a better defensive team, and it has been shown against teams like Purdue. We did it in the second half tonight. If we go back to playing defense like we did in the first half, then no, I don’t think this will help. If you’re bought in defensively, then you have a great chance to win.”

UCLA struggled defensively throughout the 2025-2026 campaign. This was true particularly in its road trip to Michigan, where the Bruins surrendered a combined 168 points.

But in back-to-back games, UCLA showed the foundations Cronin built.

The Bruins held the Trojans to 35% scoring from the field and 30.8% from beyond the arc.

While UCLA allowed guard/forward Chad Baker-Mazara to score 25 points on 50% field goal shooting and 5-for-9 scoring from beyond the arc, the squad mitigated the rest of the team, with no other Trojan scoring more than 10 points.

Omitting guard Rodney Rice, forward Ezra Ausar ranks second on the Trojans in scoring. He is incredibly efficient in the interior and is one of the best in the country in getting to the free-throw line.

Ausar scores 15.3 points per contest on 58.7% shooting from the field. He entered Tuesday night shooting 8.2 free throws per game – which ranked ninth in the nation and sits only 0.4 below his field goal attempts per game.

Against UCLA, Ausar was held to six points on 3-for-9 shooting from the field, and did not go to the charity stripe once.

As a cherry on top, guard Alijah Arenas was held to just 10 points on 2-for-8 shooting from the field.

Depth pieces.

Since senior guard Skyy Clark’s return from injury, Cronin has primarily gone with a six-person lineup.

But redshirt freshman Eric Freeny has added solid minutes off the bench, even if his production has not shown on the scoreboard.

Against Illinois, Freeny failed to score, but played 11 minutes. He was also crucial in overtime after Clark and junior guard/forward Eric Dailey Jr. had fouled out.

But in the crosstown showdown, Freeny scored a career-high seven points – knocking down three of his five shots to go along with three rebounds, a steal and an assist.

Freeny also plays a stifling, physical, man-to-man defense that emulates Clark’s defensive prowess.

While Freeny’s contributions may not light up the scoreboard or the statsheet, he helped put the nail in the Trojans’ coffin Tuesday night. He does all the little things that help push the Bruins closer to victory.

Freeny is a linchpin who could see an increased role in the future; he will be a monumental piece if UCLA is going to make a conference or NCAA tournament run.

But Freeny cannot be alone.

His teammates on the bench must join him as well. Particularly, fifth-year guard Jamar Brown, who has faced a shooting slump since the start of conference play, could be integral to the squad if he finds his shooting stroke again.

Perpetual problem.

Cronin kept it crystal clear when describing his team’s rebounding struggles.

“I’m well aware you guys are going to ask about rebounding – as I tell people, you can’t be great at everything. We are surely not,” Cronin said.

The Bruins have played the Big Ten’s four best rebounding teams across their past four contests, and their rebounding woes were evident yet again Tuesday night against the Trojans.

USC won the rebounding battle by 10, beating UCLA on the offensive glass by nine.

USC’s offensive rebounds did not translate into offensive domination. But if the Bruins consistently lose the rebounding battle, they eventually will face a team that is going to make them pay.

If not for Dent’s last-second heroics against Illinois, an offensive rebound would have crippled the Bruins’ historic comeback.

And against Michigan and Michigan State, the rebounding disparity spearheaded the Bruins’ 53-point combined deficit across the two losses.

UCLA needs to figure out its rebounding struggles now before the postseason arrives.

Home court advantage.

Pauley Pavilion was rocking Tuesday night.

There is no other way to describe it.

The crosstown matchup elicited a season-high 13,659 fans – the most at Pauley Pavilion this season.

While the affair did not have the fanfare or drama of UCLA’s upset over Purdue or Illinois – or even its loss to Indiana – the Bruin faithful made Pauley Pavilion feel like home-court advantage.

Red and gold sparsely populated Westwood on Tuesday night, while a chorus of screaming blue and gold supporters echoed Bruin triumphs and Trojan woes.

UCLA Athletics brought back overnight camping for the game this season. It seemed to work in the Bruins’ favor again, with thousands sleeping on UCLA’s intramural fields the day before to get a front row seat to all of the action.

The Bruins are 16-1 at home this season.

And Tuesday night showed why.