This post was updated March 12 at 10:59 p.m.

CHICAGO – The alarm clock rang.

It was only 6 p.m. on the West Coast when tip-off commenced, but the Bruins still seemed deep in their slumber.

And for the first 20 minutes of the game, the squad seemed to hit the snooze button.

If it were not for 37.9% shooting from the field from the Scarlet Knights, and the Big Ten tournament’s first-ever triple-double courtesy of senior guard Donovan Dent, the final result could have mirrored the other side of the scale.

Despite a performance not exemplar of a team that finished the regular season 4-1 with two top-10 wins, No. 6 seed UCLA men’s basketball (22-10, 13-7 Big Ten) defeated No. 14 seed Rutgers (14-18, 6-14) 72-59 in the Bruins’ first round of the Big Ten tournament Thursday night at the United Center in Chicago. UCLA will advance to the quarterfinals, where it will face No. 3 seed Michigan State. 

The first half was sloppy.

A lack of energy permeated the Bruin bench; communication between the starters on the hardwood could barely be heard despite the sparse crowd from the two coastal schools in the Midwest.

The loudest person at the United Center seemed to be coach Mick Cronin – ferociously clapping his hands in an attempt to energize his players and yelling from the sidelines to whip his players into fighting shape.

“We didn’t shoot it well tonight. There were a lot of wide-open shots,” Cronin said. “You thought we were going to blow it open late in the first half, because you watch us play, and those guys knock those shots, so hopefully we save some for tomorrow. You’ve got to be able to take defense on the road. The jump shot doesn’t always go on the road with you.”

UCLA seemed to leave its pillars – desire, toughness, tenacity and all of the other synonyms Cronin’s arsenal touts – at LAX, continuing to corroborate the narrative that UCLA fails to live up to expectations outside the Pacific Time Zone.

But after the start of the second half, the Bruins – specifically Dent and senior forward Tyler Bilodeau – left the jet lag behind them.

Whether it was the players nudging each other awake or Cronin breaking down the door, the Bruins seemed to come out of intermission with the pieces to the puzzle. 

“You can’t just play defense because I’m yelling at you,” Cronin said. “You guys want to win, or you don’t. You’re tough enough and do hard things, or we’re going home.”

UCLA went on a 14-2 run over the first 4:46 of the second half. The squad earned five offensive rebounds, grabbed three steals and forced an offensive foul to take a 46-31 lead with 15:14 remaining in the game – keeping the lead until the final buzzer.

“At halftime, coach was telling us that we need more second chances, because we were just getting one shot and it’s hard to win games like that,” Dent said. “So early in the second half, I was just crashing because I would be there in the corner, and Trent (sophomore guard Trent Perry)  was up top, so he would get back, and we were just crashing.”

The Bruins’ collective offensive performance was nothing to write home about, shooting 38.3% from the field and 7-for-23 from the 3-point line. But the senior tandem of Bilodeau and Dent spearheaded the offensive recovery, with the former scoring 21 points, including 12 in the second half alone.

Just under three minutes through the second frame, Cronin called Bilodeau over to the sideline. Cronin yelled at the team’s leading scorer – seconds before Bilodeau hit a corner 3-pointer.  It was followed by a second long-range shot that sophomore guard Trent Perry grabbed off the offensive board, earning two free throws in the process.

While Cronin did not directly impact the Bruins’ scoring, the fire lit under the squad at halftime sparked the offense.

Dent continues to find Bilodeau for his open looks.

“His ability to break down defenses is so fun to watch, makes my job pretty easy, and he gets through some wide-open shots,” Bilodeau said. “It’s just fun to see him slither around, get open, get in the paint, make great passes, and also, he’s a great teammate.”

Dent not only puts together a one-of-a-kind season facilitating the ball, but also finished Thursday night with UCLA’s first triple-double since Kyle Anderson’s in 2013.

Dent racked up 12 assists alongside two turnovers – stretching his streak to 65 assists and four turnovers through the last six contests – to go alongside 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.

“When you have so many weapons on your offense, the game comes smoothly for you because you’re just making the right read,” Dent said. “My shots can get open because I have such good teammates around me that they don’t want to leave, so they just make the game a lot easier for me.”

Defensively, the Bruins held the Scarlet Knights’ top two leading scorers – guard Tariq Francis and forward Dylan Grant – to a combined 11 points and 3-for-17 shooting from the field.

Francis – who scored double-digit points in 26 of the 32 games he has played in entering Thursday night’s affair – struggled to get separation all night, with Perry and senior guard Skyy Clark forcing him to take contested shots and attempts out of his rhythm.

“I thought Tariq Francis in the first half missed some open looks,” Cronin said. “I kept telling our guys in the first couple of timeouts, we’re getting lucky, he was 0-for-5 and he had four great looks, things we’re not going to get away with tomorrow. The film will tell me if I’m right on that.”

After leading Rutgers to an upset over No. 11 seed Minnesota on Wednesday with his 29 points, the Scarlet Knight guard managed just six against the stifling Bruin backcourt. 

While Rutgers pulled within nine, with just 3:37 remaining in the game, a 3-pointer from Bilodeau. Two free throws from Perry put the nail in the coffin, giving UCLA its first-ever Big Ten tournament victory.