This post was updated March 20 at 8:04 p.m.

Tyler Bilodeau has drawn substantial attention.

Will he start? Will he play? Is he at full strength?

But the Bruins proved, for the third game, that the senior forward’s availability is neither life nor death.

Despite Bilodeau being ruled out moments before tipoff – because of a knee injury suffered against Michigan State in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinal March 13 – No. 7 seed UCLA men’s basketball (24-11, 13-7 Big Ten) prevailed 75-71 against No. 10 seed UCF (21-12, 9-9 Big 12) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.

“A lot of guys stepped up, with Tyler not being able to go tonight,” said coach Mick Cronin. “He had a good practice yesterday. He woke up stiff today. I didn’t like the way he was moving in shootaround this morning. He wanted to play, and I said, ‘No.’”

With Bilodeau – the Bruins’ leading scorer, second-best rebounder and most efficient 3-point shooter – on the bench, someone else had to rise to the occasion.

Eric Dailey Jr. answered the call.

The junior guard/forward seemed to energize the Bruins all night, giving commensurate production on both sides of the court, totaling 20 points – on an efficient 8-for-17 shooting from the field. He also grabbed five rebounds, blocked two shots and garnered two steals.

Dailey’s toughness on the defensive end helped fortify a Bilodeau-less frontcourt, helping cause the Knights’ 11 first-half turnovers – their game average mark.

And on the offensive end, Dailey helped keep the Cronin clipper afloat when shots seemed to refuse to fall in, knocking in four of the Bruins’ first five shots.

“Supreme confidence because he lives in the gym,” Cronin said. “He never hesitates. He wasn’t even worried. You thought he missed a couple? He’s thinking that the odds are I’m going to make the next two.”

But it was the pillar of Cronin’s coaching philosophy that propelled UCLA to the next round.

Cronin has consistently said defense is the most imperative attribute to compete in March.

And it seemed like his players embraced this defensive philosophy heading into the Bruins’ Round of 64 matchup.

UCLA racked up 13 steals, compared to UCF’s three, running shooters off the 3-point line while forcing the Knights to take heavily contested perimeter shots or move the ball inside.

But when UCF elected to rip and drive past the close-out defenders, the squad was met with constantly rotating and communicating UCLA players who used their active hands to disrupt passing lanes.

The Knights shot just 37.5% from the field, committing 17 turnovers, which led to 19 Bruin points.

Leading the defensive charge was senior guard Donovan Dent, who compensated for his offensive struggles – going 4-for-17 from the field for just 10 points – with six steals.

On the interior, junior forward/center Xavier Booker took the mantle Bilodeau left.

Booker was integral in replacing the offensive production lost from the Bruins’ leading scorer, knocking in six of his 12 shots for 15 points, including two 3-pointers.

But it was what Booker did outside of scoring that clinched UCLA’s trip to the Round of 32.

The Indianapolis local grabbed eight rebounds, despite averaging just 3.3 per contest, and blocked four shots.

“Coach has been telling him – he’s (Cronin is) worried about his activity more than anything – defense, blocking shots, rebounding,” said sophomore guard Trent Perry. “He’s offensively very talented, so good to see his activity tonight, especially this game. It’s huge for us.”

But the Knights did not just lie down.

A second-half comeback attempt, mounted by four 3-pointers, ignited the Xfinity Mobile Arena as UCF fans shouted and cheered to spur the turnaround.

UCF brought it within three points with 14 minutes remaining in the game, with UCLA leading just 46-43 – courtesy of the Knights’ 37.5% shooting from beyond the arc.

“They had five wins this year when they came back from 10 down or more,” Cronin said. “We talked about with our team, and although at times it didn’t look like it, we worked all week on our press offense.”

However, Perry weathered the storm.

The sophomore shot just 1-for-5 from the field at halftime, and at the start of intermission, Cronin seemed to tell his guard to shoot the ball after Perry passed the ball to someone else in UCLA’s final offensive set of the half.

And Perry looked to heed his coach’s call when the team needed it most, giving the Bruins five straight points to allow UCLA to reclaim the lead.

“He was hesitating in the first half because he didn’t want to take a bad shot, but he’s got to pull it, let it fly,” Cronin said. “We worry about defense.”

In the dying embers of the second half, the Knights tried to bring their high-tempo offense to full steam, pressing the Bruins full court on defense and quickly grabbing the ball out of the basket while finding the best outlet pass to advance the ball up the court on offense.

To combat the nation’s No. 77 team in adjusted tempo, per KenPom, Cronin seemed to advise his team to slow the ball down on offense, with the Bruins using the majority of the shot clock on a number of possessions.

“They’re athletic. Coach Dawkins, they did a good job, kept coming after us,” Cronin said. “In an elimination game, you got nothing to lose. Once they got under 10, and we pushed it back out, I told them they’re coming now, they’re just going to start running and trapping the ball even in the halfcourt. We weathered it all.”

And that theme continued until the final buzzer sounded.

The Bruins will keep on Dancing.