Some argue the spotlight brings pressure, while others suggest being overlooked offers freedom.

And the Bruins may show just how far underestimated teams can go.

No. 5 seed UCLA (17-6, 10-3 Big Ten) defeated No. 4 seed USC (18-7, 10-3) 4-0 in Thursday’s Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal in Ojai, California. UCLA entered the single-elimination quarterfinal as the defending Big Ten Tournament champion, and the win gave the Bruins a 2-1 edge over their crosstown rival this season.

Coming in with nearly identical records, the winner of the first round seemed like a coin flip. However, USC’s lineup featured just a single upperclassman, and a veteran player ultimately secured UCLA’s victory.

Though senior Aadarsh Tripathi and junior Andy Nguyen dropped their doubles set, senior Gianluca Ballotta and redshirt junior Emon van Loben Sels won their match 6-4. Junior Spencer Johnson and freshman Bengt Reinhard then clinched the doubles point for UCLA, closing out their set 6-3.

UCLA hit its stride from there.

No. 87 sophomore Rudy Quan set the tone in singles, racing to a 5-0 lead before taking the first set 6-1. Even when he fell behind 4-1 in the second, he ripped off five straight games and finished with a crosscourt winner to become the first Bruin to stride off the single’s courts.

“It’s always a great rivalry match,” Quan said. “We all got up for that match and were all just pumped.”

The Bruins established collective control across the lineup, claiming the first set on five of the six courts.

No. 52 Johnson was the sole Bruin to falter, dropping a tight 6-4 opener on court one in his first singles match since April 3. However, the junior held firm, trading games point-for-point before forcing a tiebreaker, where he edged out a 7-6 (7-5) win to take the second set.

The second sets broke the other way, and USC gained ground.

But that changed when Tripathi took over.

After dropping his second set 6-3 and falling behind 4-0 in the third, he began to mount a comeback against USC’s Jack McCarthy.

Tripathi kept the pressure building, and fans streamed toward court four as the gap in scores shrank. The senior did not lose another game, overtaking McCarthy and finishing the match on a sudden-death point at 5-4 to secure the 100th victory of his collegiate career and clinch the win for the Bruins.

“(I was) just taking it one point at a time and I found momentum. He started getting a little nervous, and I just kept capitalizing on that,” Tripathi said. “He’s a great player. I really struggled with him last time too and I was really happy to compete and bring the team to a win today.”

Redshirt freshman Cassius Chinlund helped set the stage, securing a second-set tiebreaker 7-6 (7-5) to put Tripathi in position to finish the job.

UCLA now turns to Friday’s semifinal match against top-seeded Michigan State, a team it defeated at this stage in last year’s tournament. Yet, the Bruins also lost 4-2 earlier this season against the Spartans.

“We’ve got a real tough match against Michigan State tomorrow, who beat us at their place. Revenge is a great motivator, and I’m hoping my guys are up for the challenge,” said coach Billy Martin.