LOS ANGELES — UCLA was having a very bad week, suffering blowout losses on the road, where coach Mick Cronin angrily — and he later admitted wrongly — ejected one of his players at Michigan State.
Things didn’t figure to get much better with No. 10 Illinois visiting Pauley Pavilion. And they didn’t in the first half. Winners of 14 of 16, the Illini built a 23-point lead while shooting 54% from the floor and 53% from 3-point range.
“I was worried before the game,” Cronin said. “I didn’t like the look on their faces before the game. It was almost like they had lost confidence. And we played like that early, until we forgot about it.”
The Bruins roared back, with Donovan Dent hitting the winning layup with…