The Big Ten has always been hailed as a football conference.
It ranks fifth in national championships in men’s NCAA tournament history with 10 titles, and a Big Ten team has not been dancing at the end of March since 2002, when Maryland took home the one shining moment.
But times are changing, and conferences are realigning.
The Pac-12 merger with the Big Ten brought a long line of history and success to a conference that has lacked such in the men’s basketball landscape.
The results are evident.
The Big Ten brought eight teams dancing – six behind the SEC, which broke a record with the most teams from one conference – and had four teams in the Sweet Sixteen.
A reemergence of the Big Ten can be seen even more clearly in the 2026 KenPom rankings, which feature seven teams in the top 25 in net rankings.
UCLA men’s basketball is central to the conference’s comeback as it sits at No. 10 – the third-ranked Big Ten team behind No. 3 Purdue and No. 6 Illinois – and very well could be in for a breakout year after its inaugural campaign in its new home.
Senior forward Tyler Bilodeau shoots over a defender. (Zimo Li/Daily Bruin senior staff)
The Bruins’ strength comes from their returning players, which includes three projected starters in senior guard Skyy Clark, senior forward Tyler Bilodeau and junior guard/forward Eric Dailey Jr. It also includes sophomore guard Trent Perry, who looks to be one of the first guys off the bench and the third primary ball handler on the team.
“Our guard play is a strength of our team, spacing the floor with Tyler Bilodeau as a shooter – as a bigger guy – is a strength of our team, and having some guys back like Eric Dailey, who had a great sophomore year – averaged double figures as a sophomore,” said coach Mick Cronin at Big Ten Media day in Rosemont, Illinois. “Look, a returning player is a premium this day and age; we used to always have returning players.”
Supplementing the veteran group in Westwood is preseason All-Big Ten team selection and senior guard Donovan Dent. The former Mountain West Player of the Year has been the talk of the town at UCLA ever since he transferred from New Mexico in March.
Dent ranks No. 10 in the nation in odds for Naismith Player of the Year, according to Fox Sports, and can transform the Bruin offense into a unit that runs teams out of the gym.
Despite his acclaimed status, Cronin is pushing the All-American honorable mention to reach the highest echelons of college basketball.
“You get him in the open court, he’s really unstoppable, not just for himself but his teammates; he’s an elite passer,” Cronin said. “He’s adjusting to me with my demands on his defensive effort and to tighten up his ball security, but it’s a process. He’s got real, real offensive talent, and his teammates love him because you’re going to be wide open because it’s really hard to defend him with one guy.”
Despite Dent’s status as one of the premier talents in the country, Cronin said that he reminds the guard that all of the offensive production does not sit solely on his shoulders, while also mentioning the impact Clark can have offensively, particularly as the off-ball shooting guard, now that Dent will run the offense.
Senior guard Skyy Clark shoots a jump shot over former Tennessee guard Chaz Lanier. (Zimo Li/Daily Bruin senior staff)
Clark struggled early in the year last season to consistently produce offensively, but as the campaign went on, he was one of the squad’s most reliable contributors, particularly in clutch moments down the stretch of games – and the season.
“The whole season I was on a new team, and I was still trying to find my role,” Clark said. “I was also going through some personal things. I had a great support system around me. I have great teammates and a great coaching staff. They really instilled a lot of confidence in me the whole year and that showed in the last few games.”
The Bruins’ biggest obstacle in conference play is travel – a hurdle that hindered their success last year and could repeat again in the 2025-26 campaign – where three of their first eight Big Ten games are on the road, including trips to the Midwest to face Iowa, Ohio State and Wisconsin and to the Mid-Atlantic to face Penn State.
While this season is not UCLA’s first rodeo, dealing with long flights and a forever-increasing odometer, Cronin said that the travel will negatively hit them at some point this season, it’s just about when.
Bilodeau echoed his coach’s statements and added that the travel will be good preparation for the team’s ultimate goal, which will come in March.
“It’s going to be good, with so much travel during the Big Ten regular season, it will just be good to kind of get our bearings and get everything right for the season and our Big Ten schedule,” Bilodeau said.