The Big Ten Conference postseason awards were announced on Tuesday, but there weren’t too many UCLA Bruins honored. Forward Tyler Bilodeau was the only Bruin named to an All-Conference team, with Bilodeau being named All-Big Ten Third Team.
Bilodeau was a worthy recipient. The 6’9” senior forward averaged 18.0 points per game, 5.8 rebounds, while shooting an amazing 46.2% from three. Bilodeau’s three-point shooting went from good to great this season, jumping from 40.0% as a junior to 46.2% this year while taking more attempts.
UCLA has needed Bilodeau’s offense; as much of the rest of the Bruins have been streaky, Bilodeau has given Mick Cronin and the UCLA offense something to rely on. Bilodeau’s first season with UCLA last year was quite solid, but his scoring decreased from his sophomore season at Oregon State. Bilodeau put that behind him this year, as he’s averaging nearly four points more than his previous career-high.
The Bruins didn’t get much love in the Big Ten’s honorable mentions either. Donovan Dent was the only UCLA player named to the honorable mention list. There have been moments where Dent has been UCLA’s best player, but it hasn’t come consistently enough. Dent has put up 13.6 points per game while leading the Bruins with 7.5 assists and 1.6 steals.
Former Bruin Aday Mara won the Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Year with the Michigan Wolverines a season after transferring out of UCLA.
UCLA will need big-time performances from both Dent and Bilodeau to make a run in this week’s Big Ten Conference tournament, which begins on Thursday for the Bruins, where they’ll face the winner of Minnesota-Rutgers.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Tyler Bilodeau is the only Bruin to get Big Ten All-Conference honors
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
