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UCLA's supporting cast stepped up in Tyler Bilodeau's absence

· Yahoo Sports

Individuals don’t win in March, complete teams do. The No. 7 seed UCLA Bruins proved that on Friday, with much of the Bruins rotation stepping up in the absence of Tyler Bilodeau, who missed the Bruins' 75-71 win over No. 10 seed UCF due to his knee sprain.

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Donovan Dent notches six steals

With no Bilodeau, all of UCF’s defensive focus turned to Donovan Dent. Dent didn’t shoot it efficiently but he made a lot of winning plays for the Bruins. Dent went 4-17 from the field, scoring 10 points, but Dent added five rebounds, five assists and six steals to lead the way.

UCLA's secondary scorers stepped up

The question was, without Bilodeau, who was going to score for the Bruins? Both Eric Dailey Jr. and Xavier Booker answered the call. The duo combined for 35 points, with Trent Perry adding another 15 points for the Bruins.

UCF kept things interesting on Friday

There were several dry spells for UCLA without the game, which makes sense when you’re without your No. 1 option on offense. Even late in the second half with the Bruins so close to a win, they struggled mightily to get the game-sealing defensive stop. It wasn’t costly, as UCF ran out of time, but UCLA can’t afford to make that a habit.

UCLA's defense had themselves a good showing

While there were moments of poor offense, the Bruins defense had a good day. UCF shot only 38% from the field and forced 17 turnovers from the Knights. UCLA once again felt Bilodeau’s absence on the boards, getting out-rebounded 53-41.

Bruins get beasted on the board

The really concerning number for UCLA was allowing 25 offensive rebounds to the Knights. The Bruins play small ball, but they won’t stick around the tournament for long giving up that many extra chances.

There's plenty to nitpick but the real important thing is getting the win, which Mick Cronin’s team was able to do. 

This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA's lack of rebounding didn't cost them versus UCF in round one

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SS Rajamouli praises Ranveer Singh in Dhurandhar 2, calls it a masterclass in acting

· India Today

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Anna Hall, after world title in heptathlon, still has childhood goals to chase

· Yahoo Sports

In 2025, Anna Hall came back from Paris Olympic heartbreak with, as she journaled, "my best version."

That version of Hall: the joint-second-best heptathlete in history by total score and the second American to win a world title in the event after her idol, Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

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"I think I dreamed it, but I definitely didn't believe it because I had things like this written down from a very young age," Hall told NBC Sports' Trey Hardee. "I had world champion. I had Olympic champion. I had goals that I'm still chasing written down."

Hall must wait until 2028 to grab that Olympic gold medal — after placing fifth in Paris coming off injury.

But on Sunday, she can claim another global title in her World Indoor Track and Field Championships debut in the pentathlon.

How to watch 2026 World Indoor Track and Field ChampionshipsThe 2026 World Indoor Track and Field Championships air live on Peacock and NBCSN from Torun, Poland.

She can also become the second American to claim that crown after DeDee Nathan in 1999.

The five-event competition made its indoor worlds debut in 1993 in the latter part of the career of Joyner-Kersee, who never contested it.

Amid worlds prep, Hall also planned for her April wedding with New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton.

"It's been a nice break from track to focus on that and just always have something good going in my life," she said.

While she's having a life-changing year, Hall often scrolls back to her first full pro year in 2023. Specifically, when she broke 6,900 points for the first time at the annual multi-event festival in Götzis, Austria.

"Even until this past year, I viewed that as my best meet, just because I didn't believe I was ready for a score that I produced," she said. "I scored about the same thing at the (2025) World Championships, but I knew I was ready for that. So in my brain, it's like a lesser performance (to win 2025 Worlds), if that makes sense, because it's like, if we're going out of 100% all out, I was like, OK, I got a 90 (in 2025) versus back when I did it the first time, that was a 110% (in 2023)."

When Hall won Götzis in 2023, she looked primed to contend for gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Perhaps become the second American to claim an Olympic heptathlon title after Joyner-Kersee in 1988 and '92.

Then Hall was slowed by knee problems at the 2023 Worlds (silver to Brit Katarina Johnson-Thompson in the closest one-two in history) and in 2024 (surgery that January).

"The confidence that I've gained from having to pull myself back from injuries and surgeries and really rebuild my confidence from ground zero and surprise myself sometimes, or let myself down sometimes and then keep going, is really the biggest thing," she said. "Last year, heading into some of my best performances, I was like, I'm not sure if I'm ready. All this self doubt that I was battling, and then being able to pull out really great performances and get the win (at worlds) in Tokyo has really instilled in me where I'm like, we need to train that (mindset) out of myself. You're not starting from ground zero every time. You know what you're doing."

Mondo Duplantis returns to his field of dreams at World Indoor ChampionshipsMondo Duplantis headlines the World Indoor Track and Field Championships from Friday through Sunday, live on Peacock.

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