CHICAGO (AP) 鈥� UCLA star forward Tyler Bilodeau will likely miss at least one game because of a right leg injury he sustained in the in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on Friday night.
Coach Mick Cronin all but ruled Bilodeau out for the semifinal game against , saying it would take 鈥渓iterally a miracle for him to play.鈥� Cronin was hopeful that Bilodeau has 鈥渟ome sort of sprain鈥� rather than a more serious injury and said he was to go for more imaging. But exactly how long he will be out was unclear.
鈥淢y concern is for him, for him. If I didn鈥檛 have bad luck, I鈥檇 have no luck at all, my friend, since I鈥檝e been at UCLA with injuries. It could have cost us the national championship. We lost two NBA players in March three years ago,” Cronin said, referring to Jaylen Clark and Adem Bona. 鈥淢y concern is for him and his career and how it affects his teammates, because I don鈥檛 base my career off wins and losses. Legacy is the most overrated thing in life.鈥�
Bilodeau, meanwhile, said: 鈥淚鈥檓 good.鈥�
He didn’t look good when went down clutching his right knee with a noncontact injury. His leg buckled on an awkward landing as he tried to defend Carson Cooper in the post, away from the ball with 3:33 remaining and the Bruins leading 35-23.
The team鈥檚 leading scorer and rebounder, Bilodeau made both his shots and had five points in 10 minutes.
鈥淢y initial reaction, I just really prayed that he was OK, and I鈥檓 glad that he鈥檚 OK,” Trent Perry said. “Again, like I said, it鈥檚 a team effort. We had guys step up.鈥� ___
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