College basketball opening night in Las Vegas delivered a March style finish. No. 22 UCLA beat No. 5 Arizona 84-75 on Monday night at T-Mobile Arena in the Hall of Fame Series, in the season opener for both teams. The Bruins led for nearly the entire contest, built a 16-point lead early in the second half, then watched Arizona cut the margin to a single point with 3:11 to play before closing the game out at the free throw line.
How a 16-Point Lead Nearly Vanished
UCLA set the tone early with a 14-0 first-half run that pushed the Bruins ahead 27-13, and they took a 43-29 lead into halftime. Arizona kept climbing back behind Ivan Kharchenkov. Here is how the final minutes went:
- 5:03 left: Joe Philon III hits a wide-open 3-pointer and UCLA leads 71-60.
- 3:36 left: Derek Dixon hits a 3 to cut it to 71-68, and Kharchenkov free throws make it 71-70 at the 3:11 mark.
- 2:59 left: Xavier Booker answers with a 3-pointer for a 74-70 lead.
- 1:31 left: Eric Dailey Jr. scores in the paint to push the lead back to six, at 76-70.
- Final minute: Nikola Kusturica finds Dailey on a cross-court pass for a dunk with 40 seconds to go, and Kusturica and Trent Perry combine to go 6-for-6 at the free throw line in the final 32 seconds.
Head coach Mick Cronin credited the group after the win: "They get it. They understand that basketball is about what you do without the ball, how you communicate, and everything else that contributes to winning."
The Numbers That Decided It
One player had the biggest scoring night in the building, and his team still lost:
| Player | Team | Line |
|---|---|---|
| Trent Perry | UCLA | 21 points, 5 assists, 11-for-11 on free throws |
| Eric Dailey Jr. | UCLA | 13 points |
| Nikola Kusturica | UCLA | 10 points, 5 rebounds, team-high 3 steals |
| Ivan Kharchenkov | Arizona | 38 points, 10 rebounds |
| Derek Dixon | Arizona | 18 points, 16 of them after halftime |
- Rebounds: UCLA won the glass 45-44 and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds.
- Ball security: UCLA finished with 16 assists and just seven turnovers.
- Free throws: UCLA made 20 of 25 as a team, and Perry did not miss one.
- Arizona shooting: The Wildcats shot 36.7 percent from the field and 7 of 30 from 3-point range.
What Las Vegas Fans Should Take From Opening Night
Three facts from Monday night are easy to miss, and each one changes how you should read these teams this winter:
- This was a historic opener for UCLA. It was the Bruins first win over a top-five team in the AP poll since January 20, 2026, when they beat No. 4 Purdue 69-67. It was also their first season opener against a top-25 team since 2000-01, against No. 7 Kansas in New York.
- A 20-year Arizona streak ended on the Strip. This was Arizona first season-opening loss in 20 years, since the 2006-07 opener at Virginia. Kharchenkov 38 points were the most by a Wildcat in a loss since Jerryd Bayless scored 39 in 2008, and it still was not enough.
- T-Mobile Arena gave fans two statements in one night. In the same Hall of Fame Series, No. 15 Gonzaga beat Purdue 78-72, its first win over Purdue after five straight losses in the matchup. Davis Fogle scored a career-high 22 for Gonzaga, and Daniel Jacobsen led Purdue with 22.
The usable lesson for fans heading to a Las Vegas college basketball game this season is simple: do not leave early, and do not judge a team by its ranking in November. UCLA won on offensive rebounds, low turnovers, and perfect late free throw shooting.
