LAS VEGAS — When UCLA had trouble just getting the ball to midcourt, the Bruins frazzled by swarming bodies and waving arms, it was obvious they weren’t playing a low-major team on their home court anymore.
This was a rude welcome to Big Ten Conference-style basketball in what felt like a road game rather than a neutral court, the Illinois fans who filled most of T-Mobile Arena roaring with every turnover their team forced.
In its first test of the season, UCLA failed miserably, as if it stopped filling in answers halfway through.
