If this is the new and improved Illinois basketball squad, go ahead and add yet another instrument to its growing toolbox:

Resilience.

On a night when one of their greatest strengths failed them and their scorching-hot opponent wouldn’t call it quits, the Illini dug in their heels, gnashed their teeth and white-knuckled their way to an 83-78 win over UCLA on Tuesday at the State Farm Center in Champaign.

Kasparas Jakucionis, who was named to the Wooden Award top 20 late midseason watch list shortly before tip-off, furthered his case with 24 points, eight rebounds, four assists and a circus three in the closing moments that all but sealed the win for Illinois (17-8, 9-6 Big Ten).

UCLA (18-7, 9-5), down by 10 early in the second half and by as many as 16 with 4:51 to play, wouldn’t pack it in. The Bruins got a game-high 25 points – including seven three-pointers – from forward Tyler Bilodeau as Illinois, known for its perimeter defense, allowed a season-worst 52.2 percent (12-for-23) from behind the arc.

But the shots were falling for the Illini, too, as center Tomislav Ivisic knocked down 4 of 6 threes and Jakucionis connected on 3 of 8 – including a bonkers, leaning runner with the shot clock bleeding out and Illinois nursing a three-point lead with 38 seconds left.

Jakucionis’ shot halted a 12-0 Bruins run and gave the Illini just enough leverage to force UCLA to press and foul, both of which they beat – first with an Ivisic dunk, then a key Ben Humrichous free throw, an Ivisic rebound and two foul shots from Kylan Boswell.

Still missing swingman Tre White (flu) and with Ivisic gritting his way through an ankle sprain, the Illini found a flow early on offense – never a guarantee for this group – with a dribble handoff scheme and sharp passing that stressed an aggressive Bruins man-to-man defense.

Illinois assisted on nine of its 12 first-half field goals, and a sizable 21-14 rebounding advantage at halftime gave the Illini a 31-25 lead at the break.

But UCLA never took the hint, and between Bilodeau’s icy-veined shooting and key buckets from former Illini Skyy Clark – in his first appearance at the State Farm Center since he last appeared in orange and blue as a freshman – the Bruins remained a threat until the final seconds.

Clark finished with nine points and two assists as UCLA saw its seven-game winning streak stopped.

The victory marked Illinois’ first back-to-back wins since early January and its seventh Quad 1 win, tying for most in the Big Ten.

Knocking off the Bruins solidified the Illini’s NCAA Tournament resume and kept a glimmer of long-shot hopes alive in the Big Ten regular-season race. Although saddled with six conference losses, the Illini face five of the six clubs ahead of them in the standings on their remaining schedule – including Michigan State on Saturday (7 p.m. CT, on FOX) in Champaign.

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