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The UCLA men’s basketball team made Senior Night one to savor Tuesday, dominating No. 9 Nebraska 72-52 at Pauley Pavilion for its 20th victory of the season and third over a top-10 ranked opponent.

The Bruins improved to 20-10 overall and 12-7 in the Big Ten with one regular season game remaining, Saturday at crosstown rival USC.

Trent Perry scored 20 points, Eric Dailey Jr. had 14 and three players — Tyler Bilodeau, Skyy Clark and Xavier Booker — each added eight points.

Sam Hoiberg had 12 points to lead Nebraska.

The Bruins were in control from the opening tip-off and never trailed the Cornhuskers (25-5, 14-5). UCLA improved to 10-3 in all-time against Nebraska and the win greatly strengthened its resume for an NCAA tournament berth as the Bruins also beat then-No. 4 Purdue 69-67 on Jan. 20 and then-No. 10 Illinois 95-94 in overtime on Feb. 21 on Donovan Dent’s layup with one second left.

This is the fifth time in head coach Mick Cronin’s seven seasons that the Bruins have won 20 or more games. They are 17-1 at home (their only loss in overtime to Indiana on Jan. 31).

UCLA went ahead by 15 points, 37-22, on Perry’s three-pointer with 2:41 left and led 37-24 at intermission. The Bruins shot 50% from the field in the first half (15 for 30) while Nebraska was only 31% (nine for 29).

The Bruins increased their advantage to 18 points on Dailey’s dunk less than five minutes into the second half and the visitors got no closer than nine the rest of the way.

Prior to pregame introductions the Bruins honored seniors Bilodeau, Dent and Clark; fifth-year player Jamar Brown; redshirt seniors Steven Jamerson II, Jack Seidler and Anthony Peoples Jr; and redshirt junior Evan Manjikian. In a media timeout, midway through the first half, former coach Jim Harrick (who led UCLA to its 11th national championship in 1995) was honored and got a loud ovation.

UCLA guard Skyy Clark looks to pass while under pressure from Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg and forward Berke Buyuktuncel in the second half.

(William Liang / Associated Press)

Over the last four games, Dent has 46 assists and just two turnovers.

Bilodeau has scored in double figures in 26 of 28 games played, totaling 20 points or more nine times.

Dailey moved to within five points of reaching the 1,000-career point milestone.

UCLA has now made at least one three-pointer in 887 of 888 games dating to February 2000.

More than 75,000 people packed the Coliseum for a soccer game Saturday night.

LAFC hosted the largest crowd for a soccer game in the world last weekend, the largest crowd for an MLS season-opening game and the second-largest in league history.

MLS moved the game from cozy BMO Stadium, LAFC’s regular home, a few hundred feet west to the cavernous 77,000-seat Coliseum because Lionel Messi, arguably the best to ever play the sport, would be there. It worked: The crowd was the largest at the Coliseum for any event in more than six years.

But the people didn’t come to see Messi or his team, Inter Miami, the reigning MLS champion. The crowd was not dressed in Miami pink but in the black and gold of LAFC, which won 3-0.

And that’s a good sign for MLS.

According to one high-ranking MLS executive who has attended multiple Messi games in NFL stadiums, Saturday was the first time he heard he Argentine captain booed.

“The fans immediately started booing Inter Miami and Messi as they came out of the tunnel for warmups,” said the executive, who was not authorized to speak publicly. “And that continued throughout the game. There were hardly any pink jerseys in the crowd. It was a real testament to the incredible fan base of LAFC.”

The league made a trade-off in 2007 when the Galaxy signed David Beckham, who was followed by a steady stream of big-name stars from Thierry Henry, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robbie Keane and Bastian Schweinsteiger. Tens of thousands of curious fans came out to cheer the European soccer royalty, not the local teams they were playing against.

Messi took that to another level. Three MLS teams drew the largest crowds in their franchises’ histories when Messi came to town. He brought attention and excitement to MLS and eyeballs to its TV broadcasts.

What the league needed to move to the next level, though, was an authentic fan culture. It needed supporters who cheered for their team through thick and thin, not curious, casual fans who came out to see whatever big-name player was passing through town but never came back.

It has found that with LAFC.

“This atmosphere in the stadium is nice for the team. We know the fans are coming to support us,” LAFC striker Denis Bouanga said. “It’s good for me and my teammates.”

Twice in the last four seasons an LAFC game produced an attendance record. In 2023, LAFC played the Galaxy before 82,110 at the Rose Bowl, the largest crowd in league history. Saturday’s attendance of 75,673 was the second-largest, and largest for a season opener.

LAFC has earned that following. And if the team is the future of MLS, then it will be a bright future.

Since LAFC began play in 2018, no other MLS team has won more games, scored more goals or amassed more points. No other team has won more trophies either. And while LAFC may not have Messi, it’s hardly lacking for star power.

Son Heung-min, the captain of South Korea’s national team and a former English Premier League scoring leader, assisted on LAFC’s first goal Saturday. Bouanga, who scored the second goal, has more regular-season goals than Messi since Messi joined MLS in the summer of 2023. And Hugo Lloris, who pitched the shutout in goal, has played more World Cup games than any other goalkeeper in history.

Lloris also has played in — and won — as many World Cup finals as Messi. In some parts of MLS, Messi is an enemy to be beaten, not a celebrity to be welcomed.

“We want to beat Messi; we want to beat Miami because Messi is there,” Bouanga said. “The motivation is so high for this game. Maybe this game means more.”

Certainly for LAFC supporters it did. Because more than 75,000 of them came to cheer the local team and boo the visiting one, no matter who was wearing that bright pink uniform.

And that’s a good sign for MLS.

TEMPE, Ariz. — Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto toed the rubber Saturday for the team’s Cactus League opener against the Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium with the expectation that it would be his only start before joining Team Japan for next month’s World Baseball Classic.

Even manager Dave Roberts believed that was the case as he came out to lift his star pitcher with two outs in the bottom of the second inning.

“Doc came to the mound, and he said, ‘Good luck in the WBC,’” Yamamoto said via interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “But actually, I have one more game to pitch.”

After giving up one earned run, three hits and striking out three in his 30-pitch outing, Yamamoto said he believes his next start will be on Friday against the San Francisco Giants at Scottsdale Stadium.

Yamamoto cruised through the first inning, striking out third baseman Yoan Moncado swinging and getting shortstop Zach Neto to look at a called strike three on a darting sinker.

But then the Dodgers, who had scored three runs in the top of the first, sent 11 men to the plate, scoring six runs on five hits, two walks and a hit batter in a half-inning that took nearly 30 minutes. Yamamoto believes the long break between innings may have disrupted his workflow, contributing to a messy second inning.

A dropped fly ball on the warning track in left field by Teoscar Hernández spelled trouble for Yamamoto, scoring a run and allowing Jo Adell to reach second base with nobody out. Yamamoto struck out the next hitter, getting left fielder Josh Lowe to swing through a splitter, before allowing back-to-back outfield line drives to catcher Logan O’Hoppe and second baseman Christian Moore. After Bryce Teodosio flied out for the second out of the inning, Yamamoto’s day was done.

Yamamoto reached into his five-pitch repertoire Saturday, mixing in six fastballs, eight splitters, five sinkers, four cutters, four curveballs and three sliders. His fastball sat between 91 and 93 mph, topping out at 94.9 mph.

“I was looking for some stuff I needed to get back before I go back to Japan and join the team,” Yamamoto said. “I was looking forward to the feeling, the delivery and those things.”

Fans pack Diablo Stadium for Saturday’s game between the Angels and Dodgers.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

He added: “Yesterday’s practice, I was already feeling good. And then, somehow I was able to carry that to today’s game, especially the first inning. I think I was great, but due to the gap between innings, that affected me a little bit.”

With Yamamoto’s time being limited with the Dodgers before the WBC, Roberts spoke pregame Saturday about what he hopes to see from his star pitcher in the time leading up to the event.

“I think that obviously, him going and pitching for Team Japan, he’s going to be trying to ramp it up and get prepared,” Roberts said. “So, I think it’s just more of what he does [on] strike one, [how he] uses secondaries, and be efficient and get some outs.”

Though Yamamoto will pitch once more before leaving for the WBC, Roberts told reporters that he isn’t concerned about the WBC interrupting Yamamoto’s preparation for the regular season.

“I think I’m confident because there’s no exact science on ramping up early and success, or being methodical and not participating to result in success during the season,” Roberts said. “There’s just no exact science. For me, and for all of us, you’re just believing in the player, knowing that he knows what it takes to be ready for a season and he takes care of himself, so I think for me, it’s an easy way to think and wrap my head around, just kind of believing in him, trusting him.”

Etc.

Dodgers right fielder Teoscar Hernandez hugs Dodgers manager Dave Roberts after scoring in the first inning.

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

Just over a week into camp, utilityman Hyeseong Kim has already made a strong first impression, as he vies for more playing time in his second season. On Saturday, he went two for three with three RBIs to help spark the Dodgers’ offensive outburst. Elsewhere, the top three hitters in the lineup — Shohei Ohtani, Hernández and Andy Pages — combined for six hits in nine at-bats with two RBIs. … The Dodgers claimed outfielder Jack Suwinski from the Pittsburgh Pirates. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers transferred utilityman Kiké Hernández to the 60-day injured list.