LOS ANGELES — When Mick Cronin interviewed for the UCLA head coaching job in 2019, he told then-athletic director Dan Guerrero that he envisioned running a program much like the way Tom Izzo has led Michigan State since the mid-1990s.

On Tuesday night, Izzo commended Cronin for beating his team at its own game in a contest Izzo said was the most physical Big Ten game he’s been a part of “in a long time.”

The Bruins got an off-balance game-winning shot in the lane from Eric Dailey Jr. with 7.5 seconds left to knock off the ninth-ranked Spartans 63-61 at Pauley Pavilion.

UCLA (17-6, 8-4 Big Ten) sealed its sixth consecutive victory after Michigan State (18-4, 9-2 Big Ten) was unable to steal the victory on guard Jaden Akins’ 3-pointer in the closing seconds.

The Spartans lost their second consecutive contest, getting swept by the Los Angeles schools, after winning their first nine conference games.

Both shot below 40% in a match-up par for the course between the two tough, defensive-minded coaches.

The Bruins, who led by as many as 11 points in the second half, owned a 19-4 advantage in points off turnovers and had just three turnovers to the Spartans’ 16.

UCLA guard Skyy Clark scored 13 of his team-high 14 points in the first half. Forward Tyler Bilodeau chipped in 13.

Akins scored a game-high 15 for Michigan State, which lost despite a decisive 45-27 rebounding advantage — including 14-8 on the offensive glass.

The teams traded big early runs on the way to an 18-18 tie past the midway point of the first half.

Both teams struggled from the field early, but Clark and reserve center Aday Mara had a connection going for the Bruins.

Minutes after the 7-foot-3 sophomore found Clark over the top of the defense on a cut to the basket for a layup, it was the guard who then tossed an alley-oop to Mara for a two-handed finish and 29-26 UCLA lead with 3:50 left in the half.

That ignited a 7-0 run that included a pair of Clark free throws and his 3-pointer.

The Bruins took a 35-28 lead into the locker room after holding the Spartans without a made field goal over the final 4 minutes, 7 seconds.

UCLA led 48-37 early in the second half but was unable to maintain it.

Michigan State slowly chipped away before eight consecutive points tied the game 54-54 with 7:09 remaining. The Bruins went scoreless for nearly four minutes and failed to make a shot from the field for more than seven minutes.

Finally, reserve guard Lazar Stefanovic ended the drought with a 3-pointer from the wing that put UCLA back in front 61-59 with less than three minutes left.

Tied 61-61 with 22.4 seconds left, Spartans forward Jaxon Kohler pulled down an offensive rebound but was called for traveling to set up Dailey’s heroics on the ensuing possession.

It was Stefanovic’s key basket that stopped UCLA’s bleeding and got the team the lead back.

Stefanovic was 3 of 3, including a pair of 3-pointers, and finished with eight points off the bench to pick up the slack on a quiet night from fellow reserve Sebastian Mack.

Johnson picked up a pair of steals, tying him with Bilodeau for game-high honors, and spearheaded a defense that disrupted Michigan State’s flow.

It all goes back to the points off turnovers. On a night where it was tough to find a basket, the Bruins made things easier on themselves with seven more shot attempts despite getting outworked on the glass.