The UCLA basketball program has more illustrious history than any other. Another page in the Bruins history book will be written tomorrow night when they visit the Northwestern Wildcats for the first time as conference foes.
UCLA lead the all-time series 5-1, with their only L coming way back in 1949.
UCLA Basketball at Northwestern Wildcats
Monday, March 3,ย 8pm. CT, Welsh-Ryan Arena, Evanston, IL
TV: FS1 with Connor Onion (play-by-play) and Stephen Bardo (analyst)
ESPN Matchup Predictor:ย UCLA basketball and Northwestern are an even 50/50.
Radio: ESPN 1000 WMVP and Sirius XM Channel 119/195 with Dave Eanet (play-by-play) and Billy McKinney (analyst).
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย UCLA Basketballย ย ย ย Northwesternย
Netย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 27ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 54
KenPomย ย ย ย ย 27ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 46
Quad 1 ‘ย ย ย ย ย 6-8ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 3-9
Quad 2ย ย ย ย ย ย 6-0ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 4-4
Recordsย ย ย ย ย 20-9 (11-7)ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 16-13 (7-11)
Bluest of the Blue Blood Bruins
This UCLA basketball team is projected to be a #7 or a #6 seed in the NCAA Tournament, which is solid, but not spectacular. In their defense, this program, as well as the general community from which they reside, have had to deal with true adversities this season. We’re talkin about real hardship.
The Los Angeles wildfires, the worst that this region has ever seen, have upended all facets of life.
The NBA postponed Lakers and Clippers home games because of it. It’s hard for any team to be all that they can be amidst this backdrop.
But while this UCLA basketball team is good, they are nowhere near John Wooden level, or anything like that. They don’t have any real NBA level talent, and no one regards them to be a true Final Four contender once March Madness commences.
Having a Senior Moment
This night will see Northwestern honor its senior class of Keenan Fitzmorris, Jalen Leach, Brooks Barnhizer (it’s very sad what happened to him, but he’ll have a nice pro career down the line), Ty Berry and Matthew Nicholson (who set a career-high with 17 points on 9-for-9 shooting and nine rebounds in the last meeting between these two sides)ย as part of the Senior Night festivities.
With those last three names, you’re now saying farewell to most of the last remaining pieces of the first team(s) in Northwestern history to go to back to back NCAA Tournaments.
Obviously, they were the first Wildcats teams to win games in back-to-back tourneys as well.
Prediction: Northwestern Wildcats 67, UCLA Basketball 65
The Cats seems to have found their groove now, finding some adjustment to life after Barnhizer. UCLA, then ranked #7 in the country and a #2 seed in the bracket, sent Northwestern home from the 2023 NCAAs in the second round.
The final score was 68-63.
Now the Cats will get a bit of revenge; sort of.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. Heโs also the author of โTransatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,โ and โNo, I Canโt Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.โ
He currently contributes to USA Todayโs NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.
