NEW ORLEANS – The UCLA men's basketball team will play against Ohio State next season in the fifth annual CBS Sports Classic at Chicago's United Center, it was announced Saturday morning.
 
Next season's CBS Sports Classic doubleheader will take place Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018. The showcase will feature UCLA against Ohio State, while Kentucky will take on North Carolina. This will mark the second time the annual doubleheader will be played at Chicago's United Center.
 
Ticket information for the 2018 CBS Sports Classic will be available at a later date.
 
UCLA faced Ohio State in Dec. 2016 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, earning a 76-63 victory to close the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 13-0 record.
 
The CBS Sports Classic has taken place at four different venues across the country in the event's first four seasons – United Center in 2014 (with a return in 2018), Barclays Center in Brooklyn in 2015, T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in 2017 and Smoothie King Center in New Orleans in 2017.
 
The Bruins' game in Chicago next season will take place three days after UCLA plays at Cincinnati in the Bearcats' newly-renovated Fifth Third Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018. The game at Cincinnati is the second matchup of a home-and-home series that began earlier this season.
 
Next season's CBS Sports Classic doubleheader will be nationally televised on CBS, with Brad Nessler and Bill Raftery calling the game and Allie LaForce serving as the sideline reporter.
 
UCLA is scheduled to participate in the CBS Sports Classic during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.
 
The Bruins take on Kentucky on Saturday, Dec. 23, in New Orleans before returning home to open Pac-12 play against Washington State on Friday, Dec. 29 (8 p.m., PT). UCLA will close the 2017 calendar year with a New Year's Eve game against Washington on Sunday, Dec. 31 (5 p.m., PT).