UCLA Finalizes Early-Season Men's Basketball Schedule
August 05, 2022 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA men's basketball team will play 11 non-conference games in 2022-23, including back-to-back contests on the East Coast against Maryland and Kentucky in the middle of December.
UCLA will open against Sacramento State in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom on Monday, Nov. 7.
The Bruins will play 13 contests from Nov. 7 through Dec. 21. This includes 11 non-conference games and two early-season Pac-12 contests (at Stanford and at home versus Oregon). UCLA will play its remaining 18 Pac-12 games from the final weekend of December through early March.
"Our team is going to be tested early, and this non-conference schedule will provide some challenges," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "Players have chosen to attend UCLA because they want to be involved in high-level college basketball matchups. This schedule is no exception. When you look at our November games in Las Vegas and the two-game road swing along the East Coast, facing Maryland and Kentucky, we will have opportunities to see where we stand before getting to the bulk of our Pac-12 schedule."
UCLA's entire 31-game schedule, completed with game times and TV details, will be finalized in September. The Bruins' regular-season schedule will include 17 games at home, three contests at a neutral site, and 11 road games.
UCLA will open the 2022-23 regular season with three consecutive home contests. The opening game against Sacramento State is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 7, in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. The Bruins will also welcome Long Beach State (Nov. 11) and Norfolk State (Nov. 14).
The two-day Continental Tire Main Event, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, will feature UCLA and Illinois, along with Baylor and Virginia. The Bruins will open against Illinois on Friday, Nov. 18, before taking on either Baylor or Virginia on Sunday, Nov. 20. Those contests in Las Vegas will be televised by the ESPN family of networks.
After a pair of home contests against Pepperdine (Nov. 23) and Bellarmine (Nov. 27), UCLA will play two Pac-12 games against Stanford and Oregon. The Bruins will play at Stanford on Thursday, Dec. 1, before returning home to host Oregon on Sunday, Dec. 4.
UCLA will host Denver (Dec. 10) before flying to the East Coast for a contest at Maryland on Wednesday, Dec. 14. Three days later, the Bruins will take on Kentucky in the CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday, Dec. 17.
UCLA's final non-conference game against UC Davis will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 21. The Bruins' remaining 18 Pac-12 contests will begin during the week of Wednesday, Dec. 28 through Sunday, Jan. 1.
In addition, the Bruins will play one home exhibition game against Concordia (located in Irvine, Calif.) on Wednesday, Nov. 2. The exhibition game will take place in Pauley Pavilion.
TICKET INFORMATION: The only way for UCLA fans to guarantee seats to all 17 regular-season home games is by purchasing season tickets. Click here to secure men's basketball season tickets. Single-game tickets for the Bruins' non-conference home games will be available when the complete 2022-23 schedule is released in September. For more information about tickets, call UCLA Athletic Sales & Service at (310) 206-5991 or via email at tickets@athletics.ucla.edu.
CONTINENTAL TIRE MAIN EVENT TICKETS: Tickets for the Bruins' two games at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas – competing in the Continental Tire Main Event – are available online. Ticket prices for the two-day tournament start at $49 per day (prices include tax and a facility fee). Tickets are available online by visiting www.tmobilearena.com or www.axs.com. Tickets will allow access to both games on the given day.
Complete information about the tournament can be found by visiting www.continentaltiremainevent.com and on social media at @VegasMainEvent. Fan travel packages are available on the event website.
Tickets for the games in Las Vegas in UCLA's allocation will be made available closer to the men's basketball season.
NOTES ON THE OPPOSITION: Seven of UCLA's potential non-conference opponents finished in the top half of their respective conference standings in 2021-22. Long Beach State (20-13) finished first in the Big West's regular-season standings, while Norfolk State (24-7) won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's regular-season title and the league's tournament championship. Illinois (23-10) and Baylor (27-7), two participants in the Continental Tire Main Event, finished in a regular-season first-place tie in their respective conferences – Illinois in the Big Ten and Baylor in the Big 12. Virginia (21-14) finished in sixth place in the 15-team Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Bellarmine (20-13) finished in second place in the Western Division of the ASUN Conference. Kentucky (28-8) tied for second place in the SEC's regular-season standings.
Four of those teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament's 68-team field – No. 1-seed Baylor, No. 4-seed Illinois, No. 2-seed Kentucky and No. 16-seed Norfolk State.
IN THE PAC-12: This will mark the third season in which the Pac-12 will utilize a 20-game league schedule. Last season, the Bruins went 15-5 in conference action, finishing in second place in the league standings. UCLA advanced to the championship game of the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas.
This season, the Bruins will not host Oregon State in Pauley Pavilion and will not play at California. UCLA will face the other nine league opponents twice – one game at home and one game on the road.
UCLA will open its Pac-12 schedule at Stanford on Thursday, Dec. 1. The Bruins will host Oregon just three days later in Pauley Pavilion, on Sunday, Dec. 4. The Pac-12's schedule will continue with all of the remaining league matchups resuming during the week of Wednesday, Dec. 28 through Sunday, Jan. 1.
UCLA's Early-Season Schedule (2022-23)
| Day | Date | Opponent | Site/Venue |
| Mon. | Nov. 7 | Sacramento State | Pauley Pavilion |
| Fri. | Nov. 11 | Long Beach State | Pauley Pavilion |
| Mon. | Nov. 14 | Norfolk State | Pauley Pavilion |
| Fri. | Nov. 18 | Illinois | T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas, Nev.) |
| Sun. | Nov. 20 | Baylor or Virginia | T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas, Nev.) |
| Wed. | Nov. 23 | Pepperdine | Pauley Pavilion |
| Sun. | Nov. 27 | Bellarmine | Pauley Pavilion |
| Thu. | Dec. 1 | at Stanford | Stanford, Calif. |
| Sun. | Dec. 4 | Oregon | Pauley Pavilion |
| Sat. | Dec. 10 | Denver | Pauley Pavilion |
| Wed. | Dec. 14 | at Maryland | College Park, Md. |
| Sat. | Dec. 17 | vs. Kentucky | Madison Square Garden (New York, N.Y.) |
| Wed. | Dec. 21 | UC Davis | Pauley Pavilion |
UCLA's Early-Season Opponents
| Opponent | Conference | 2021-22 Record | 2021-22 Conf. Record | 2021-22 Conf. Finish |
| Sacramento State | Big Sky | 11-18 | 6-14 | t-8th / 11 |
| Long Beach State | Big West | 20-13 | 12-3 | 1st / 11 |
| Norfolk State | MEAC | 24-7 | 12-2 | 1st / 8 |
| Illinois | Big Ten | 23-10 | 15-5 | t-1st / 14 |
| Baylor | Big 12 | 27-7 | 14-4 | t-1st / 10 |
| Virginia | ACC | 21-14 | 12-8 | 6th / 15 |
| Bellarmine | ASUN | 20-13 | 11-5 | 2nd / 6 (West Division) |
| Stanford | Pac-12 | 16-16 | 8-12 | 9th / 12 |
| Oregon | Pac-12 | 20-15 | 11-9 | t-5th /12 |
| Denver | Summit League | 11-21 | 7-11 | t-6th / 10 |
| Maryland | Big Ten | 15-17 | 7-13 | t-10th / 14 |
| Kentucky | SEC | 28-8 | 14-4 | t-2nd/14 |
| UC Davis | Big West | 13-11 | 5-6 | 7th / 11 |
