Men's Basketball to Play Two Exhibition Games in October
September 02, 2025 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA men's basketball team will open the season with a pair of exhibition games, both open to the public, at San Diego State and at home versus UC Irvine in October.
The Bruins will tip-off their schedule with an exhibition contest at San Diego State, playing at Viejas Arena, on Friday, Oct. 17. Less than two weeks later, UCLA will host an exhibition game against UC Irvine in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom on Tuesday, Oct. 28.
UCLA's game at San Diego State on Friday, Oct. 17, will begin at 7 p.m. The game time on Oct. 28 and the broadcast details for both exhibition contests have not been determined.
Both of these exhibition games provide fans with early opportunities to watch the 2025-26 Bruins, who return four primary contributors from last season's rotation – seniors Tyler Bilodeau and Skyy Clark, junior Eric Dailey Jr. and sophomore Trent Perry. Also back from redshirt seasons include redshirt sophomore Brandon Williams and redshirt freshman Eric Freeny.
UCLA will open the regular-season schedule at home against Eastern Washington on Monday, Nov. 3. The Bruins' complete non-conference schedule was announced last week (full details here).
Including the exhibition contest on Oct. 28, UCLA will play nine non-conference games in Pauley Pavilion prior to January. In addition, UCLA will host one home Big Ten Conference game in early December (the conference schedule has not been finalized).
TICKET INFORMATION: UCLA's season ticket packages for the 2025-26 men's basketball campaign are now available. Fans can call (310) 206-5991 or email tickets@athletics.ucla.edu for more information. Single-game tickets for UCLA's non-conference home games will be available when the complete 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.
EXHIBITION OPPONENTS AT A GLANCE
San Diego State
Friday, Oct. 17 – at SDSU's Viejas Arena in San Diego
Record in 2024-25: 21-10, 14-6 in the Mountain West Conference
Head Coach: Brian Dutcher (enters his ninth season as head coach)
San Diego State, last three seasons: 79-28 (73.8 win percentage)
UC Irvine
Tuesday, Oct. 28 – at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion
Record in 2024-25: 32-7, 17-3 in the Big West Conference
Head Coach: Russell Turner (enters his 16th season as head coach)
UC Irvine, last three seasons: 79-29 (73.1 win percentage)
