LOS ANGELES – No. 22 UCLA returns to Pauley Pavilion for the Bruins’ regular-season home opener against North Florida (1-0) this Friday night. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. (tickets are available here). UCLA’s home game will be televised by Big Ten Network. In addition, UCLA fans can tune to AM 790 (KABC) for the Bruins’ radio broadcast.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial
Capacity: 13,800
Tipoff Time: 7:39 p.m. (PT)
Broadcast Network: Big Ten Network
Broadcast Talent: Daron Vaught (play-by-play), Miles Simon (analyst)
Radio (UCLA Audio Network): AM 790 (KABC)
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
Sirius XM Channels: SiriusXM 85 and SiriusXM App
Live Stats: ucla.statbroadcast.com (link here)
NOTES ON UPCOMING HOME GAMES
UCLA’s home opener against North Florida on Friday, Nov. 6, will provide fans with a first look up close at the 2026-27 Bruins. The first 2,500 fans at Pauley Pavilion will receive a UCLA men’s basketball schedule poster. The UCLA honorary captain will be gymnastics head coach Janelle McDonald. Tickets to this game are starting at just $10 in the arena’s upper level, with ticket prices starting at $16 in Pauley’s lower bowl. Fans interested in purchasing season tickets can click here, while single-game tickets for all UCLA home games are available here.
UCLA WINS SEASON OPENER
Four Bruins scored in double figures, led by Trent Perry's 21-point outing, as No. 22 UCLA outlasted No. 5 Arizona, 84-75, in the season-opening game for both teams on Monday, Nov. 2 at T-Mobile Arena. Eric Dailey Jr. had 13 points and eight rebounds, and Jaylen Petty knocked in four 3-pointers to finish with 12 points in the victory. UCLA led at halftime, 43-29, and by as many as 16 points early in the second half. Arizona trimmed UCLA's advantage down to just one point (71-70, at 3:11 in the second half), before the Bruins closed the game on a 13-5 scoring run.
ON THE HORIZON
UCLA will host North Florida in the second-ever meeting between the two schools on Friday night at Pauley Pavilion. When these two programs last met (Nov. 17, 2021), Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored a team-high 20 points in UCLA's 98-63 win over the Ospreys. Johnny Juzang totaled 17 points, Jules Bernard finished with 15 points, and Tyger Campbell had 13 points, six rebounds and five assists in the win. UCLA will open a stretch of five consecutive home games with the contest against North Florida this Friday. Next week, the Bruins will host Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Wednesday, Nov. 11.
FRESHMEN PRODUCTION
Nikola Kusturica became UCLA's first freshman with at least 10 points in his collegiate debut since Amari Bailey had 10 points against Sacramento State in the Bruins' season opener on Nov. 7, 2022. Kusturica became the Bruins' first freshman with at least 10 points and five rebounds in his collegiate debut since Moses Brown had 19 points and 17 rebounds in a win over Purdue Fort Wayne in Pauley Pavilion on Nov. 6, 2018. Kusturica, a 6-foot-9 guard/forward from Novi Sad, Serbia, finished Monday's season opener with 10 points, five rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
COLLECTIVE EFFORT
UCLA's win on Monday was the result of multiple strong contributions across the board from the Bruins' roster. With sophomore Filip Jovic nursing a sprained left ankle, UCLA received steady contributions off the bench from Joe Philon III (seven points, four rebounds) and Sergej Macura (seven points, two rebounds). Xavier Booker totaled eight points, including a key 3-pointer to give UCLA a four-point cushion in the final three minutes. Macura nailed 3-pointers at the 11:54 and 11:01 marks in the first half to help UCLA open up a 21-13 advantage.
KEY NOTES ABOUT UCLA
– The Bruins return six players from last season's roster. The most significant and veteran returning players include seniors Xavier Booker (7.3 ppg), Eric Dailey Jr. (11.6 ppg) and Brandon Williams (2.6 ppg) and junior Trent Perry (12.6 ppg). Both Dailey Jr. and Perry represented UCLA's program alongside head coach Mick Cronin at Big Ten Men's Basketball Media Day.
– Stretching back to last season, UCLA has won four of its last six games against teams ranked in the top 20. Prior to Monday's win over No. 5 Arizona, the Bruins picked up wins late last year against No. 10 Illinois in overtime (Feb. 21), No. 9 Nebraska (March 3) and No. 8 Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago (March 13).
– UCLA's four incoming transfer students include Filip Jovic (sophomore, from Auburn), Sergej Macura (junior, from Mississippi State), Jaylen Petty (sophomore, from Texas Tech) and Azavier Robinson (sophomore, from Butler). All four transfers played at the NCAA Division I level last season.
– Glancing at UCLA's returning student-athletes and incoming transfers, the Bruins' roster includes eight players who have competed in a minimum of 25 college basketball games. In all, nine players on this season's roster have played at least one full college season. Eric Dailey Jr. and Xavier Booker stand atop that career games list with 101 and 97 games, respectively.
– The Bruins have welcomed four freshmen to the roster – Javonte Floyd (center, from Atlanta, Ga.), Gunars Grinvalds (guard/forward from Jurmala, Latvia), Nikola Kusturica (guard/forward, from Novi Sad, Serbia) and Joe Philon III (guard/forward from Tampa, Fla.). UCLA has added junior Jordan Houegban, who previously served as a Bruins' student manager.
– The Bruins went 14-7 over their final 21 games last year, including a pair of top-10 victories in March over No. 9-ranked Nebraska (72-52) and No. 8-ranked Michigan State (88-84). UCLA recorded a 17-1 home record, with the lone loss taking place in double overtime to Indiana (the Hoosiers won the double overtime affair 98-97).
– UCLA's leading scorer the past two seasons, Tyler Bilodeau, was drafted as a senior last June. He was the No. 43 overall selection in the NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets (second round pick) and has inked a contract with the Nets. Bilodeau, one of 10 former UCLA players on NBA rosters this month, averaged a team-leading 17.6 points per game in 31 contests.
– Mick Cronin has entered his eighth season as UCLA's head coach. Over the past six seasons, he has led UCLA to five NCAA Tournament appearances (the NCAA Tournament was canceled at the conclusion of his first season, due to COVID-19). Cronin has totaled 162 victories as UCLA's head coach, the fifth-highest win total in program history.
BRUINS DEFEAT ARIZONA, 84-75
– Prior to Monday evening, UCLA had not played a ranked opponent in its season opener since taking on No. 7 Kansas on Nov. 9, 2001. Ranked No. 17 in the preseason, UCLA lost that game to Kansas, 99-98, at Madison Square Garden. The Bruins opened their 1997-98 campaign (Nov. 27, 1997) with a loss to No. 4 North Carolina at the Great Alaska Shootout.
– The Bruins led Arizona, 43-29 at halftime on Monday night and pushed ahead by as many as 16 points (45-29) with 19 minutes to play in the second half. Arizona cut down the Bruins' lead to seven points at the 13:28 mark and pulled to within 71-70 of UCLA with 3:11 remaining. Xavier Booker's 3-pointer at the 2:59 mark put UCLA ahead, 74-70.
– UCLA improved its all-time record to 65-51 against Arizona. The two schools first met in 1923 and have played each other routinely since he 1978-79 season, when both schools were members of the Pac-10 Conference. Most recently, the Bruins have gone 8-7 against Arizona in the past 15 meetings (since the start of the 2019-20 season).
RECENT SEASON OPENERS
Through eight season-opening games under the direction of Mick Cronin, UCLA has posted a 7-1 record. Earlier this week, the Bruins defeated No. 5 Arizona, 84-75, in Las Vegas. Last season, the Bruins took down Eastern Washington, 80-74, in their season-opening game at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA's most recent loss in a season opener took place during the 2020-21 season, as the Bruins absorbed a 73-58 setback at San Diego State (game played in front of no fans, during the COVID-19 pandemic). Monday's opening game marked UCLA's first season opener played outside of California since the 2017-18 season, when UCLA secured a 63-60 win over Georgia Tech in Shanghai, China.