The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team will play against the University of Connecticut (UConn) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, according to a March 21 announcement. The game is scheduled for Sunday at 5:45 p.m. Pacific Time and will be broadcast on TNT.
This matchup is significant as it determines which team advances to the Sweet 16 in Washington, D.C., next week. UCLA enters the contest as a No. 7 seed with a season record of 24-11, while UConn holds a No. 2 seed and a record of 30-5.
UCLA has made its fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament over the last six seasons and its tenth trip in fourteen years. Under head coach Mick Cronin, who joined UCLA in spring 2019, the Bruins have won their first tournament game each year they have qualified, going undefeated (5-0) in those openers. The team recently defeated No. 10-seed UCF by a score of 75-71 and has won seven out of its last nine games.
Individually, Eric Dailey Jr. led scoring efforts with 20 points against UCF, while Tyler Bilodeau earned third-team All-Big Ten Conference honors for the second consecutive season and leads five Bruins averaging double-digit points per game this year. Donovan Dent stands out nationally with an average of over seven assists per game and recently recorded his fifth double-double at UCLA.
Historically, this is only the second meeting between UCLA and UConn; their previous encounter was during the Elite Eight round of the 1995 NCAA Tournament when UCLA secured a win that propelled them toward their eleventh national title. The Bruins have participated in sixteen NCAA Tournaments over twenty-two seasons and hold eleven championships overall.
Looking ahead, if UCLA wins on Sunday, they will advance to play in Washington, D.C., continuing their pursuit for another deep run into March Madness.
