The UCLA men’s basketball team is set to face Maryland in a Big Ten matchup at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday, January 10. The game will be broadcast nationally on FOX at 5 p.m. Pacific Time, marking the Bruins’ first home appearance since December 23. UCLA enters the contest with a 10-5 overall record and a 2-2 mark in conference play.
UCLA will look to end a two-game losing streak after dropping games during a recent road trip to Iowa and Wisconsin. Prior to those losses, the Bruins had won five of their previous six games. Through January 8, the team ranked third in the Big Ten for three-point shooting percentage (36.9% over 15 games) and eighth in free throw shooting (75.1%).
Maryland arrives with a 7-8 overall record and is winless in conference play at 0-4. This game marks the fourth consecutive season that UCLA has played Maryland, with UCLA holding a 7-4 advantage in the all-time series. Last season, Maryland defeated UCLA by a score of 79-61.
During Saturday’s game, Dave Roberts, manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers and former Bruin, will serve as honorary captain during a break in the first half.
Tyler Bilodeau leads UCLA’s scoring efforts this season, averaging 18.1 points per game—eighth among all Big Ten players—and has scored at least ten points in eleven out of thirteen games played. Bilodeau also achieved his career-high of 34 points against UC Riverside on December 23.
Donovan Dent has contributed an average of 13.5 points and leads the team with an average of 6.5 assists per game, ranking third in the Big Ten for assists per contest. Skyy Clark matches Dent’s scoring average at 13.5 points per game and currently leads the conference in three-point shooting percentage (48.6%). Eric Dailey Jr., another key contributor, averages 10.6 points and leads the team with an average of 5.6 rebounds per game.
UCLA’s defense continues to build on past success; last year Kobe Johnson was named to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team while previous seasons saw accolades for Adem Bona and Jaylen Clark for their defensive performances.
The Bruins have four remaining home games scheduled for January as part of their nine-game slate this month—seven more contests are set before February begins.
At halftime on Saturday, former Bruin Dave Meyers will be honored following his posthumous induction into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.
Coach Mick Cronin has guided UCLA to an impressive home record since taking over prior to the start of the 2019–20 season; under his leadership, UCLA holds an overall home record of 88 wins and just fifteen losses—a win percentage exceeding eighty-five percent.
Pauley Pavilion celebrates its sixtieth year as home court for UCLA basketball this season.
Looking ahead, UCLA will travel next week to face Penn State on Wednesday and Ohio State on Saturday as they continue through their Big Ten schedule—all seventeen remaining regular-season games are against conference opponents.
