The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team will play Penn State this Wednesday in a Big Ten Conference matchup at the Bryce Jones Center. This marks the third meeting between the two programs, with UCLA having won their most recent contest 78-54 at Pauley Pavilion last February. The game is scheduled to begin at 5:37 p.m. PT and will be televised nationally on FS1, with Noah Reed providing play-by-play and Donny Marshall serving as analyst.
UCLA enters the game with an 11-5 overall record and a 3-2 mark in conference play. Penn State holds a 9-7 record but has yet to win in the Big Ten this season (0-5). The Bruins are coming off a 67-55 victory over Maryland, which ended a two-game losing streak. That win was notable for being UCLA’s lowest scoring output in a victory this season.
Tyler Bilodeau continues to lead the Bruins, ranking tenth in scoring among all Big Ten players with an average of 17.5 points per game through January 12. Over his past nine games, Bilodeau has averaged 19 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest and has scored at least ten points in twelve out of fourteen games played this season.
Other key contributors include Donovan Dent, who leads the team with an average of 6.5 assists per game—third-best in the Big Ten—and Skyy Clark, who is averaging 13.5 points per game while shooting nearly 49 percent from three-point range, ranking second in the conference.
The Bruins have five players averaging double figures in scoring this season and have posted strong records when committing fewer turnovers than their opponents or when leading at halftime.
Wednesday’s contest will be UCLA’s first-ever men’s basketball game played at Penn State. The teams’ previous matchups include Penn State’s win over UCLA during the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 1991 and last year’s Bruin victory in Los Angeles.
Following their visit to Penn State, UCLA will travel to Ohio State before returning home next week for two games against Purdue and Northwestern at Pauley Pavilion. On Tuesday, January 20, UCLA will host No. 5-ranked Purdue and honor former coach John Wooden’s legacy during a special evening event; the first 7,500 fans attending that game will receive a Coach Wooden bobblehead as part of a collaboration with Men of Westwood and the Wooden family.
Coach Mick Cronin is currently tied for fifth-most victories among NCAA Division I coaches since the start of the 2010–11 season, logging 373 wins over fifteen years—a mark matched by Michigan State’s Tom Izzo but trailing coaches such as Mark Few (Gonzaga) and Bill Self (Kansas).
Pauley Pavilion is celebrating its sixtieth season as home court for UCLA basketball; under Coach Cronin since his arrival prior to the 2019–20 season, UCLA has posted an impressive home record of 89-15.
UCLA continues its tradition of strong defensive play: last year Kobe Johnson was named to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team; previous seasons saw Adem Bona earn Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year honors and Jaylen Clark recognized as Naismith Men’s Defensive Player of the Year.
The Bruins’ roster features several transfers new to Westwood this year—including Xavier Booker (Michigan State), Jamar Brown (UMKC), Donovan Dent (New Mexico), Steven Jamerson II (San Diego), and Anthony Peoples Jr. (North Carolina Central)—as well as returning key scorers Tyler Bilodeau, Skyy Clark, and Eric Dailey Jr.
Single-game tickets remain available for upcoming home contests via the official ticket site, where fans can also find information about special promotions planned throughout the rest of the regular season.
