The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team is set to host the fifth-ranked Purdue Boilermakers on Tuesday evening at Pauley Pavilion. The game, scheduled for a 7:02 p.m. Pacific Time tipoff, will be broadcast on Peacock and can also be heard on AM 790 (KABC) and SiriusXM channels.
This matchup marks Purdue’s first visit to Pauley Pavilion since December 30, 1999, when UCLA secured a narrow 55-53 victory. The all-time series between the two programs dates back to the 1937-38 season, with UCLA holding a 10-4 advantage over Purdue.
UCLA enters the contest with a 12-6 overall record and a 4-3 mark in Big Ten Conference play. The Bruins have won five of their last eight games but are coming off a loss at Ohio State after defeating Penn State earlier in the week. Senior Tyler Bilodeau leads the team in scoring with an average of 18.5 points per game and has been recognized as one of the top scorers in the Big Ten.
Tuesday’s game will also serve as an occasion to honor Coach John Wooden’s legacy. The first 7,500 fans attending will receive a Coach Wooden bobblehead, provided in partnership with Men of Westwood and the Wooden family. Wooden played basketball at Purdue before beginning his coaching career at UCLA in 1948, where he led the Bruins to ten NCAA men’s basketball titles over a span of 27 seasons.
“Coach Wooden was a basketball student-athlete (and All-America selection) while playing at Purdue in the 1930s. He began his coaching career at UCLA in 1948, helping the Bruins won 10 NCAA men’s basketball titles over 27 seasons (1948-49 through 1974-75),” according to UCLA Athletics.
The Bruins have demonstrated strong free throw shooting recently, making all 21 attempts in their win against Penn State—a program-best performance since at least 1970. Over their last ten games, they have converted more than eighty percent of their free throws.
Looking ahead, UCLA will play five of its next six games at home along the West Coast. After facing Purdue and Northwestern this week, they travel to Oregon before returning home for another matchup against Indiana.
Several players have contributed significantly this season. Donovan Dent has averaged over six assists per game and leads the team with more than one hundred assists so far this year. Skyy Clark ranks first among Big Ten players in three-point shooting percentage and was named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week on December 22.
Trent Perry scored a career-high thirty points during UCLA’s recent win over Penn State and has improved his scoring average compared to last season.
UCLA has returned four primary contributors from last year’s squad while adding two redshirt players and five transfers—including Dent from New Mexico—bolstering both depth and experience on the roster.
Coach Mick Cronin continues to lead UCLA successfully at home; since taking over prior to the 2019-20 season, he has guided the Bruins to an impressive home record of eighty-nine wins against fifteen losses.
Pauley Pavilion is celebrating its sixtieth season as UCLA’s home court this year. Last season saw CSUN end UCLA’s twenty-nine-game home winning streak—a run that had lasted nearly two years under Cronin’s leadership.
