The UCLA Bruins, ranked No. 2 nationally, are set to face the No. 8 Michigan Wolverines in a Big Ten women’s basketball matchup in Ann Arbor on Sunday, Feb. 8. Both teams are among the top contenders in the conference, with UCLA holding a 22-1 overall record and an undefeated 12-0 mark in Big Ten play. Michigan stands at 20-3 overall and 11-1 in conference games.
The game will take place at Crisler Center and is scheduled to tip off at noon Pacific Time (3 p.m. Eastern) on FOX. The broadcast team includes Justin Benetti and Christy Winters Scott, while Dave Marcus will provide radio commentary for UCLA Digital Radio and SiriusXM channels.
UCLA has a perfect record against Michigan, winning all five previous meetings since 1998 and four under Coach Close’s leadership. Their only prior Big Ten matchup was an 86-70 victory for UCLA on January 1, 2025.
In their most recent outing, the Bruins defeated Rutgers by a score of 86-46, marking their second win by more than 40 points during conference play this season. Senior Kiki Rice led with 17 points and seven rebounds, joined by Gabriela Jaquez (14 points), Lauren Betts (11), Sienna Betts (11), and Charlisse Leger-Walker (11) as double-digit scorers. The team shot over 56 percent from the field and assisted on most of its baskets.
UCLA began the season ranked third in the Associated Press Top 25 Women’s Basketball Poll and faced several highly-ranked opponents in November, finishing that month with three wins against top-15 teams out of four such matchups. Early-season games were largely played at neutral sites; the team went to Las Vegas twice for tournaments and posted a strong showing there.
After going undefeated from Nov. 10-15—including victories over Oklahoma and North Carolina—UCLA was named USBWA National Team of the Week. So far this season, they have eight wins over ranked opponents—five within Big Ten play—and currently lead the conference standings.
This year’s Big Ten features significant depth: Seven programs appear in week thirteen of the AP Top 25 poll alongside UCLA and Michigan.
UCLA’s success includes setting a new program record with a streak of 23 consecutive wins last season—22 by double digits—which surpassed their previous best set during their championship campaign nearly five decades ago.
The roster features seven McDonald’s All Americans: Lauren Betts, Sienna Betts, Angela Dugalić, Timea Gardiner, Gabriela Jaquez, Amanda Muse, and Kiki Rice; both Jaquez and Rice were co-MVPs at the all-star game.
Four players average double figures: Lauren Betts leads with just over sixteen points per game; she is followed closely by Kiki Rice (15.1), Gabriela Jaquez (14.4), and Gianna Kneepkens (13.2). The starting five averages nearly sixty-eight points per contest.
Statistically, UCLA leads or ranks near the top among Big Ten schools across multiple categories including assist-to-turnover ratio, assists per game, field goal percentage (.520), opponent field goal percentage (.360), rebounding margin (+15.7), total rebounds per game (42.7), scoring margin (+30.1), three-point shooting percentage (.385), as well as national standing in NET rankings with twelve Quad One wins—the highest total nationwide so far this season.
Individually four Bruins—Kiki Rice (Lieberman Award list), Gianna Kneepkens (Meyers Drysdale Award list), Gabriela Jaquez (Miller Award list) and Lauren Betts (Leslie Award list)—are among those named to mid-season top ten lists for major awards presented by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and WBCA Starting Five.
