UCLA wraps up a six-game homestand on Tuesday when it hosts its first ever Big Ten Conference game in Los Angeles, albeit against regular league foe Washington.
The Bruins (6-1) welcome their longtime Pac-12 Conference counterpart to the Big Ten for the first time for both programs. UCLA is riding a five-game winning streak, ending a streak of non-conference matchups capped by an 88-43 rout of Southern Utah on Nov. 26.
In a 45-point game, UCLA’s Dylan Andrews scored 11 points, dished out three assists and had just one turnover. It was a promising performance from the junior, who struggled in the first half of the season with a groin injury and inconsistent performances.
“When you have a (third-year) guard and he started (almost) every game last year and he’s the only one who’s been in your program for three years … it’s a really good year,” Bruins coach Mick Cronin said of Andrews on Monday. “I’m not saying he has to be the Big Ten Player of the Year, but he has to give us production.”
Washington (6-1) continues its swing in Southern California after winning two games at the Acrisure Invitational last weekend in Palm Desert. The Huskies beat Colorado State 73-67 in the first round of this event on Thursday behind Tyler Harris’ 24 points and eight rebounds.
“He’s playing with a lot of confidence, he’s aggressive and the one thing he’s doing right now is knocking down shots,” Washington coach Danny Sprinkle said to Sports Illustrated of Harris. “When he knocks down (the three-point shot), it’s really hard to guard.”
The Huskies then defeated Santa Clara 76-69 on Friday in the tournament final, led by Great Osobor’s 19 points and eight rebounds.
Washington’s visit Tuesday to UCLA is the third meeting between the programs in the calendar year. However, this Huskies team looks very different from the version that fell to the Bruins 73-61 in Los Angeles in January, then returned the favor with a 94-77 win in Seattle in February.
Sprinkle took over as Washington’s head coach in the offseason and overhauled the roster, with Osobor’s arrival a key addition. Osobor won the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year on Sprinkle’s Utah State team last season, and the big man currently leads the Huskies in scoring (14.6 points per game), rebounding (10.3 per game) and assists. (3.9 per game) through seven games. .
Harris transferred to Washington from the University of Portland, where he made the West Coast Conference All-Freshman team in 2023-24.
UCLA made its own changes ahead of Cronin’s sixth season at the helm, with former Pac-12 teammates Kobe Johson (Southern California) and Tyler Bilodeau (Oregon State) stepping into prominent roles. Bilodeau leads the team in scoring (13.9 ppg) and rebounds (5.7 rpg).
–Field Level Media
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