The Final Prediction: Ole Miss Women's Basketball vs. UCLA Bruins in Sweet 16 Clash

Ole Miss Women's Basketball is set for a Sweet Sixteen matchup against the UCLA Bruins on Friday night in Spokane (Wash.) with tip-off set for 9 p.m. CT.

The Rebels continue their quest at a National Championship with a matchup against the No. 1 overall seeded Bruins standing in their path at moving on to the Elite Eight.

Head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin and Co. have been battled tested during the 2024-25 season with their experience in challenging matchups preparing them for what lies ahead against the top-seeded UCLA squad.

"Our strength of schedule this year has been a 3. We opened up versus Southern California, we've played UConn, we've played NC State at their place, we've played South Carolina, Texas, LSU, Tennessee. We've played half of this Sweet 16, so we could care less what anybody is ranked," McPhee-McCuin said on Thursday. "We're from the Southeastern Conference."

"We kind of just take it game by game, matchup by matchup. And we always go into games as underdogs. When we went to LSU and beat 'em, we were the underdogs. This will be our -- I think our fourth No. 1 seed that was ranked a No. 1 that we have had to play. So I think we have a lot of experience and the pressure's not on us."

A look into the preview for Friday night in Spokane, the UCLA Scouting Report and the ESPN Basketball Power Index selection.

The Preview: No. 5 Ole Miss Rebels vs. No. 1 UCLA Bruins

How to Watch: Sweet 16 Clash in Spokane

Television Notes:
Channel: ESPN
Play-by-Play: Pam Ward
Color: Stephanie White
Reporter: Holly Rowe

OLE MISS RADIO
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Graham Doty

Know the Foe: Scouting the UCLA Bruins

Cori Close is in her 14th season guiding UCLA's women's basketball program. She's led the Bruins to over 300 wins in her tenure, and was named the 2025 USBWA Coach of the Year.

UCLA has reached the past three Sweet 16's and has made it that far seven times under Close, while reaching the Elite Eight in 2017-18.

On the court, Lauren Betts leads the Bruins and is considered a contender for the national player of the year. Standing a 6-foot-7, Betts is averaging a resounding 19.8 points per game and adding nearly 10 rebounds.

Betts is ranked top 10 nationally in blocks per game and field goal percentage. She has 90 blocks so far this season, averaging nearly three per game, while shooting 64.3 percent from the field.

Her defensive prowess led to her receiving the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year award, while garnering unanimous nods to the Big Ten's First Team all-conference team and the All-Defensive Team.

Her stature has led UCLA to lead the Big Ten in rebounds with 43.7 per game, which is fifth in the country. The Bruins outrebound their opponents by 13, the widest gap in the NCAA.

Kiki Rice runs the point for the Bruins, dishing out 4.9 assists per game. She holds a 2.38 assist-to-turnover ratio, good for second in the Big Ten. She joined Betts on the all-conference first team by averaging 13.1 points per game.

The ESPN Basketball Power Index Prediction: UCLA Takes Control

ESPN BPI Selection: UCLA Bruins
ESPN BPI Win Percentage (UCLA): 80.4 percent
ESPN BPI Win Percentage (Ole Miss): 19.6 percent
ESPN BPI Point Differential: 9.3 points

The Sweet 16 Schedule: Friday, March 28 (Sweet 16)

(All Times Eastern)

(2) Duke vs. (3) North Carolina | 2:30 p.m. on ESPN
(1) South Carolina vs. (4) Maryland | 5 p.m. on ESPN
(2) NC State vs. (3) LSU | 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
(1) UCLA vs. (5) Ole Miss | 10 p.m. on ESPN

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