Bruins Big Ten Tournament Breakdown: Potential Matchups

The UCLA Bruins will receive a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament starting this week. The Bruins will not play until the Quarterfinal stage, Friday afternoon, with three potential opponents on the schedule.

Mar 8, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin (center) talks with guard Skyy Clark (55) and guard Lazar Stefanovic (10) in the second half against the Southern California Trojans at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins (22-9, 13-7) are gearing up for their first Big Ten tournament after an impressive finish to the regular season as the fourth-best team in the conference standings. That mark earns them a double bye as they wait and see who they will face in the quarterfinals on Friday.

The Bruins will have the luxury of taking two extra days off as they were able to earn the crucial double bye, completely altering their potential opponents. They would need to win just two games to reach the Big Ten championship, but the road to the title game will be anything but easy.

There are three potential opponents that the Bruins could face in the Quarterfinal round of the conference tournament. The first round features No. 13 seed Northwestern and No. 12 Minnesota. The winner of that game will play the No. 5 Wisconsin Badgers for a chance to face UCLA.

The most likely outcome of the early rounds of this tournament is Wisconsin, considering they are one of the Big Ten's best. It would be the second meeting of the season between the two as UCLA won a shootout at Pauley Pavilion, upsetting the No. 18-ranked Badgers, 85-83.

If the Bruins were able to earn a victory in the Quarterfinal round, their next projected opponent would be the toughest in the Big Ten, but one that they had previously beaten this year.

Big Ten champion, No. 1 seed Michigan State Spartans would rematch with the Bruins, pending both team's Quarterfinal results on Friday afternoon. UCLA accounted for one of the Spartans' three conference losses this season, defeating them back in early February at Pauley.

Through the Big Ten regular season, there has been a great deal of parody within Coach Mick Cronin's group and the rest of the conference. The tournament should follow suit, as each team has shown the ability to beat each other up on any given night.

The Bruins ended their regular season on the most positive they could have hoped for, earning a 27-point win over their bitter rival, USC, last Saturday. They will enter the Big Ten Tournament with a full head of steam and hopes of making some noise before The Big Dance begins.

Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @UCLAInsideronSI and @tcav30 and never miss another breaking news story again.

Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.