UCLA Basketball: Bruins Ink New Two-Year Home/Home Matchup With College Powerhouse

The rivalry continues.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

UCLA men's basketball will face off against one of their biggest non-conference rivals over the next two seasons. The Bruins are reportedly finalizing an agreement with fellow basketball powerhouse Gonzaga to meet at the Intuit Dome, the new stadium of the Los Angeles Clippers, in the 2024-2025 season. The Bruins will then head to Seattle to face Gonzaga for a regular season matchup in the 2025-2026 season, per CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein.

NEWS: UCLA and Gonzaga are finalizing a two-year series starting next season at Intuit Dome, the new home of the Los Angeles Clippers, according to multiple sources.

Return game in Seattle in 2025-26. https://t.co/2xhT4ipLy1

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 9, 2024

The dates for these games have yet to be announced. UCLA hosting the first game at the Intuit Dome, instead of their home Pauley Pavilion, could significantly impact the fans in attendance. Intuit Dome is located in Inglewood, which is often a 20-minute drive from UCLA with no traffic.

The Bruins normally host all their games at Pauley but would be switching it up in this agreement. This would make it harder for students to attend since normally they have to only walk onto their school's main campus. The smart thing for UCLA would be to provide buses for students in attendance like they do for football home games at the Rose Bowl.

Still, this series is an exciting way to keep the rivalry going. Gonzaga has gotten the best of the Bruins lately, winning their last four games against UCLA. This included a 69-65 win over UCLA last November, and two devastating NCAA Tournament wins over the Bruins decided by just three points.

This included Gonzaga's 79-76 win over UCLA in the 2023 NCAA Sweet 16, and Gonzaga's 93-90 NCAA Final Four win over the Bruins in 2021. The Bruins will certainly look to get revenge for these crushing losses the next time these two teams face off.