Report: UCLA Men’s Basketball Scheduled to Face Illinois at Roman Main Event
The Bruins have booked themselves a big weekend in Sin City.
UCLA men's basketball has joined the 2022 Roman Main Event in Las Vegas, sources told College Hoops Today's Jon Rothstein on Tuesday. The first round of the nonconference tournament, which is set to take place on Nov. 18, will include a matchup between UCLA and Illinois and another between Baylor and Virginia.
The championship game is scheduled for Nov. 20.
UCLA only has one other nonconference game that has been reported so far – a Dec. 17 showdown against Kentucky as part of the CBS Sports Classic.
The Bruins and Fighting Illini have played nine times before, but they have not faced off in 25 years.
UCLA is 6-3 all-time against Illinois, winning the most recent matchup in 1997 but losing the prior one in 1996. Before that, the two sides met up in 1972 – another win for the Bruins.
The two sides went head-to-head four times in the 1960s, with UCLA securing wins in three of them. Despite all the history between them, the Bruins and Illini have never played each other in March Madness.
It won't be long before the two have their first conference matchup, as UCLA is set to join Illinois in the Big Ten in 2024. The scheduling format of the new-look conference has yet to be determined, but the two programs will surely play each other regularly.
UCLA is projected to be a top-10 team in the preseason polls, while Illinois is likely to be on the border of the top 25.
As for the other opponents spending that mid-November weekend in Las Vegas, UCLA is 3-0 all-time against Baylor and 1-0 all-time against Virginia. The Bruins haven't played the Cavaliers since 1990, and they haven't played the Bears since 1975.
Both programs have recently won national championships, with Virginia doing so in 2019 and Baylor in 2021. The Bruins nearly met the Bears in that 2021 NCAA championship game, but instead lost to Gonzaga in overtime of the Final Four.
Illinois won the Big Ten regular season title in 2022 and the conference tournament in 2021. UCLA has not won a conference title – regular season or tournament – since 2014.
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