UCLA men's basketball releases full nonconference schedule, two early Pac-12 games
The Bruins have officially filled in the last few blanks in their nonconference schedule.
UCLA men’s basketball announced its entire out-of-conference slate for the upcoming 2021-2022 season Monday morning. Several matchups had already been announced, including a Final Four rematch against Gonzaga and bouts with powerhouses Villanova and North Carolina.
The season will tip off at Pauley Pavilion on Nov. 9 against CSU Bakersfield. Later that week on Nov. 12, UCLA will play host to Villanova, the first time the Wildcats are coming to Westwood in 20 years.
The next two games will also be at home for the Bruins, as Long Beach State and North Florida will visit Nov. 15 and 17, respectively. That marks four-straight home games to open the season for UCLA for the seventh time in nine years before it heads to Las Vegas for the Empire Classic.
There, the Bruins will play newly-minted Division I program Bellarmine on Nov. 22 in a warmup for the top-billed event on their schedule. UCLA-Gonzaga, as previously announced, is set for Nov. 23 at 7 p.m.
The Bruins’ next game is also in Sin City a few days later, with UNLV scheduled to host a head-to-head matchup Nov. 27.
The additional two early-season Pac-12 games were also included in Monday’s schedule release. As part of its newly-required 20-game conference schedule, UCLA will host Colorado on Dec. 1 before taking a trip to Seattle to play Washington ln Dec. 5.
After traveling to Wisconsin to take on Marquette in the back half of a home-and-home on Dec. 11, the Bruins will return to the West Coast to round out its pre-conference play schedule.
Bookending the Dec. 18 matchup with North Carolina in Las Vegas are a Dec. 15 game against Alabama State and a Dec. 22 battle with Cal Poly, both of which will be played at Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA’s 13 opponents in November and December have combined for 11 NCAA championships and 37 Final Four appearances, and two of them – North Carolina and UNLV – actually boast better all-time winning percentages than the Bruins. Strength of schedule shouldn't be an issue for UCLA come Selection Sunday next March, leaving its fate up to what goes down on the court this fall and winter.
"We're excited to get back on the court, and we're looking forward to seeing our fans again," said coach Mick Cronin in a statement. "I know that our players want to compete in big games. That's why these young men want to play for the Bruins. They want to play on college basketball's biggest stage, under the brightest of lights, and we had multiple opportunities to experience that last March. I've said this a lot since last season, but we really miss our fans, and we're relying on their support."
The remainder of the 2021-2022 schedule will be released by the Pac-12 in September.
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