Tentative 2008-09 UCLA Men’s Basketball Schedule
UCLA’s 2008-09 men’s basketball schedule is highlighted by non-conference contests in the 2008 2K Sports Classic, benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer, that culminates in Madison Square Garden; a trip to Austin, Texas to face the Texas Longhorns in the Pac-10/Big 12 Series (Dec. 4); hosting Wyoming (Dec. 23) and hosting Notre Dame in the Bruins’ final non-conference game of the season (Feb. 7).
The field for the 16-team 2K Sports Classic (Nov. 12-13 and Nov. 20-21) has not been announced. Four teams (one of them being UCLA) will host the four-team preliminary rounds on Nov. 10-14 at on-campus sites with the winners advancing to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York, on Nov. 20 and the finals on Nov. 21.
The Bruins will also play in the 15th annual Wooden Classic on Saturday, Dec. 13 at the Honda Center in Anaheim against DePaul. This will be UCLA’s sixth consecutive Wooden Classic appearance and 12th overall (8-3 in prior contests). Last year, the Bruins defeated Davidson 75-63 in the Wooden Classic.
Other non-conference highlights include – hosting four other teams (Florida International/Nov. 29; Cal State Northridge/Dec. 7; Mercer/Dec. 20 and Louisiana Tech/Dec. 28) in Pauley Pavilion before beginning Pac-10 play.
UCLA, the defending back-to-back-to-back regular season Pac-10 champion, opens defense of its conference crown in early January at Oregon State (Jan. 2). The 2008 Pac-10 Tournament, featuring all 10 teams, will once again be held at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles (March 11-14).
In 2007-08, UCLA advanced to its third straight Final Four, finishing the season with a school-record 35 victories and a 35-4 overall mark. The Bruins won their third consecutive Pac-10 championship with a 16-2 mark. UCLA also won the 2008 Pacific Life Pac-10 Tournament and has won 30 or more games in three straight seasons for the first time in school history.
The schedule is tentative and subject to change due to television. While the dates have been set, the Bruins are still looking for one more home game (Dec. 17) and one exhibition opponent (Nov. 7).
Tentative 2008-09 UCLA Men’s Basketball Schedule
Tue., Nov. 4, Humboldt State
Fri., Nov. 7, Exhibition
Wed., Nov. 12, 2K Sports Classic (Coaches vs. Cancer) First Round
Thu., Nov. 13, 2K Sports Classic (Coaches vs. Cancer) Second Round
Thu., Nov. 20, 2K Sports Classic (Coaches vs. Cancer) Semifinals @ MSG, NY
Fri., Nov. 21, 2K Sports Classic (Coaches vs. Cancer) Final @ MSG, NY
Sat., Nov. 29, Florida International
Thu., Dec. 4, @Texas in Pac-10/Big 12 Hardwood Series
Sun., Dec. 7, Cal State Northridge
Dec. 8-12, Finals Week
Sat., Dec. 13, DePaul @ Wooden Classic
Wed., Dec. 17, TBD
Sat., Dec. 20, Mercer
Tue., Dec. 23, Wyoming
Sun., Dec. 28, Louisiana Tech
Fri., Jan. 2, @ Oregon State
Sun., Jan. 4, @ Oregon
Sun., Jan. 11, @ USC
Thu., Jan. 15, Arizona
Sat., Jan. 17, Arizona State
Thu., Jan. 22, @ Washington State
Sat., Jan. 24, @ Washington
Thu., Jan. 29, California
Sat., Jan. 31, Stanford
Wed., Feb. 4, USC
Sat., Feb. 7, Notre Dame
Thu., Feb. 12, @ Arizona State
Sat., Feb. 14, @ Arizona
Thu., Feb. 19, Washington
Sat., Feb. 21, Washington State
Thu., Feb. 26, @ Stanford
Sat., Feb. 28, @ California
Thu., Mar. 5, Oregon State
Sat., Mar. 7, Oregon
Mar. 11 - Mar. 14, Pac-10 Tournament @ Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
Mar. 19 - Mar. 22, NCAA First and Second Round
Mar. 26 - Mar. 29, NCAA Regional
Apr. 4 & Apr. 6, NCAA Final Four
All times Pacific.
All games broadcast on the UCLA/ISP Network (AM 570 KLAC in Los Angeles).
[press release]
8 Comments:
We need a tougher non-conference schedule. Three final 4s in a row, the #1 recruiting class, and most of all...we're UCLA. We should play a N.C., Kansas, or Memphis every year.
Completely agree...just ridiculous...Humboldt State...that will "go up in smoke" Wyoming, Mercer???
U kidding me....Texas because we have to...Dan G or Coach BH book some tougher teams....
On the flip side....it has worked in years past so let's not jinx ourselves...
Who on this site has Season Tix?? We can pre-party in Westwood on our way to hanging a banner......maybe BBR can set that up....
Yeah really wish we would play a tougher conference schedule. Makes the season more fun. You definitely don't see the USC football shy away or Duke Basketball. Wish we did the same.
I LOVE to play the big boys cuz it's fun to watch and get pumped up. As such, prefer to not play the lesser known teams. All that being said, this upcoming schedule is better than the past few years. We could possibly play Duke in the 2K and will play Texas, ND and DePaul.
So much second guessing BH all the time it is amazing!! Coach has taken his teams to three straight final fours conducting his teams' progress like a maestro and all the focus is on "let's play a tougher non-conference schedule!" Who was the big player in last year's schedule? (Texas) The year before? (Texas A&M) He has done all right in choosing his opponent's thus far. Why should he change because Rob or BruinFan or Parkman get bored? Come on. Do you really think BH couldn't schedule all the "big boys" if he wanted to? Obviously, he chooses this type of schedule for a reason. It has worked in year's past. why shouldn't we all give him the benefit of the doubt?
Go Bruins!!
Here here George. Couldn't agree more
I agree 100% with George. Even with DC and Shipp returning as starters, this team is very young. We are not ready to play NC or another stacked team early in the season.
But to be fair I can see fans wanting to play the best. It's only human nature. But remember, the PAC 10 season and conference tourney are both tough. Each week we have huge games against tough opponents. So 3-5 games preseason against top programs is OK with me.
I'm not even sure with BH that it is that we're "not ready" to play with the big guys as it is that he chooses the opponents carefully for lessons he hopes to take from the games. I am not pretending to understand his rationale but I have faith (based upon prior results) in his method.
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