How To Watch, Game Preview and Game Thread: UCLA Bruins vs. Penn State Nittany Lions
The Bruins look to avoid the obvious letdown/trap game before they hit the road again.
Oh hello everyone. It seems like just yesterday we were all here celebrating another momentous UCLA basketball victory, with Pauley Pavilion rocking and the Bruins rolling over a ranked Michigan State squad. UCLA is back in the conversation for a protected seed in the West, especially with other teams like Oregon, Gonzaga, and Arizona not looking as strong (not to mention the Bruins having gone a combined 4-0 against those teams).
All of which to say today’s matchup with the Penn State Nittany Lions feels like the perfect trap game and a great test of whether UCLA can remain focused against a lesser opponent after all of their big games of late.
Penn State is not what I would call a good team, but they are certainly capable of catching a sleepwalking opponent off-guard. Case in point: earlier this season they handed Purdue a convincing loss that felt like a statement of arrival. The Nittany Lions have certainly cooled off since then - they’ve lost eight of their last nine games heading into this one, with the lone win coming at home against Rutgers. Still, this Penn State team is likely not as bad as the record would indicate; if you look over their losing streak, it includes a one-point home loss to Oregon, a five-point road loss to Michigan State, and a four-point road loss to Michigan. So this is a team that UCLA cannot afford to take lightly.
Penn State head coach Mike Rhoades is in his second season in charge of the Nittany Lions. This team is certainly an improvement over last year’s squad, but I think the jury is still out on whether he can build something long-term in Happy Valley. There are some things working in favor: first, Penn State does not have a great history in basketball, and the football team there is doing amazing so no one is really paying attention to Rhoades at the moment. That’s not a bad thing, and it gives him plenty of time to build Penn State as he sees fit.
Penn State Starting Five
The big player to focus on for Penn State is senior guard Ace Baldwin. Baldwin is the point guard and leading scorer on the team, averaging 14.0 points per game and 7.7 assists to only 3.7 turnovers. Unfortunately for Penn State, Baldwin has seen his shooting numbers go down this year, as he’s shooting only 37.1% from the field, including a poor 30.9% from three-point range. He’s still hitting his free throws at a ridiculously high rate (93.3% from the line while averaging 5.5 attempts per game) so there’s a chance he could see some positive regression at some point this season. He’s also a really good defender, so I would expect UCLA to run some actions away from him when possible.
Nicholas Kern will likely be starting at the other guard spot thanks to an injury to Puff Johnson. Kern is Penn State’s second-leading scorer at 12.8 points per game. He does all of his damage in the paint; he’s taken only nine three-pointers all season, while he’s shooting 61.5% from two-point range. He’s also a solid defender, not as good as Baldwin, but the two do combine for a good amount of steals.
Zach Hicks is the power forward and fourth-leading scorer (I’ll talk about the third in a bit). He’s Penn State’s biggest outside threat, shooting 41.2% from distance on 5.9 attempts per game, but he can also score inside. Hicks is big enough that he will often slide down and play as the Nittany Lions’ post for good stretches. Freddie Dillone operates as the third guard in the starting lineup, and he does a little bit of everything for Penn State.
The big question for Penn State is the status of big man Yanic Konan Niederhauser going into this game. Niederhauser is a legitimate 7’0”, and he stands as Penn State’s version of Aday Mara. The offensive game for Niederhauser has been good, but he can warp things on the defensive end, where he is averaging 2.1 blocks per game on the season. Niederhauser’s status for this game is in doubt, however, as he sprained his ankle last Sunday and missed the loss to Minnesota on Tuesday. Coach Rhoades stated that Niederhauser was “day-to-day”, but he was last seen in a walking boot this week, so even if he plays in this game, there’s a good chance he will be limited. If he is out, expect Kachi Nzeh to get the start in his place.
Analysis
The status of Niederhauser is going to play a big role in this one. With Niederhauser, Penn State becomes a much more formidable opponent, able to rebound quite well and matchup 1-5 with the Bruins. Without him, Penn State may lack the size to make this a close game.
One thing to watch out for is turnovers. If you look at the entire season, Penn State has been really good at both forcing turnovers and taking care of the ball, but when you isolate the stats for Big Ten play, the Nittany Lions have been much worse in both regards. Against a team like UCLA, that seems like a recipe for disaster. If UCLA does anything similar to what they did against Michigan State in that regard, then the Bruins should be able to win comfortably, as Penn State is not near the rebounding monster that the Spartans are (especially if Niederhauser is out).
The other thing to watch out for: UCLA’s effort level. Coming off the back-to-back run of demolishing Oregon and playing a March-level game against Michigan State, and with a trip to Illinois coming up on Monday, it would not be insane to imagine UCLA coming out flat and looking ahead. As I mentioned at the top, Penn State is still a dangerous team, and UCLA should be well aware by now that there are no games off in the Big Ten, so they will need to be focused from the jump.
Listen to the Game With TMB
Today’s game is back on actual television, airing on the Big Ten Network with Guy Haberman and Don MacLean calling the action. Personally, the run of Peacock games hasn’t affected me negatively, as I already pay for Peacock (thanks wrestling addiction!) and I’m at the home games anyway. But for those of you at home, you can also choose to listen to Josh Lewin and Tracy Murray on the radio or online instead of the BTN crew. To listen online, just right-click on the link below so that you can open up another tab and have it going while you chat in the comments below. Listen to today’s game online.
This is your UCLA men’s basketball vs. Penn State Nittany Lions game thread. Here’s how to watch, listen and stream tonight’s game:
UCLA Men’s Basketball (16-6, 7-4)
Opponent: Penn State Nittany Lions (13-10, 3-9)
Series Record: Penn State leads series 1-0
When: 1:01 pm PT, Saturday, February 8, 2025
Where: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA
TV: Big Ten Network with Guy Haberman and Don MacLean
Live Stream: Fox Sports App
Radio/Audio
Local Radio: AM 570 with Josh Lewin and Tracy Murray
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM Ch. 372 (UCLA feed)
Online: uclabruins.com
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast
Game Notes:
UCLA
Go Bruins!!!
Quick update: stomach flu has been running through the team. Cronin has said at least 4 players are playing with it today. No names officially, but Clark is reportedly one and Mara is apparently the player who has had it the worst. Something to keep in mind.
As I stated to watch, Niederhauser is not starting and is still listed as questionable. That changes the dynamics of the game in UCLA’s favor.