How To Watch, Game Preview and Game Thread: #22/21 UCLA Bruins at Maryland Terrapins
After losing at home to Michigan on Tuesday, the Bruins head East to face the Terps.
Let’s start off with the important news. Tonight’s game will not air as scheduled on Fox 11 in Los Angeles. The game has been shifted to Fox 11 Plus aka KCOP Channel 13 so that Fox 11 can provide ongoing coverage of the fires in Southern California.
Speaking of the first, hopefully, today’s article finds everyone’s families safe. If you happen to live in an area affected by any of the fires in LA County, we hope things return to normal for you as soon as possible.
After a bit of a rough week here in Los Angeles, it’s a good time to go back to what legendary LA broadcaster Steve Edwards liked to call the “Toy Box” as the UCLA Bruins will play a Friday night game with nationwide primetime coverage.
It’s probably a good thing that tonight’s game was scheduled with the Bruins traveling East for tonight’s game against the Maryland Terrapins since campus has closed down due to the fires. They will complete the East Coast swing with a Monday evening game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in New Jersey.
The Bruins have hit a rough patch in their schedule. After losing to Nebraska on the road last Saturday, they dropped Tuesday’s home game to Michigan. UCLA didn’t just lose Tuesday’s game. They were blown out by 19 points in Pauley Pavilion. Not good. Mick Cronin needs to find some answers fast.
That’s because Maryland is a decent basketball team which as won 11 of their 15 games this season, although, like the Bruins, they have lost their last two games since conference play resumed last week.
The Terrapins are led by third-year head coach Kevin Williard. Williard came to the Terps after spending 12 seasons at Seton Hall where he compiled a 225–161 record for the Pirates. Since he arrived in College Park, the Terps have gone 49–34 with half of those losses coming last season.
On paper, it looks like Maryland has played well this season, but the Terrapins have shown one Achilles’ heel. They cannot seem to be able to beat a ranked team. They’ve played three ranked teams and have lost to all three. Now, you could argue that the Bruins won’t be ranked come Monday after losing at home on Tuesday, but, this evening, they are still the #22 team in the country. So, hopefully, Maryland’s woes against the Top 25 will continue when they play the Bruins tonight.
Maryland Starting Five
Like Michigan on Tuesday, all five of Maryland’s starters are averaging in double figures. The Terps are led by freshman center Derik Queen, who is averaging 16.0 ppg. He has blocked 16 shots and is averaging 8.0 rpg. Interestingly, Queen doesn’t lead Maryland in either blocks or rebounds despite being the starting center. The guy who does lead the Terps in those categories is senior forward Julian Reese. He has 17 blocks and averages 8.7 rpg. Reese is also tied with guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie for second on the team in scoring with an average 13.0 ppg.
Gillespie, the junior transfer from Belmont, leads Maryland in steals with 23 and assists with 62. He also is the best three-point shooter among the Terrapin starters with a 41.8% three-point percentage.
Redshirt sophomore guard Rodney Rice joined Maryland this season after spending the last two seasons at Virginia Tech. Rice is averaging 12.1 ppg. His 34.9% three-point percentage is third among the Terrapin starters, though his 44.4% shooting percentage is the worst among the starters.
Fifth-year guard Selton Miguel is another transfer for the Terps. The native of Angola started his collegiate career at Kansas State, where he spent two seasons. Then, he transferred to South Florida for two seasons. This season, he’s averaging 11.9 ppg. He is also the second-best three-point shooter among the starters with a 41.4% three-point percentage.
None of Williard’s reserves are averaging more than 5.0 ppg.
Analysis
After losing their last two games, UCLA needs a win tonight to get back on track. The Bruins are likely to drop out of the Top 25 on Monday with or without a win tonight, but a win tonight in primetime at least gives UCLA a chance to stay in the Top 25 come Monday.
This game will be a tough one, though, because Maryland also needs a win after losing to Washington and Oregon last weekend.
Ultimately, the Bruins need to play good defense tonight. Maryland is 2-4 when they are held to less than 80 points. If UCLA can contain the Terrapin offense, they should be able to win, though this team has been terribly streaky in the second half. They’ve given away winnable games and they have to find a way to be more consistent.
If UCLA gets a lead, they can’t afford to take their foot off the gas late. If they let that happen again, this game could become a toss-up.
Listen to the Game With TMB
Tonight’s game will be broadcast on Fox with Tim Brando and Donny Marshall calling the action. As usual, you can listen to Josh Lewin and Tracy Murray on the radio or online. 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 at Maryland Terrapins game thread. Here’s how to watch, listen and stream tonight’s game:
#22/21 UCLA Men’s Basketball (11-4, 2-2)
Opponent: Maryland Terrapins (11-4, 1-3)
Series Record: UCLA leads, 7-3
When: 5:00 pm PT, Friday, January 10, 2025
Where: Xfinity Center, College Park, MD
TV: Fox (Fox 11 Plus KCOP 13 in Los Angeles) with Tim Brando and Donny Marshall
Live Stream: FoxSports.com and the Fox Sports app
Radio/Audio
Local Radio: AM 570 with Josh Lewin and Tracy Murray
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM Channel 195 (UCLA feed)
Online: uclabruins.com
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast
Game Notes:
UCLA
Go Bruins!!!
Tim Brando is usually awful, but I love that he can’t recognize that Bilodeau is sitting because his defense sucks. This man has never had to use his critical thinking skills in his life and it shows.
Bilodeau has been soft with the ball, accounting for a good amount of the turnovers. Combine that with his inability to defend a PnR and it’s another poor start for him.
On a plus note, Trent Perry is getting early minutes here and doing well!