How To Watch, Game Preview and Game Thread: #25 UCLA Bruins vs. #8/7 Gonzaga Bulldogs
The Bruins face Gonzaga for the sixth time since 2020-21.
UCLA’s wins over Washington and Oregon last week allowed the Bruins to get back into the AP Top 25 this week. UCLA is still just outside the Top 25 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
This is UCLA’s second game against a Top 10 opponent this year. Last month, the Bruins lost a close game to Arizona, which was ranked fifth at the time, 69-65. But that game didn’t require the Bruins to travel for the game since it was played a the Intuit Dome in Inglewood. Tonight’s game may be tougher because it’s in Seattle.
For that matter, the Gonzaga Bulldogs have played a tougher schedule than UCLA has to this point. The Zags have beaten Oklahoma and Creighton at home, Arizona State on the road as well as Alabama, Maryland, and Kentucky at neutral sites. Their only loss came to Michigan in the Players Era Championship. That’s a pretty rough schedule, and despite that, the Zags have a 9-1 record.
Let’s look at the starting five for Gonzaga head coach Mark Few.
Gonzaga’s Starting Five
The good news is that the Zags could very well be missing Graham Ike, who is the second-highest scorer on the team. Ike missed Sunday’s game against North Florida with an ankle injury.
If Ike cannot go, look for Mark Few to start a lineup of three forwards and two guards, but if Ike can play, he could start four forwards and a guard, which is a really unusual combo.
Ike is averaging 16.4 ppg and he leads the team in rebounding with 8.1 per game. If Ike can’t play, look for Few to start Jalen Warley instead. Warley had six points and five rebounds in 16 minutes against North Florida. That’s about in line with his usual averages of 6.4 ppg and 4.7 rpg.
Whether Ike plays or not, the other guy the Bruins need to look out for is forward Braden Huff. After scoring 24 points against North Florida, the redshirt junior now leads the team with an average of 17.0 ppg. Huff is also third on the team in rebounds with an average of 5.1 rpg.
While guard Mario Saint-Supery is only averaging 8.8 ppg but he was third on the team against North Florida with 13 points. He is also the Zags’ best three-point shooter. He’s shooting 53.6% from behind the arc.
While the final two starters against North Florida are listed as guards on the roster, they were listed as forwards in the box score. While grad student Steele Venters transferred from Eastern Washington after the 2022-23 season, he has missed the last two seasons with injuries. This year, he’s averaging 6.6 ppg but he did score 12 against North Florida. Meanwhile, Emmanuel Innocenti is averaging 5.6 ppg. He’s also one of the Zags’ better three-point shooters with a 45.5% three-point percentage.
Overall, Few tends to go deep on his bench with a rotation of 11 players per game over at least the last three games. The most productive guy who is likely to start on the bench is grad transfer Tyon Grant-Foster, who joined the Zags after playing at Grand Canyon last season. He is averaging 12.0 ppg and 5.9 rpg, which makes him the team’s second-best rebounder. He also leads the team in blocks with 11.
The next two guys off the bench are probably Adam Miller and Davis Fogle. Miller is averaging 9.6 ppg and Fogle is averaging 6.6 ppg.
Analysis
Tonight’s game may be the toughest game UCLA has played so far. Sure, Arizona is now the #1 team in the country, but the Bruins didn’t have to travel far to play the game. In contrast, they had to fly to Seattle to play this one and Gonzaga is loaded.
The fact that Few is playing such a large rotation of players goes to show how talented the Zags are. By comparison, Mick Cronin only played nine guys against both Washington and Oregon last week.
As if that’s not enough, then there is the fact that Gonzaga has caused Mick Cronin a lot of heartburn in five games since he took over the Bruins. Few beat Cronin in the first four matchups. Then, finally last season, Cronin’s Bruins eeked out a three-point win. In general, the games between Few and Cronin have been close. Three were decided by three points while, two years ago, the margin of Gonzaga’s win was four points. Only the November 2021 meeting wasn’t close. That was a 20-point win by the Bulldogs.
As far as tonight goes, I’m thinking this game will have a bigger margin of victory than the game against UC Berkeley a few weeks ago, and unfortunately, I think the Bruins are going to lose this one, but I hope I’m wrong.
Here’s how to watch and stream tonight’s game:
#25 UCLA Men’s Basketball (7-2)
Opponent: #8/7 Gonzaga Bulldogs (9-1)
Series Record: UCLA trails, 3-7
When: 8:30 pm PT, Saturday, December 13, 2025
Where: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA
TV: ESPN with Dave Flemming and Sean Farnham
Live Stream: WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app
Radio/Audio
Local Radio: KABC-AM 790 with Josh Lewin and Tracy Murray
Satellite Radio: Sirius Ch. 117 & XM Ch. 195 (UCLA Call)
Online: uclabruins.com
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast
Game Notes:
UCLA
Go Bruins!!!
Thanks again for supporting The Mighty Bruin. Your paid subscriptions make this site possible. Questions, comments, story ideas, angry missives and more can be sent to @TheMightyBruin on Twitter.
The foul disparity in this half is unreal.
Notice how Gonzaga gets the lead and milks the clock? No. They run their offense