How To Watch, Game Preview and Game Thread: #15/18 UCLA Bruins at Nebraska Cornhuskers
The Bruins will visit Lincoln for the first time since 1955 this morning.
It’s a Bruin doubleheader today on Fox. The #1 UCLA women’s basketball team has already started their game against the Indiana Hoosiers in Bloomington, Indiana. With two minutes left in the game, the Bruins lead, 66-55.
Meanwhile, the #15/18 UCLA men’s basketball team will take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln with tip-off set for 11:10 am PT. With a back-to-back doubleheader, don’t be surprised if the men’s game starts on FS1, FS2 or Fox 11 Plus (KCOP Channel 13) in Los Angeles if the women’s game runs long.
The Bruins’ men’s team returns to conference play this afternoon after beating Gonzaga last weekend and they are currently sitting at second place in the Big Ten standings at 2-0. They are a half game behind Michigan State who moved to 3-0 last night by defeating Ohio State, 69-62.
Today’s game will be the Bruins’ first visit to Lincoln since 1955 and they will face a sell-out crowd.
Nebraska is led by former Iowa State and Chicago Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg. When Hoiberg was at Iowa State, he led the Cyclones to the NCAA Tournament in four of his five seasons and made it as far as the Sweet 16 once. Since taking the job in Lincoln, he has been building the Cornhuskers into a better basketball team. His first two seasons were tough. The Huskers finished last in the conference both seasons. But in the three seasons since, they have gotten better each year.
That trend looks to be continuing this season as well, given that Nebraska is 11-2 entering today’s game. Their two losses came against St. Mary’s on November 17th and at Michigan State in the Big Ten opener. Since that game against the Spartans, Nebraska has gone on a six-game winning streak.
A win today would be a signature win for Hoiberg and the program, and it would certainly gain the Huskers some respect in the Top 25 polls which so far haven’t really given the team a lot of credit. Nebraska received just one vote in this week’s AP Poll and no votes in the Coaches’ Poll.
Nebraska’s Starting Five
The most motivated Husker today will be familiar to Bruin fans. That’s former Bruin Berke Büyüktuncel. He seems to be playing better than he did last season in Westwood. He’s averaging 7.9 ppg this year compared to just 4.9 ppg last year. He’s also rebounding more. His 6.6 rpg leads the Nebraska starters. Last year, he averaged just 2.7 rpg for the Bruins.
The Huskers have two other starters who should be familiar to Bruin fans. The first is senior transfer Rollie Worster who joined Nebraska after spending his first three seasons at Utah. Worster is averaging just 8.2 ppg, but he leads the Huskers in assists with 37 this season. The other guy who Bruin fans may know is transfer center Braxton Meah. Meah was a starter in each of the last two seasons at Washington. While he’s started every game but one, Meah is averaging just 3.4 ppg, even though his 70.7% shooting percentage is the highest on the team. He just doesn’t take very many shots.
The guy the Bruins probably need to worry about most is senior guard Brice Williams. Williams is averaging 19.0 ppg. He’s second on the team in assists with 34, in steals with 15 and in three-point percentage with 42.6%. If the Bruins can stop Williams, it will go a long way towards a UCLA win today.
The final starter is senior forward Juwan Gary. He’s second among the starters and third overall on the team in scoring with an average of 11.7 ppg. Gary is also a very good defender. He’s second on the team in steals with 16 and in blocks, too, with seven.
The most important guy off the bench for the Huskers has to be junior transfer Connor Essegian. He joined Nebraska this year after playing his first two seasons at Wisconsin. The reason he’s probably the most important reserve for the Huskers is because he’s second on the team in scoring with an average of 12.4 ppg. To make it worse, he’s their best three-point shooter with a three-point percentage of 44.3%.
There are two other guys who figure to see a lot of playing time today. They are transfer forward Andrew Morgan and junior guard Sam Hoiberg. Both players have played more minutes than Meah and Morgan’s 7.8 ppg is more than twice as much as Meah. Meanwhile, Hoiberg leads the team in steals with 18. So, he’s a big factor in Nebraska’s defensive strategy.
Analysis
Today’s game has the makings of a trap game. They are facing an unrated opponent which likes to play defense, and it’s a road game.
As a result, UCLA will need to play a disciplined game today if they want to remain unbeaten in conference play and continue climbing in the Top 25 polls.
They may need to rely on their long-range shooting again, considering that Nebraska has held their last five opponents to just 56.2 ppg. They haven’t given up more than 70 points since December 7th when they played Michigan State.
Normally, I might say that today’s game will be won by the first team to 70. However, considering that both of these teams are known for playing strong defense, today’s game might just be won by the first team to 60 points.
It may be another tough, close game for the Bruins, but they should manage to come out ahead.
Listen to the Game With TMB
Today’s game will be on Fox with Tim Brando and Nick Bahe calling the action. If you prefer, you can listen to Josh Lewin and Tracy Murray. Just be sure to right-click on it 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. Nebraska Cornhuskers game thread. Here’s how to watch, listen and stream today’s game:
#15 UCLA Men’s Basketball (11-2, 2-0)
Opponent: Nebraska Cornhuskers (11-2, 1-1)
Series Record: UCLA leads, 6-2
When: 11:00 am PT, Saturday, January 4, 2025
Where: Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, NE
TV: Fox with Tim Brando and Nick Bahe
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 83 (UCLA feed)
Online: uclabruins.com
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast
Game Notes:
UCLA
Go Bruins!!!
UCLA has had so many open looks, the fact that they’re not converting them is frustrating.
Not loving the sub patterns in this half, but between no Dailey and Kyle and Andrews being unplayable, it’s creating issues.
Shooting and offense are two different things. The job of the offense is to create good shots. There are games where you run the offense well and miss the shots. There are also games where hot shooting can hide what you're doing poorly. I thought we ran mediocre offense today which looked worse because of poor shooting. I don't like the Sebastian Mack one on 3 offensive sets. We definitely missed Dailey today. His presence on the floor would have helped Bilodeau. We also need more Mara. He defended well. He passes it well. His mere presence makes the other team adjust. Still not sure why we keep giving Andrews so many minutes at the expense of Perry.