How To Watch, Game Preview and Game Thread: #18/19 UCLA Bruins vs. UC Berkeley Golden Bears
The UCLA men’s basketball team climbed one spot in each of the Top 25 Men’s Basketball Polls this week. UCLA is now ranked 18th in the AP Top 25 Poll and 19th in the USA Today Coaches’ Top 25 Poll.
Tonight, the Bruins are in San Francisco at the Chase Center, home of the Golden State Warriors for the Empire Classic. This is UCLA’s fourth appearance in the Empire Classic. The Bruins’ most recent appearance was in 2021 when it was played at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. UCLA also appeared in 2008 and 2000.
It’s the fifth appearance for the Golden Bears. Their other appearances were in 2019, 2014, 2008 and 2004. This is also the first time UCLA has played UC Berkeley in men’s basketball since both teams departed the Pac-12 Conference. The last game between these schools was played on February 10, 2024 when the Bruins defeated the Bears, 61-60, at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley.
Of course, UC Berkeley now plays in the ACC along with Stanford. After finishing the 2023-24 season with a 13-19 record including a 9-11 mark in Pac-12 play, the Golden Bears went 14-19 last season including a 6-14 record in ACC play.
This year, third-year head coach Mark Madsen has led the Bears to a 5-1 record so far. The team’s only loss came against Kansas State, 99-96, on November 13. None of the five teams they have beaten so far screams “quality opponent” yet. They are Cal State Bakersfield, Wright State, Cal State Fullerton, Presbyterian and Sacramento State.
So, UC Berkeley’s record at this point may be a little on the deceiving side, and the quality of their opponents explain why the Bears are not currently ranked in either Top 25 Poll. For that matter, they didn’t even receive a single vote this week.
Now, a win tonight could change that since the Bruins are ranked 18/19, depending on the poll. I suspect that we won’t have to worry too much about that even though tonight’s game may be the Bruins’ second-closest game of the young season.
Let’s look at Madsen’s starting lineup
UC Berkeley Starting Five
Madsen is likely to start a lineup with two guards and three forwards, and he has started the same five guys in every game this season.
The Bears are led by junior guard Dai Dai Ames. He joined the Bears after playing last season at Virginia and the season before at Kansas State. He leads the team in points with an average of 18.8 ppg. Ames is also the most deadly three-point shooter on the team with a three-point percentage of 53.1%.
The other starting guard is sophomore transfer Justin Pippen. The second-oldest son of the legendary Scottie Pippen joined the Bears after starting his college career at Michigan last season. Pippen leads UC Berkeley in assists with 32 as well as steals with 10. He also is second on the team in rebounds with an average of 5.0 rpg.
Moving to the forwards, Chris Bell is second on the team in points with an average of 15.7 ppg. He is in a three-way tie for second amongst the current Golden Bears in three-point percentage with 40.0%. Bell is a senior transfer, who joined UC Berkeley this season. Previously, he played three seasons at Syracuse.
Grad transfer Jon Camden is playing at his fourth school in five years. He began his collegiate career at Memphis, but later transferred to Virginia Tech and, again, to Delaware. He is third on the team in scoring with an average of 14.8 ppg, and he’s third on the team in Assists with 12.
Completing UC Berkeley’s all-transfer starting lineup is senior transfer Lee Dort. His 10.3 ppg scoring average means that all five of the Berkeley starters are averaging in double figures. Dort also leads the team in rebounds with 6.3 rpg.
While every Golden Bear start is averaging in double figures in scoring, Madsen’s bench is not very deep. Rytis Petraitis is closest to double figures with 4.2 ppg. He’s tied with Bell and Semetri Carr in three-point percentage with a 40.0%. Nolan Dorsey, Carr and Milos Ilic are the only other Bears who are averaging more than 10 minutes per game.
Analysis
The Bears shouldn’t pose much of a threat against the Bruins tonight. That’s due to the fact that the UC Berkeley bench just isn’t that deep and UCLA should dominate tonight’s game even though it’s likely to be much closer than any game so far except Arizona.
Here’s how to watch, listen and stream tonight’s UCLA men’s basketball game:
2025 Empire Classic
Teams: #18/19 UCLA Men’s Basketball (5-1) vs. UC Berkeley Golden Bears (5-1)
Series Record: UCLA leads, 147-104
When: 7:00 pm PT, Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Where: Chase Center, San Francisco, CA
TV: ESPN with Chris Sylvester and Ben Braun
Live Stream: WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app
Radio/Audio
Local Radio: KABC AM 790 with Josh Lewin and Tracy Murray
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM Ch. 85 (UCLA Call)
Online: uclabruins.com
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast
Game Notes:
UCLA
Go Bruins!!!
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Dent getting pulled for his injury.
The greatest luck in the world that UCLA finally pays top-shelf money for a player and he gets hurt and become ineffective.
Dent may be unplayable rn, which is not what you want from you multi-million dollar signee.