How To Watch, Game Preview and Game Thread: UCLA Bruins at Washington Huskies
The Bruins open Big Ten play against the Huskies in Seattle.
Tonight, the UCLA men’s basketball team visits the Washington Huskies as the Bruins play their two December conference games this week. UCLA dropped out of both Top 25 polls this week after losing to the UC Berkeley Golden Bears last week.
So far this season, the Huskies are 5-2 under second-year head coach Danny Sprinkle. Last year, Washington finished with a 13-18 record overall and a 4-16 record in Big Ten play. Last season started off well for the Huskies when they began 6-1, but the schedule wasn’t especially challenging. Their loss came against Steve Alford’s Nevada squad which finished in seventh place in the Mountain West. The best win before playing the Bruins last year came against Colorado State which finished second in the Mountain West and which actually made it to the NCAA Tournament last season.
Comparatively, the Huskies seem to have begun this season with a much tougher schedule which includes opponents such as Baylor, Washington State and Colorado in addition to Nevada. While they lost to both Baylor and Colorado, the Huskies should be a better team as a result of playing a tougher schedule.
Historically, Washington has played the Bruins a lot tougher in Seattle than in Westwood. The Bruins are 39-35 against the Huskies in Seattle, but 70-8 in Westwood. So, while Washington isn’t as far away as some of the teams UCLA will play this year, playing in Seattle has been more challenging for the Bruins.
Let’s look at the Huskies’ starting five.
Washington Starting Five
Sprenkle will start a four-guard lineup with a center. Each of the Huskies’ guards is averaging in double figures.
Sophomore transfer Wesley Yates joins Washington this season after playing for Southern Cal last year. Yates leads the team with an average of 16.9 ppg. While he also leads the Huskies in steals with 14, he has also turned the ball over more than anyone else on the team. He has committed 16 turnovers so far.
Sophomore guard Zoom Diallo is second among the probable starters with an average of 13.3 ppg. He is also second on the team in assists with 17.
Senior transfer Quimari Peterson comes to Washington after playing the last two seasons at East Tennessee State. He began his collegiate career at Indiana State and also played at John Logan College. Peterson ranks third among the probable starters with an average of 13.0 ppg. He is second on the team in steals with 13 and third in assists with 12.
The final starting guard should be senior transfer Desmond Claude. Like Yates, Claude transferred this year from Southern Cal. He is averaging 12.0 ppg and 4.3 rebounds per game. He has started the last three games for the Huskies after missing the first four entirely.
The starting center will be grad student Franck Kepnang. He is the only starter who isn’t averaging double figures. He is averaging just 6.0 ppg and 6.0 rpg as well. That makes him the second-best rebounder on the team.
That brings me to the fact that the probable starting lineup is based on the fact that Hannes Steinbach has been out since injuring his ankle against Washington State. Whether he will be able to play at all tonight is the big question. Steinbach is a forward who leads the Huskies in rebounding with 12.8 rpg in addition to be the second-best scorer on the team with 14.5 ppg. But because of that injury, it’s not clear if he will be able to play, much less start. He certainly changes things up on the floor if he can by adding a second big man. Mathematically, he’s Washington’s best three-point shoot, but he’s just 2 of 3 from long range. If Steinbach does start, expect the guard who doesn’t to be the first man off the bench.
If Steinbach can’t play at all, then expect freshman guard JJ Mandaquit to be the first off the bench. Mandaquit is averaging 29.3 minutes per game and 7.3 ppg. He leads the Huskies with 35 assists.
Analysis
A lot of how this game will go will depend on whether or not Hannes Steinbach is able to play. He is the Huskies most dominant force on the boards. No one else really comes close. If I had to guess, I would expect him to play and possibly start.
Logically, it might be most beneficial from both a scoring perspective and a rebounding perspective to sit Kepnang instead of one of the guards, but Kepnang has started six of Washington’s seven games.
I think this game will be a lot closer than it might be if it were being played at Pauley because Washington plays the Bruins tougher at home.
If this game is extremely close, it could come down to free throws. If that happens, Washington may have an edge because they are making 74.9% of their shots from the charity stripe while UCLA is only making 70.9% from the line.
On the other hand, if it doesn’t come down to free throws, UCLA is shooting better than the Huskies from the field. So, the key to tonight’s game would seem to be staying out of foul trouble while making the free throws the Bruins do get.
Here’s how to watch, listen and stream tonight’s UCLA men’s basketball game:
UCLA Men’s Basketball (5-2)
Opponent: Washington Huskies (5-2)
Series Record: UCLA leads, 110-44
When: 8:00 pm PT, Wednesday, December 3, 2025
Where: Alaska Airlines Arena, Seattle, WA
TV: Big Ten Network with Aaron Goldsmith and Don MacLean
Live Stream: FoxSports.com and the Fox Sports 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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Unreal stuff. You brought in Dent to be your closer in these kinds of situations and he isn't even touching the ball. Having a late shot clock end in Brown's hands is a failure of coaching.
Bilodeau’s issue is cramps rn, which isn’t surprising considering how light they’ve treated him since the initial injury. Get the boy a banana and the Theragun