As UCLA begins its Big Ten foray in basketball in the 2024-25 season, the Bruins have plenty of hurdles to deal with this year. The whole UCLA family faces the sad news about Bruin legend Bill Walton’s passing. It seems that won’t stop them from making a name for themselves in their new conference. Though Walton was a huge part of UCLA’s legacy in the Pac-12, they will have to build a new one in yet another world-renowned conference.
UCLA’s National Championship history in men’s college basketball is second to no one. That legacy should fit in nicely with the Big Ten. So let’s consider why the Big Ten Basketball debut of UCLA could be fun.
UCLA Big Ten Basketball Debut Should Be Interesting
Head Coach for the Bruins Mick Cronin, has already shown his firey passion for coaching, dating back to his time at Cincinnati. Cronin has always felt like a Big Ten type of coach, and now he gets to coach in the Big Ten with UCLA. When the news was first made public, Cronin certainly had a stance about UCLA leaving the PAC-12. He wasn’t too fond of the idea when he spoke with USA Today, citing that it wasn’t in the athletes’ best interest.
“None of it is in the best interest of the student-athlete, no matter what anybody says,” Cronin said. “It’s in the best interest of more money to cover the bills. That’s it.”
Time will tell if he still holds that feeling, as UCLA is among the favorites to compete for the Big Ten Basketball championship in 2024. The Bruins have had plenty of recent clashes with their new conference foes in recent memory.
In the last several years, they have played some of the most notable Big Ten teams in the NCAA tournament. That includes in 2021 when they beat Michigan State and Michigan en route to the final four. They also met Northwestern in their most recent NCAA tourney berth, when they beat the Wildcats to reach the Sweet 16 in 2023. They are more than ready to compete with the top teams in the Big Ten. Their success is going to be based on their roster make-up and they have tackled that in the offseason after a rough 15-16 final season in the PAC-12.
Key Returns and additions have UCLA near the Top of the League
The Bruins have mixed returning talent with some transfers and a solid group of freshmen to put them among the best rosters the Big Ten has to offer in 2024-25. Their biggest add in the portal was snatching Kobe Johnson from rival USC. Johnson wasn’t the only big transfer move UCLA, made as they added five other players including guard Skyy Clark from Louisville and Oklahoma State’s Eric Dailey.
Adding those players a pairing them with experienced Bruins such as Sebastian Mack who averaged 12 points as a freshman in 2023-24, or starting point guard Dylan Andrews who returns for his third season in Los Angeles. UCLA has plenty of talent, and Bruin Report Online posted a graphic on X showcasing, the outlook for the Bruins roster this fall.
The #UCLA basketball roster for the 2024-2025 season is set: pic.twitter.com/IJ5P95zDhf
— Bruin Report Online (@BruinReport) May 9, 2024
A look at UCLA’s first season of Big Ten Games
UCLA has plenty to look forward to on their first-ever slate of Big Ten games, as they will get plenty of Big Ten powers visiting Pauley Pavillion. Their home slate of conference games includes home meetings with fellow newcomers Oregon, Washington, and rival USC, but they will also get the likes of Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin on their home court this coming season.
Their road games in Big Ten play will be interesting, to say the least, as they have some East Coast road trips including stops at Maryland and Rutgers. Trips to Bloomington and Champaign against the Indiana Hoosiers and Illinois Fighting Illini, are going to be very challenging, and full of mystique, but a road trip to Mackey Arena to face the Purdue Boilermakers will likely be the Bruins’s hardest game on the schedule.
UCLA shared its full conference slate via its X page.
𝑩𝑰𝑮 𝑻𝑬𝑵 𝑩𝑨𝑺𝑲𝑬𝑻𝑩𝑨𝑳𝑳.
UCLA’s 2️⃣0️⃣ @B1GMBBall contests for 2024-25 have been announced.
The Bruins will play two games each against Oregon, USC & Washington … and one game versus the other 14 teams.
📲💻: https://t.co/9ISdLeDLH8 pic.twitter.com/h5KqakHW2Q
— UCLA Men’s Basketball (@UCLAMBB) May 2, 2024
Realistic Expectations for the Bruins
The Bruins have a heck of a schedule ahead of them, but given the talent they have accumulated, it isn’t far from reality to think that they will contend for the Big Ten title in their first season. They aren’t in the ‘Conference of Champions’ as Bill Walton used to call the PAC-12, but a great honor to him would be to go out and win the Big Ten. It’s only the summer, but UCLA is in prime position to succeed in their first season in the Big Ten.
