There was no shortage of benefits to Arizona’s move from the Pac-12 to the Big 12, but one major drawback was the potential loss of one of the best rivalries in college basketball.
When the Wildcats and UCLA would meet it was always a battle, regardless of records and rankings. Arizona’s last two Pac-12 Tournament titles were won by beating the Bruins in Las Vegas, and their final meeting as league foes in 2024 saw the UA clinch the final Pac-12 regular season title on UCLA’s home court.
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“Anytime we play UCLA, we know it’s going to be a great challenge,” said Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd, who is 6-3 against the Bruins. “Got a ton of respect for Mick (Cronin). He’s a really good basketball coach, and every time you do play against them the game is going to be physical.”
No longer in the same conference, with Arizona in the Big 12 and UCLA in the Big Ten, the rivalry lives on through a 3-game series that began last year in Phoenix and wraps up in 2027 in Las Vegas. The middle game is Friday, in Los Angeles, technically a neutral site since it’s being played at the Intuit Dome rather than Pauley Pavilion.
Here’s what to watch for when the Wildcats and Bruins meet for the 115th time:
A physical, methodical battle
Arizona has already played one of the top frontcourts in the country when it opened the season against defending NCAA champion Florida. But the Gators liked to run, just like the Wildcats, resulting in a lightning pace that included more than 80 possessions.
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To reach that number of possessions against UCLA would require at least one overtime period, if not more.
The Bruins’ adjusted tempo currently ranked 353rd out of 365 Division I programs, per KenPom, averaging 68 possessions per 40 minutes. That’s actually three more than a year ago and the fastest since Mick Cronin took over in 2019.
The pace of last year’s meeting in Phoenix was 64, tied for the second-slowest game on Arizona’s 2024-25 schedule behind only Houston (63) in their regular season game in Tucson.
“He’s comfortable playing slow, we’re comfortable playing faster, it’s always going to be a clash,” said Lloyd, whose team’s adjusted tempo (74.3) ranks 42nd nationally. “We’ve got to be comfortable playing in some slower games. UCLA has got to be comfortable winning some games a little faster.”
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UCLA (3-0) has held its first three opponents to 43.4 percent shooting and has forced 15 turnovers per game. However, the quality of that competition has been iffy, as Eastern Washington has been the highest-ranked opponent at No. 168 in KenPom.
Arizona, on the other hand, has already been tested once by Florida, a game it trailed by 12 early.
A chance for revenge
UCLA won last year’s meeting 57-54, rallying from down 13 points with just over 13 minutes left. That loss dropped Arizona to 4-5, the latest in a season it had a losing record since Sean Miller’s first year in 2009-10.
“We were going through a tough stretch and that was kind of the end of it,” Lloyd said.
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It was also the first game the Wildcats played without Motiejus Krivas, who reinjured his foot in practice a few days earlier and ended up having season-ending surgery.
“Going into it Mo looked like he was turning the corner and really coming back healthy,” Lloyd said. “We were forced on the fly to kind of figure out a different way to play.”
Jaden Bradley has that game “in the back of my head,” vividly remembering the late collapse. He had a great game with 12 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals but also had two of Arizona’s season-high 22 turnovers.
“We definitely had a slow start last year, everybody knows that,” Bradley said. “But it kind of shaped us. We learned from our mistakes.”
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Arizona would win seven in a row and 13 of 14 after that, finishing third in its debut season in the Big 12 before reaching the conference title game and making another Sweet 16 appearance.
“To lose in that fashion was difficult but we bounced back,” Lloyd said. “We bounced back and rallied and started playing better and kind of salvaged what was a difficult start to the season and gave ourselves a chance to make a run in the tournament.”
A potentially friendly (but small) crowd
Arizona had a ton of fans in Las Vegas for the opener against Florida, keeping alive the “McKale North” vibe. Southern California is one of the school’s biggest alumni bases, and whenever the Wildcats have played games in Los Angeles in the past there’s been plenty of red and blue in the stands.
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Friday’s game at Intuit Dome, which holds 18,300, is part of a Hall of Fame Series doubleheader that begins with USC facing Illinois State at 4:30 p.m. local time (5:30 p.m. Tucson) before the 8 p.m. MT scheduled tip between Arizona and UCLA. The arena is in Inglewood, southeast of downtown LA but still not an easy place to get to with LA traffic.
And apparently the ticket sales have not been good, with plenty of seats available.
“From what I heard, Arizona fans need to get (online) and buy some tickets,” Lloyd said Tuesday night after the win over NAU. “This isn’t like the Vegas deal. So all our alumni in Southern California, we need you, we need you guys to come out there. LA is a tougher market. When we play in Phoenix, or we play in Vegas, we kind of know what kind of crowd to expect. LA can be a little tougher. So we need our fans to get online, buy their tickets and come out and cheer their Wildcats on Friday night.”
UCLA averaged just over 5,600 fans for its first three home games, while USC has drawn below 4,400 for both its home games.
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One fan contingent that is sure to be there are the ones associated with freshman Brayden Burries. From San Bernadino, Burries picked the Wildcats over USC, among others, and played in front of large crowds in California throughout his prep career.
Burries only had two points in 17 minutes before fouling out in his college debut in Las Vegas, but since has gone for 18 and nine points and is starting to settle in.
“Brayden has played a lot of big games, and like a lot of freshmen, he’s figuring his way out in this deal right now too,” Lloyd said. “I have no doubts that he’s going to be really, really successful. So, no stress on me. I’m sure he’s probably trying to figure it out, scratching his head, but that’s a normal thing. That’s a normal thing for any really talented young player.”
Also expect a good number of people hoping Bryce James gets into the game, even though all signs point to him being redshirted this season.
