UCLA Basketball vs. Cal: Preview, TV, Radio, Live Stream, Odds and More

The #4 UCLA Basketball team is back at Pauley Pavilion to take on the California Golden Bears as the play their first home conference game.

The UCLA Basketball team comes home for their first Pac-12 game against the California Golden Bears as they look to climb back to the top of the standings.

That begins tonight against Cal as UCLA tries to go above .500 in the early part of this Pac-12 season.

Will the Bruins be ready, or will an athletic Cal team shock one of the best teams in the nation?

#4 UCLA Basketball vs. California Golden Bears

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Records: UCLA (14-1, 1-1), Cal (10-4, 1-1)

Location: Pauley Pavilion

(Cap.: 13,800)

Tipoff: 6:00 p.m. PT

Tickets: uclabruins.com

TV: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN

Radio: AM 570 Los Angeles

On-line Radio: Tune-In

Satellite Radio: Sirius 84/XM 84

Odds: UCLA -10.5, O/U 154

Projected Starters:

UCLA – Lonzo Ball, Bryce Alford, Isaac Hamilton, TJ Leaf, Thomas Welsh

Cal – Charlie Moore, Grant Mullins, Jabari Bird, Kingsley Okoroh, Ivan Rabb

Preview:

The UCLA Basketball team is not going to run through the Pac-12 unscathed, but being at home will help. In the four years Steve Alford has coached this team, the Bruins have a posted a 51-9 record. They are good at home, but they are going to be challenged every step of the way.

That is where Cal comes in. In his third year, Cal Head Coach Cuonzo Martin has already changed the direction of the program. Currently his three best players, Bird, Moore and Rabb, are all leading the team in scoring with very close averages of 15.8, 15.3 and 15.2 points per game, respectively. Talk about sharing the ball.

In their first Pac-12 game of the season, Cal was neck-and-neck with #18 Arizona. The Bears at one point were up by 13, but the Wildcats rallied for the victory. The game before that, Cal took #12 Virginia to the limit but came up four points short in that game.

Cal has talent and they are not afraid to use it. What will be interesting to see is if these three attack the basket as so many of UCLA’s opponents have in recent games. The Bruins may score a lot, but if their offense stalls, they have no back up plan, especially in the form of defense.

Luckily, when the Bruins do score, they are hard to stop, especially if freshmen Ball and Leaf get on a roll.

Key Stats:

Lonzo Ball – 14.3 ppg, 8.1 asts, 5.7 rebs, 1.4 stls

Aaron Holiday – 13.9 ppg, 4.6 asts, .515 FG%, .500 3FG%

TJ Leaf – 17.5 ppg, 8.9 rebs, .657 FG%, .485 3FG%

Players to Watch:

Isaac Hamilton – Hamilton has hit a bump in the road. In the last two games, he has shot 1-for-16. With the Bruins returning to Westwood, look for Hamilton to have a bounce-back game.

Next: UCLA and the Sweet Comforts of Home

Prediction: UCLA 85 – Cal 77