UCLA Basketball released their non-conference schedule for the 2017-18 season today. It’s time for the non-conference edition of our too early predictions.
The UCLA Basketball team has to find a way to replace five key players who contributed 72% of the scoring in 2016-17. The good news is that Thomas Welsh and Aaron Holiday are back and lead a rotation that features three elite freshmen.
In the absence of any key injuries, the 2017-18 Bruins should be deeper and more athletic than the 2016-17 version.
Let’s take a look at what that means for the 2017-18 non-conference slate (which was recently released):
Fri, Nov 10, vs. Georgia Tech (in Shanghai, China)—WIN
This will be a tricky game for the Bruins. Coach Josh Pastner led the Yellow Jackets to 21 wins, a Georgia Tech record for a first year coach. Georgia Tech will be even better next year as they return three out of their top four leading scorers from 2016-17. However, UCLA has more talent than Georgia Tech and will hold them off.
Wed, Nov 15, vs. Central Arkansas—WIN
Fri, Nov 17, vs. South Carolina State—WIN
Both of these teams struggled last season with Central Arkansas finishing the season at 8-24 and South Carolina State completing an 11-20 season. These are the type of teams that UCLA should easily dispatch at home.
CBE Hall of Fame Classic
Mon, Nov 20, vs. TBD—WIN/LOSS
Tue, Nov 21, vs. TBD—WIN/LOSS
The tournament field for the Hall of Fame Classic includes UCLA, Creighton, Wisconsin and Baylor. The schedule for the Classic has not been set but we are projecting that UCLA will win one and lose one at the tournament. At this point, Creighton has to be considered the favorite
to win the Hall of Fame Classic because they return more key players than anyone else in the field. In addition, Wisconsin is without Bronson Koenig and Nigel Hayes; UCLA is without Lonzo Ball, TJ Leaf, Ike Anigbogu, Bryce Alford and Isaac Hamilton; and Baylor is without Johnathan Motley and Ish Wainwright. However, this is a strong field and any of the four teams are capable of coming out on top.
Sun, Nov 26, vs. UC Irvine—WIN
Wed, Nov 29, vs. Cal State Bakersfield—WIN
Sun, Dec 3, vs. Detroit Mercy—WIN
Wed, Dec 6, vs. Montana—WIN
UC Irvine was the Big West 2016-17 regular season champion but missed the NCAA tournament as UC Davis pulled off the upset. Irvine lost a lot of key seniors from that team and will take a step back in 2017-18. Bakersfield made some noise in the 2016-17 NIT but also lost a lot of seniors. Montana is coming off a 16-16 season and is undersized, and Detroit Mercy will be looking to improve on an 8-23 season. Expect UCLA to handle all four teams at home while the team continues to build cohesion as they head into the toughest part of their non-conference schedule.
Sat, Dec 9, vs. Michigan—WIN
Last season, UCLA handled Michigan at Pauley Pavilion. Michigan continued to improve and made a run to the Sweet 16 before losing to an Oregon team that made the Final Four. Although big man Moritz Wagner chose to return to Ann Arbor for his junior year, Michigan has other questions on their roster. Graduate transfer Jaron Simmons will help shore up the backcourt but UCLA has the more touted team and should prevail.
Sat, Dec16, vs. Cincinnati—WIN
In 2016-17, Cincinnati had one of the top defenses in the country and rode it to a 30-6 record. Under Mick Cronin, they play a rugged brand of basketball and hang their hats on defense. 2017 won’t be any different and they will be looking to avenge their NCAA tournament ouster at UCLA’s hand. It will be a closely contested game but UCLA basketball will come out on top.
Tue, Dec 19, vs. South Dakota—WIN
With Kentucky looming, the game against South Dakota is the proverbial trap game. The Coyotes return nearly everyone on a team that went 22-12, won the Summit League regular season title and narrowly missed the NCAA tournament. Adding salt to the wounds is the fact that they lost to South Dakota State in the Summit Tournament finals. This all adds up to a motivated South Dakota squad with experience on their side. UCLA has to stay focused to avoid an upset here.
Sat, Dec 23, vs. Kentucky—LOSS
No one brings in star recruits like Kentucky’s coach John Calipari. He heads into 2017-18 with another number one class and the pressure that comes with that. However, UCLA basketball has proven that they can beat Kentucky doing it both at home and on the road. In spite of UCLA basketball’s recent successes against them, Kentucky got the last laugh in 2016-17 ending UCLA’s season in the Sweet 16. Both teams will be integrating new key pieces in 2017-18 but Calipari and his staff are more experienced at plugging in talented freshmen. This gives Kentucky the advantage in this early season matchup.
Next: UCLA Basketball releases non-conference schedule for 2017-18
The game against Kentucky completes the non-conference schedule and we predict that UCLA will have an 11-2 record heading into Pac-12 Conference play.