UCLA and Indiana both want to win this game for different reasons and Assembly Hall should be loud for this Friday night nationally televised game.
Let's first look closer at how both teams have played of late.
Indiana previously, before their impressive road win in East Lansing against the Spartans, had lost five straight games. In those five losses, three were on the road, and three were against top 25 ranked teams. Also, to put their losses in context, they lost by five on the road to Purdue, by only one point against Maryland, and lost by three points against Michigan.
UCLA, before losing on the road against Illinois, had won seven straight games, with three of those victories being by 24 or more points. They did have some close wins as well during that stretch of games, with a two-point victory over Michigan State, a six-point win against USC, a five-point road win against Washington, and a two-point victory against Wisconsin.
Here is a look at each team's resume heading into this game.
Indiana Hoosiers
Overall Record: 15-10 Big Ten Record: 6-8
Rankings among various analytical sites: NET: #57 KenPom: #53 EvanMiya: #47 Barttorvik: #60 BPI
Quad One and Two victories this season: South Carolina (87-71), Rutgers (84-74), UNC Greensboro (69-58), Providence (89-73) in the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis, Chattanooga (74-65), @ Penn State (77-71), USC (82-69), @ Ohio State (77-76), and @ Michigan State (71-67).
Quad one and two defeats this season: Louisville (61-89) and Gonzaga (73-89) in the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis, @ Nebraska (68-85), @ Iowa (60-85), Illinois (69-94), @ Northwestern (70-79), Maryland (78-79), @ Purdue (76-81), @ Wisconsin (64-76), and Michigan (67-70).
UCLA Bruins
Overall Record: 18-7 Big Ten Record: 9-5
Rankings among various analytical sites: NET: #25, KenPom: #26, EvanMiya: #31, Barttorvik: #24, BPI: #26
Quad One and Two victories this season: Washington (69-58), Arizona (57-54) in the Hall of Fame Rivalry, @ Oregon (73-71), Gonzaga (65-62) in the West Coast Hoops Showdown, Iowa (94-70), Wisconsin (85-83), @ Washington (65-60), Oregon (78-52), Michigan State (63-61), and Penn State (78-54).
Quad one and two defeats this season: New Mexico (64-72) on a neutral court, North Carolina (74-74) in the CBS Sports Classic, @ Nebraska (58-66), Michigan (75-94), @ Maryland (61-79), @ Rutgers (68-75), and @ Illinois (78-83).
History between these two schools in basketball.
Overall series record between UCLA and Indiana: Since 1937, both teams have won six games between one another.
Seasons in which they played each other twice: In the 1975-76 season, the Hoosiers and Bruins played each other twice. Both games were on neutral courts, and Indiana defeated UCLA in both games that season. In 1991-92, the Bruins won the first game on a neutral court, but the Hoosiers won the second game again on a neutral court that season.
Last time they played each other in basketball: In 2007, UCLA defeated Indiana in the second round of the NCAA tournament by a final score of 54-49 in a low-scoring game.
Game prediction for the game between UCLA and Indiana.
According to ESPN Analytics, UCLA is favored by 57.5% in this game. The Bruins, however, have not won a road or neutral court game this season, not in the Pacific Time Zone. Indiana now has confidence again after defeating Michigan State on the road. The Hoosiers' last two home games were against teams ranked in the top 20 in the NET rankings, and both losses were by three or fewer points. Until UCLA can win a road game against a team located east of the Rocky Mountains, the Bruins lose a very close game on the road to Indiana by a final score of 81-80.