UCLA vs. Northwestern basketball game preview and prediction

Here is a look at the game preview of UCLA vs. Northwestern.

Now a look at each team's resumes heading into this game.

Northwestern Wildcats
Season Overal Record: 16-13 Big Ten Record: 7-11
Rankings from the metric and analytical-based websites: NET: #54, KenPom: #47, Barttorvik: #53, BPI: #45, Evan Miya: #68
Quality wins this season: Montana State (72-69), UNLV (66-61) in the Arizona Tip-off Cactus Division, Illinois (70-66), Georgia Tech (71-60), DePaul (84-64), Maryland (76-74), Indiana (79-70), USC (77-75), @ Ohio State (70-49), @ Minnesota (75-63), and Iowa (68-57).
Defeats this season: @ Dayton (66-71), Butler (69-71) in the Arizona Tip-off Cactus Division, @ Iowa (79-80), @ Penn State (80-84), @ Purdue (61-79), Michigan State (68-78), @ Michigan (76-80), @ Illinois (74-83), Rutgers (72-79), Wisconsin (69-75), @ Washington (71-76), @ Oregon (75-81), and Nebraska (64-68).

UCLA Bruins Season Overall Record: 20-9 Big Ten Record: 11-7
Rankings from the metric analytical-based websites: NET: #27, KenPom: #28, Barttorvik: #24, BPI: #26, Evan Miya: #28
Quality wins 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), Penn State (78-54), Ohio State (69-61), and @ Indiana (72-68).
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), @ Rutgers (68-75), @ Illinois (78-83), Minnesota (61-64), at Purdue (66-76), and @ Maryland (61-79).

Comparing the two teams and the history between them.

Winning and losing streaks for the Wildcats and the Bruins: Northwestern is on a three-game winning streak and prior to their three consecutive wins, they lost three in a row. UCLA is on a one-game losing streak and before that, they had won one game in a row.

How each team has played over their last five and ten games: Northwestern is 3-2 over their past five games and the Wildcats are 4-6 over their last ten games they have played. UCLA is 2-3 over their last five games and the Bruins are 7-3 over their past ten games.

Seeding in the Big Ten and NCAA Tournament: UCLA is currently at the No. 6 seed position for the Big Ten tournament, in which they would have a first-round bye and play the winner of the No. 14 seed and No. 11 seed game. According to the Matrix Bracket, the Bruins are a No. 6 seed for the NCAA Tournament. Northwestern is currently the No. 12 seed for the B1G tournament, and they would play the No. 13 seed in the first round. If they were to win, they would play for the No. 5 seed. The Wildcats are not projected at this time to make the NCAA tournament. They are projected to make the NIT tournament according to dratings bracketology.

The history between these two basketball programs: UCLA is 2-0 since 1970. Going back as far as 1949, UCLA and Northwestern had battled one another; the Wildcats had defeated UCLA by six points, marking their only victory over the Bruin. Twice in the 1960s, the Wildcats and Bruins also engaged in games in 1962 and 1969. In their second game, UCLA defeated Northwestern by 13; they won by 14 when they met them in 69.

The last time Northwestern and UCLA played each other: In the second round of the 2023 NCAA tournament. The Bruins led the Wildcats 35-25 at the half. Then Northwestern made a series of runs in the second half, and the Wildcats tied the game at 45 a piece, but the Bruins pulled away and won by a final score of 68-63.

Prediction: Many UCLA fans are disappointed by the home loss against the Golden Gophers and, to a lesser extent, their road loss at Purdue. However, expect the Bruins to bounce back and get their most impressive road win this year. The final score of the game will be UCLA 75 Northwestern 62.