UCLA men’s basketball (16-7, 8-4 Big Ten) will face a former Pac-12 foe for the second time this season when it battles Washington (12-11, 4-8) Saturday evening at Pauley Pavilion.

Familiar foes are few and far between in the current landscape of college athletics.
But not only will the Bruins face a former Pac-12 rival Saturday, they will face them for the second time this season.

From suiting up for the Super Bowl to clinching NBA All-Star selections to being on the precipice of NFL awards, former Bruins have made waves across the sports world.

This post was updated Feb. 3 at 11:23 p.m.
A formidable interior presence is imperative in the Big Ten. 
And UCLA has lacked a solution at center since former Bruin Aday Mara transferred to Michigan ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.

A gut punch often serves as a wake-up call.
UCLA men’s basketball (15-7, 7-4 Big Ten) was on the brink of capturing its eighth conference victory against Indiana on Saturday, a game that coach Mick Cronin’s squad ostensibly sealed after sophomore guard Trent Perry drained a 3-pointer to tie the contest with less than two seconds remaining in regulation and then netted another to mount a three-point lead with less than two minutes remaining in double overtime.

The Bruins are coming off a devastating double-overtime defeat at the hands of the Hoosiers, snapping the former’s unbeaten home record this season. But UCLA men’s basketball (15-7, 7-4 Big Ten) has a chance to bounce back at Pauley Pavilion when it faces Rutgers (9-13, 2-9) Tuesday evening.

UCLA men’s basketball’s (15-7, 7-4 Big Ten) unbeaten home record at Pauley Pavilion this season snapped Saturday afternoon, following a 98-97 double-overtime loss to Indiana (15-7, 6-5), which also ended the Bruins’ three-game winning streak.