UCLA announces Big Ten men’s basketball schedule

The Big Ten finalized its men’s basketball conference schedule for the upcoming season Thursday, including the 20-game UCLA slate.

Like last season, the Bruins will have a soft launch in early December. UCLA will travel to Washington on Dec. 3 before heading back home to host Oregon three days later at Pauley Pavilion.

The remainder of Big Ten play will resume after the new year. Four of UCLA’s first five games in 2026 will be on the road, including games at Iowa (Jan. 3), Wisconsin (Jan. 6), Penn State (Jan. 14) and Ohio State (Jan. 17). The lone home contest in that stretch is against Maryland on Jan. 10.

The Bruins will then be at home for five of the next six games. Purdue (Jan. 20), Northwestern (Jan. 24), Indiana (Jan. 31), Rutgers (Feb. 3) and Washington (Feb. 7) will all head to Los Angeles. UCLA will travel to Oregon on Jan. 28.

The last tough stretch of regular-season road games will begin with the Bruins’ showdown against former center Aday Mara and Michigan on Feb. 14. Three days later, they face Michigan State.

UCLA will be in Los Angeles for four of the last five regular-season games. The Bruins will host Illinois (Feb. 21) and crosstown rival USC (Feb. 24) before ending the month at Minnesota. UCLA will then host Nebraska (March 3) and travel to USC (March 7) prior to the conference tournament.

The Big Ten tournament will be played in Chicago from March 11-15.

The Bruins, under the direction of seventh-year head coach Mick Cronin, will return three starters including guard Skyy Clark and forwards Eric Dailey Jr. and Tyler Bilodeau. Sophomore guard Trent Perry is expected to play a significantly larger role.

UCLA brought in five transfers highlighted by All-American senior point guard Donovan Dent, whose addition helped the Bruins garner a preseason top-15 ranking from Field of 68.

UCLA will play a pair of exhibition games before opening the season Nov. 3 against Eastern Washington at Pauley Pavilion.

UCLA men’s basketball schedule

Oct. 17 – at San Diego State (exhibition)
Oct. 28 – vs. UC Irvine (exhibition)
Nov. 3 – vs. Eastern Washington
Nov. 7 – vs. Pepperdine
Nov. 10 – vs. West Georgia
Nov. 14 – vs. Arizona (at Intuit Dome in Inglewood)
Nov. 18 – vs. Sacramento State
Nov. 21 – vs. Presbyterian
Nov. 25 – vs. California (at Chase Center in San Francisco)
Dec. 3 – at Washington
Dec. 6 – vs. Oregon
Dec. 13 – vs. Gonzaga (at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle)
Dec. 17 – vs. Arizona State
Dec. 19 – vs. Cal Poly
Dec. 23 – vs. UC Riverside
Jan. 3 – at Iowa
Jan. 6 – at Wisconsin
Jan. 10 – vs. Maryland
Jan. 14 – at Penn State
Jan. 17 – at Ohio State
Jan. 20 – vs. Purdue
Jan. 24 – vs. Northwestern
Jan. 28 – at Oregon
Jan. 31 – vs. Indiana
Feb. 3 – vs. Rutgers
Feb. 7 – vs. Washington
Feb. 14 – at Michigan
Feb. 17 – at Michigan State
Feb. 21 – vs. Illinois
Feb. 24 – vs. USC
Feb. 28 – at Minnesota
March 3 – vs. Nebraska
March 7 – at USC
March 11-15 – Big Ten tournament (in Chicago)