UCLA vs. UConn: How to Watch, Game Info, Betting Odds

The Bruins are on their way to Newark for a nationally-televised matchup with the Huskies.

With four games left in nonconference play, the Bruins and top-five Huskies will face off after both teams have had an up-and-down start to the season.

WHO: UCLA vs. No. 3 Connecticut

DATE: Saturday, Dec. 11

TIME: 10 a.m. PT

LOCATION: Prudential Center, Newark, NJ

TV: ABC – Ryan Ruocco (play-by-play), Rebecca Lobo (analyst), Holly Rowe (sideline reporter)

STREAMING: fuboTV – Get 7-day Free Trial

RADIO: ucla.leanplayer.com – Dave Marcus (play-by-play)

SPREAD: TBA*

MONEY LINE: TBA*

OVER/UNDER: TBA*

UCLA is currently not ranked in the AP poll after falling out of the Top 25 as a result of back-to-back losses to Kent State and South Dakota State at the Gulf Coast Showcase. Firing back with wins against St. John’s and San Jose State, however, the Bruins’ record now sits at 5-2.

UConn, meanwhile, got off to a hot start to their season, but now has two losses. In their second game of the season, the Huskies fell to No. 1 South Carolina, but a Thursday night loss to Georgia Tech sent shockwaves through the collegiate women’s basketball landscape, with the defeat ending UConn's 239-game win streak against unranked opponents.

The Bruins went 17-6 last season, including a 4-2 record at neutral sites. Since the start of the 2018-2019 season, they are 8-8 in neutral site games. UCLA finished off last season by falling in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, losing to Texas with a shorthanded roster.

The Huskies finished their last campaign with a 28-2 record, but lost in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament to the Bruins’ Pac-12 foe Arizona. UConn finished 7-1 in neutral site games last season and is 18-3 in those environments since the start of the 2018-2019 season.

Scoring-wise, the Huskies are averaging 70.1 points per game, while the Bruins score at a higher rate with 77.1 points per game. Defensively, The Huskies allow slightly more points per game with 60.6 points given up a night compared to the Bruins’ mark of 60.1 points.

The Bruins started this season with a similar drawback to last season – depth was minimal from the get-go. In the absence of forwards Angela Dugalic and Emily Bessoir and guard Gina Conti, other Bruins have stepped up in their place. Guard Jaelynn Penn, who transferred in from Indiana, has been playing the most minutes with 33.8 per game. Combined with forward IImar’I Thomas’ team-leading 19.1 points per game and scattered high-scoring performances from returning guards Natalie Chou and Charisma Osborne, the Bruins have been able to withstand the early-season difficulties.

Osborne and Chou are averaging 18.5 and 13.0 points per game respectively.

Reigning Naismith Player of the Year guard Paige Bueckers will be unavailable for the Huskies after suffering a non-contact injury in the final moments of their win on Sunday versus Notre Dame. In her place, guard Christyn Williams will likely be the Huskies’ leading producer on Saturday, as she averages Averaging 14.7 points per game. Guard Evina Westbrook and forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa will likely be the second and third options on offense.

Westbrook and Nelson-Ododa have averaged 9.7 and 8.9 points per game, respectively, and will have to step up to match the Bruins’ four players that average double figures.

Cori Close is now in her 11th season as a head coach, all of which have come with the Bruins, and she has an all-time record of 220-112 with six NCAA tournament appearances. Geno Auriemma is in his 37th year as a head coach, and he has an all-time record of 1,119-144 with 32 NCAA tournament appearances across his career-long stint at UConn.

UCLA is 0-6 against UConn head-to-head, entering their seventh matchup with a chance to take their first victory. The Bruins and Huskies’ most recent matchup was in 2019 when the blue and gold fell 69-61 in the Sweet Sixteen.

*Odds via Bovada

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