Who’s Playing

UCLA Bruins @ Nebraska Cornhuskers

Current Records: UCLA 11-2, Nebraska 11-2

How To Watch

• When: Saturday, January 4, 2025 at 2 p.m. ET
• Where: Pinnacle Bank Arena — Lincoln, Nebraska
• TV: FOX
• Follow: CBS Sports App
• Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)

What to Know

We’ve got another exciting Big Ten matchup on schedule as the UCLA Bruins and the Nebraska Cornhuskers are set to tip at 2:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The Bruins are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they’ve averaged 77.4 points per game this season.

Last Saturday, it was close, but UCLA sidestepped Gonzaga for a 65-62 victory.

UCLA’s win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Eric Dailey Jr., who scored 18 points in addition to six rebounds and four steals. Dailey Jr. had some trouble finding his footing against N. Carolina last Saturday, so this was a nice turnaround. The team also got some help courtesy of Skyy Clark, who almost dropped a double-double on 11 points and nine rebounds.

Meanwhile, Nebraska had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 15 points) and they went ahead and made it five on Monday. Couldn’t have asked for a better way to wrap up 2024 than the 77-43 stomp they got against the Jaguars. The Cornhuskers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four games by 20 points or more this season.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Nebraska to victory, but perhaps none more so than Connor Essegian, who had 20 points in addition to six rebounds. Essegian had some trouble finding his footing against Oregon State on Wednesday, so this was a step in the right direction.

Nebraska was working as a unit and finished the game with 22 assists. The team’s really been improving in that area: they’ve now improved their assist total in three consecutive contests.

UCLA’s win bumped their record up to 11-2. As for Nebraska, they pushed their record up to 11-2 with the victory, which was their 19th straight at home dating back to last season.

Saturday’s matchup is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: UCLA has been crazy accurate this season, having made 47.3% of their field goals per game. However, it’s not like Nebraska struggles in that department as they’ve made 47.2% of their field goals this season. Given these competing strengths, it’ll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.

UCLA beat Nebraska 82-71 in their previous matchup back in November of 2016. Does UCLA have another victory up their sleeve, or will Nebraska turn the tables on them? We’ll have the answer soon enough.

Series History

UCLA won the only game these two teams have played in the last 8 years.

• Nov 25, 2016 – UCLA 82 vs. Nebraska 71