The UCLA Bruins (11-2, 2-0 Big Ten) are flying high as Big Ten play resumes this weekend in a matchup with a scrappy Nebraska Cornhuskers (11-2, 1-1 Big Ten) team. Fresh off a tightly-contested win against perennial powerhouse Gonzaga (9-4), ranked #15 in the latest AP Poll, and boasting wins over fellow Big Ten debutantes #9 Oregon (12-2, 1-2 Big Ten) and Washington (10-4, 1-2 Big Ten), the 11-time national champions’ inaugural season in the Big Ten Conference has gotten off to an impressive start.
Boasting the toughest defense in the conference (58.7 points allowed per game) and paced in scoring by forward Tyler Bilodeau, the Bruins are eyeing not only a Big Ten regular season title, but a deep run in this year’s NCAA Tournament as well.
Standing in their way this weekend is a team hoping to carve out a spot in March Madness themselves. The Nebraska Cornhuskers come into Saturday’s matchup riding a five-game win streak, including a win in the Diamond Head Classic final against Oregon State on Christmas Day. Led by guard Brice Williams, currently averaging 19.0 points per game on incredibly efficient shooting splits (51.7% shooting, 42.6% 3-point shooting), the Huskers are looking to improve on last year’s performance that saw head coach Fred Hoiberg’s team reach the Round of 64 in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
UCLA Bruins Defensive Toughness
The hallmark of the Bruins’ 2024/25 season so far has been an airtight defense. UCLA leads the Big Ten and is sixth nationally in scoring defense, allowing only 58.7 points per game on 40.1% shooting. Head coach Mick Cronin credits the Bruins’ defensive intensity to the metal toughness of his players. Speaking to the media in preparation for Saturday’s matchup with the Cornhuskers, Cronin said the following about his team’s toughness:
“I think that the guys have–playing these tough games every weekend, if you don’t have a will to win, you’re going to lose, all right? We’re 3-1 in those type of games in December. I thought that our fight and our will to win and caring about winning was where it needed to be, and I think that’s what you try to build when people say things like ‘culture,’ which, I don’t use that word a lot, but that’s what people I think are referring to.”
Cronin is in his fifth season as head coach of the UCLA Bruins after spending 13 years as the head coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Nebraska Cornhuskers Offensive Centerpiece
The Cornhuskers are led by senior guard Brice Williams, an elite scorer who excels on all three levels of the offense. Currently fourth in the Big Ten in points per game, Williams’s ability to put the ball in the net has Nebraska on track for an at-large bid into this year’s NCAA Tournament per ESPN’s Bracketology.
In his second season in Lincoln after spending the first three years of his collegiate career with the Charlotte 49ers, Williams’s usage and efficiency have exploded in his senior season with the Huskers. He’s averaging a career-high in points per game and is on pace for a 50-40-90 season with current shooting averages of 51.7% from the floor, 42.6% from three-point range, and 90.4% from the free throw line. If these averages hold, Williams would be the twelfth player in NCAA Division 1 history to reach the 50-40-90 mark for a full season, and the first since Virginia’s Trey Murphy III in the 2020/21 season.
Williams also averages 2.5 assists per game, the second-highest mark on the team. Williams has scored or assisted 31.3% of all Nebraska points this season, by far the highest percentage on the Cornhuskers.
Berke Buyuktuncel Reunion
Saturday’s game will also act as a reunion for Nebraska forward Berke Buyuktuncel. The sophomore from Bursa, Turkey spent his freshman year with the UCLA Bruins, where he averaged 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in 16.3 minutes per game. As a sophomore with Nebraska this year, his per-game numbers have improved to 7.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game as a more central piece of the rotation. Bruins head coach Mick Cronin spoke about Buyuktuncel to the media earlier this week:
“Great. I’m happy for him. I think the fit has been good for him. Fred (Hoiberg)’s a great coach, Berke’s a great guy…it looks to me like he’s gotten stronger, for sure. He’s definitely gotten stronger and I think he fits into what they do.”
The meeting will be Buyunktucel’s first game against his former squad.
Last Five Games:
UCLA – 4-1: W vs. Gonzaga 65-62 (12/28/24); L vs. North Carolina 74-76 (12/21/24); W vs. Prairie View A&M 111-75 (12/17/24); W vs. Arizona 57-54 (12/14/24); W @ #12 Oregon 73-71 (12/8/24)
Nebraska – 5-0: W vs. Southern 77-43 (12/30/24); W vs. Oregon State 78-66 (12/25/24); W vs. Hawai’i 69-55 (12/23/24); W vs. Murray State 66-49 (12/22/24); W vs. Indiana 85-68 (12/13/24)
