How To Watch: No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 7 UCLA in the second round of the NCAA Tournament
LEXINGTON — It’s No. 2 Tennessee. It’s No. 7 UCLA. And it’s the second round of the NCAA Tournament, with a spot in the Sweet Sixteen on the line late Saturday night at Rupp Arena.
The Vols (28-7) and Bruins (23-10) are scheduled for a 9:40 p.m. Eastern Time start on TBS/TruTV in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament bracket.
Tennessee advanced with a 77-62 win over No. 15 Wofford Thursday night, before No. 7 UCLA beat No. 10 Utah State 72-47.
How To Watch: No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 7 UCLA
Start Time: Saturday, 9:40 p.m. Eastern Time
TV: TBS/TruTV
Streaming: ESPN App or WatchESPN.com
Radio: WNML-FM 99.1 in Knoxville. The Vol Network radio broadcast can be heard on local affiliates across the state of Tennessee.
KenPom Prediction: Tennessee 67, UCLA 62 (67% chance to win)
The Line: Tennessee -5.5 (Total: 131.5)
A Closer Look: The UCLA Bruins
UCLA is ranked No. 22 overall in the KenPom.com rankings. The Bruins are No. 15 in adjusted defensive efficiency, giving up 94.1 points per 100 possessions, and are No. 35 in adjusted defensive efficiency, scoring 117.1 points per 100 possessions.
Tennessee is No. 5 overall in the KenPom ratings, ranked No. 3 on defense (89.6) and No. 17 on offense (120.3).
UCLA at one point lost four in a row and five of six during from December 21 to January 13, but bounced back with seven straight wins. The Bruins closed the regular-season schedule by going 4-3 over its final seven games, before losing to Wisconsin 86-70 in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
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Forward Tyler Bilodeau leads UCLA in scoring at 13.5 points per game, ahead of 11.7 from guard Eric Dailey. Kobe Johnson leads the Bruins in rebounding at 6.0 per game and Dylan Andrews leads the team in assists, at 3.5 per game.
Dailey and Skyy Clark scored 14 points each to lead the Bruins against Utah State. Aday Mara, UCLA’s 7-foot-3, 240-pound center, had 10 points, six rebounds and five blocks in 20 minutes.
Tennessee in the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament under Rick Barnes
Tennessee is 3-2 in the second round under Rick Barnes, with wins over No. 7 Texas last season, No. 5 Duke in 2023 and No. 10 Iowa in 2019. The Vols lost to No. 11 Loyola Chicago in 2018 and No. 11 Michigan in 2022.
Tennessee with the win over Wofford improved to 6-1 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament under Barnes, winning by an average of 19.5 points per game.
The Vols beat No. 15 Saint Peter’s 83-49 in the first round last season, beat No. 13 Louisiana 58-55 in 2023 and beat No. 14 Longwood 88-56 in 2022. No. 12 Oregon State beat No. 5 Tennessee 70-56 in 2021, the Vols beat No. 15 Colgate 77-70 in 2019 and bat No. 14 Wright State 73-47 in 2018.
