UCLA men’s basketball expert previews the Arizona game, makes a score prediction

Arizona’s run to the Final Four included a long list of tremendous performances, but one that might not have gotten as much attention was the win over UCLA in mid-November. The Wildcats trailed by 10 early, only to take a 3-point lead at halftime, then fell behind by eight with just over seven minutes to go and rallied for the 69-65 victory.

That Bruins team went on to win 24 games and reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and like most teams have to rebuild their roster during the offseason. The current UCLA squad begins this season ranked 22nd, and Big Ten media members predict it will finish 4th in that conference.

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Now they meet again in Las Vegas on Monday night to open the 2026-27 season.

To better understand this version of one of the UA’s top rivals, we reached out to Dimitri Dorlis of The Mighty Bruin for some insight and a score prediction. Below are his determined answers to our hesitant questions:

AZ Desert Swarm: UCLA returns three of its top six scorers from a 24-win team that reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament, along with some other reserves. How much do you expect that consistency from last season to help set the tone for 2026-27?

Dimitri Dorlis: “It’s an interesting thing, because on the one hand, I do think Mick Cronin has finally established some program continuity for the first time since the Jaime Jaquez years (where UCLA essentially ran out the same lineup for multiple seasons). He now has some program veterans in Trent Perry and Eric Dailey who not only know the system and what Cronin wants, but also can pass on that knowledge to younger and newer players. At the same time, saying that three of the top six scorers are returning leaves out that the top scorer, Tyler Bilodeau, is now gone, as is second-leading scorer and point guard Donovan Dent. Skyy Clark was a multi-year starter as well. So there will be some growing pains early this year as guys adapt to new roles.”

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Publish date : 2026-11-01 14:00:00

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