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Maryland (11-4) vs. #22 UCLA (11-4)
Nuts & Bolts
Date: January 10, 2025
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
Venue: XFINITY Center - College Park, MD
How to Watch: FOX
Matchup History: UCLA leads all-time series 7-3
Last Meeting: Maryland def. UCLA 69-60 in Los Angeles on 12/22/23
Betting Lines: Via DraftKings
Spread: Maryland -5
Over/Under: 139
Prediction: Maryland 77, UCLA 65
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Head Coach: Kevin Willard (3rd season, 49-34 record at Maryland)
Record: 11-4 (1-3, 14th in Big Ten)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 30
Last NCAA Tournament Appearance: 2023
Last Time Out: Lost @ #9 Oregon 83-79 on 1/5/25
Highlights HERE
Player to Watch: Derik Queen
Maryland’s first trip out west as a member of the Big 10 Conference was…less than ideal.
The Terrapins dropped both games out west this past week, falling at Washington on Thursday 75-69 and again at #15 Oregon 83-79 on Sunday.
In the loss to Washington the Terps shot just above 18% from three while star big man Derik Queen scored a season-low 4 points in 18 minutes, shooting 1-7 from the field.
Three days later, Maryland played much better overall, hitting nearly 48% of its shots while Rodney Rice scored a team-high 19 points and Queen recovered from his lackluster performance with 17.
Still, it wasn’t enough to win in Eugene, and Maryland left the west coast having suffered its first stretch of back-to-back defeats this season.
Kevin Willard’s squad now returns home having fallen to 14th in the Big 10 standings. On Friday night, they’ll have a chance to get back on track as the Terps host #22 UCLA, who last lost two straight games and three out of its last four.
For Maryland, it’s the last time they’ll host a weekend night game in College Park until the final game of the regular season against Northwestern on March 8.
It should be a raucous crowd in what feels like a must win game for the Terrapins.
Head Coach: Mick Cronin (6th season, 126-57 record at UCLA)
Record: 11-4 (2-2, T-10th in Big Ten)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 52
Last NCAA Tournament Appearance: 2023
Last Time Out: Lost vs. #24 Michigan 94-75 on 1/7/25
Highlights HERE
Player to Watch: Tyler Bilodeau
UCLA comes into College Park on Friday night having dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season.
Mick Cronin’s group has lost three out of four, including the last two: an eight point loss to Nebraska in Lincoln followed by an embarrassing 94-75 loss to Michigan in LA.
After the Michigan loss, Cronin called his team ‘soft,’ adding that he seems to be the one who cares the most out of anyone on his team.
That’s where UCLA is at. Just a few weeks ago they were 10-1 and recently climbed to as high as #15 in the nation.
Regardless of Friday’s result, the Bruins will likely fall out of the top 25.
For UCLA, the season has been heavily based around playing stout defense, which certainly fell apart in surrendering 94 points on Tuesday night to Michigan.
On the year, the Bruins are allowing just over 61 points per game, good for 10th in the nation. Conversely, Maryland is the 13th highest scoring team nationally.
Clearly, something’s got to give on Friday night.
The Bruins were not fully healthy in the loss to Nebraska with sophomore guard Eric Dailey Jr. sidelined. However, Dailey was back for the Michigan game, making UCLA fully healthy heading to the East Coast.
As Cronin said after the loss to Nebraska, there are no excuses. At this point, it seems like this UCLA team is either about to respond in a significant way with a signature win, or is on the verge of internal collapse.
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