Men’s basketball to kick off regular season with matchup against CSU Bakersfield

The Bruins are set to tip off their regular-season schedule.

No. 2 UCLA men’s basketball will host CSU Bakersfield in Pauley Pavilion on Tuesday night. Prior to last season, the Bruins had won their last four season openers but lost to San Diego State after opening the 2020-2021 season nationally ranked.

Coach Mick Cronin, who led his team to an 11-1 record at home last season, praised Roadrunners coach Rod Barnes and said the Bruins are set to face a physical, athletic squad to open the season.

“They play really physical and hard. They really rebound,” Cronin said. “They’re not going to just take bad shots and get out of the way. They’re going to put up a physical fight at the rim, put their bodies in front of the ball.”

The contest will mark the first of four regular-season home games in a nine-day stretch for UCLA, including a top-five showdown with No. 4 Villanova on Friday.

Cronin said despite the matchup with the Wildcats looming, he takes each day one at a time, seeing a twofold opportunity against the Roadrunners.

“I’m worried about tomorrow,” Cronin said. “That’s what they pay me to do. … First of all, it’s an opportunity to play. With COVID, you never know what could happen the next day. … I think tomorrow is, a) a chance to win a game, and b) get better.”

The Bruins return all 10 rotation players from their 2021 Final Four run and each member of the starting five. Senior guard Jules Bernard, who leads the team with 95 collegiate games played, said UCLA’s strengths are its depth and pace.

“We have a lot of depth and a lot of players who can handle the ball,” Bernard said. “What we’re trying to input is playing fast and wearing teams down throughout the course of the game. If one of us gets tired, we have someone coming in that’s just as capable of handling the ball.”

In addition to an abundance of returning talent, Bernard said the Bruins have built an enjoyable, winning culture.

“We have great players, but we also have great chemistry on the team,” Bernard said. “When you see everyone’s happy to see everyone succeed, it’s just a lot of fun to play on the court.”

UCLA welcomed a home crowd of 5,871 spectators to Pauley Pavilion on Thursday, earning a 39-point victory in an exhibition against Chico State. The contest marked the first home game with fans in nearly 20 months.

Redshirt senior center Myles Johnson, one of six Bruin players who had yet to experience a UCLA home game with fans entering Thursday, said he was pleasantly surprised at how packed Pauley Pavilion was.

“The atmosphere was great. Fans were good,” Johnson said. “For an exhibition game, I was surprised that there was that many people. They were packed, and they were loud. It was just a great time.”

But regardless of how many fans come to watch this week, Cronin said his team won’t place any added significance on that for early-season games.

“It’s a long year, so no matter what happens tomorrow, we’ll try to get better today, we’ll try to get better tomorrow, and we’ll be back at it on Wednesday,” Cronin said. “Even if we win tomorrow and we win Friday, they’re not hanging any banners, so you’ve got to just (try) to get better.”