Familiar foes are few and far between in the current landscape of college athletics.

But not only will the Bruins face a former Pac-12 rival Saturday, they will face them for the second time this season.

After beating Rutgers by 22 Tuesday night, UCLA men’s basketball (16-7, 8-4 Big Ten) will play Washington (12-11, 4-8) Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins beat the Huskies 82-80 on Dec. 3 – a contest where they led by as much as 16 with 4:45 remaining in the game until the Huskies brought the score to 81-80 with eight seconds left.

Senior guard Skyy Clark led the Bruins with 25 points in the two teams’ previous contest, courtesy of a 6-for-7 shooting night from beyond the arc. Clark has yet to play since injuring his hamstring against Iowa on Jan. 3 but could make his return Saturday night. If Clark is absent, it will mark his tenth consecutive missed game.

But the injuries have also hobbled the Huskies.

Washington will play Saturday’s affair without guard Desmond Claude – who ranks fourth on the team in scoring with 13.3 points per game – and who has yet to play since Jan. 14 in its loss to Michigan.

The battle could ultimately come down to how the Bruins contain projected 2026 NBA Draft lottery pick Hannes Steinbach. The forward garnered 29 points and 10 rebounds against UCLA on Dec. 3 and leads the Huskies in both points and rebounds, averaging 17.8 and 11.5, respectively, per contest.

Steinbach notches 4.3 offensive rebounds per game, and he could expose a Bruin squad that ranks No. 14 in the Big Ten in defensive rebounds per game.

“He’s a good player overall, but a really good offensive rebounder,” said junior forward/center Xavier Booker. “We have to keep him off the glass as much as we can and not let him get any easy looks.”

Coach Mick Cronin said limiting Steinbach in the interior is imperative.

“Don’t let him tip in offensive (rebounds) – he has an innate ability to be near the rim and just tip it in, so I know this sounds kind of ridiculous, but don’t let him score one-footers or zero-footers,” Cronin said. “You’ve got to make him shoot the ball outside of one (or) two feet, and definitely don’t give him zero-foot tip-ins. ”

But while the Bruins could mitigate Steinbach Saturday night, the Huskies are not a one-man army.

Following Steinbach in the scoring department is guard Zoom Diallo. The backcourt option leads the team in assists with 4.3 per game and also scores 15.3 points per game.

Sophomore guard Trent Perry or senior guard Donovan Dent will likely have to guard Diallo if the Bruins are without Clark.

And if Perry and Dent can’t handle Diallo, then junior guard/forward Eric Dailey Jr. could take up the mantle with his defensive versatility and speed despite being 6-foot-8 – an attribute that has bolstered his offensive production as well.

“Eric continues to grow into using the fact that he’s … 225-ish and playing downhill, getting himself to the foul line,” Cronin said. “If you look at his last five games – free throws, downhill attacks versus settling for 3-point shots – it’s changed his effectiveness offensively, and being a guy who goes after every rebound, you’ve got to use who you are. You’ve got to use what God gave you and what he’s worked hard to build.”

Central to UCLA’s efforts against Washington could be forcing the team into turnovers, since it records the sixth-most turnovers in the conference, averaging 10.7 per contest.

The Bruins rank top 20 in the nation in turnover rate. For Cronin, that ranking is an expectation.

“I fight to get there with every team I coach – top 20 in fewest (turnovers), top 20 in forced,” Cronin said. “It’s a game of math, so this team isn’t going to get the math in our favor on the glass. I think we’ve kind of proven that. We’ve got to fight to be even there. We can win the turnover margin – that’s where you get your extra possessions.”