Deja vu.

It’s an unsettling feeling for most.

But not for the Bruins.

No. 7 seed UCLA men’s basketball (23-11, 13-7 Big Ten) will face No. 10 seed UCF (21-11, 9-9 Big 12) Friday night at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for a Round of 64 matchup in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. The bout marks back-to-back seasons where the Bruins will travel across the country as the No. 7 seed in their first round of March Madness.

The Bruins want Friday’s contest to look similar to last year’s No. 7 seed vs. No. 10 seed battle.

UCLA beat then-No. 10 seed Utah State 72-47 in Lexington, Kentucky, shooting 48.1% from the field and 41.7% from beyond the arc.

And the Bruins should have little problem mirroring their 3-point shooting from last season’s Round of 64 matchup. They come into the Friday matchup shooting 38.2% from beyond the arc, a tally that ranks No. 18 in the nation and first in the Big Ten.

“We can shoot,” said coach Mick Cronin in a post-Selection Sunday press conference Monday. “Since Jan. 1, I think we’re the third best offensive team in the country, so we can score, we can shoot, but we’ve been playing much harder on defense.”

But the Bruins’ first round opponent also boasts proficient shooting from deep.

The Knights enter Friday night’s contest shooting 36.4% from 3-point range, which ranks fourth in the Big 12. Their perimeter threat will likely make the Bruins’ perimeter defense imperative to clinching a Round of 32 berth.

UCLA has struggled with defense throughout the 2025-26 campaign, but it seems the squad has hit its stride as of late – holding teams to fewer than 75 points in five of its last eight games.

“That Nebraska game really kicked it off for us,” said senior guard Donovan Dent. “Our intensity, the talking, rotations, all of that. That is what kickstarted our intent on defense moving forward.”

It seems the Bruins have played their best basketball as of late – winning six of their last eight – and peaking at the right time is often critical for postseason success, junior guard/forward Eric Dailey Jr. said.

But in order to be successful in the NCAA Tournament, teams must find ways to win while facing adversity.

“You’re going to have to have a game like the Rutgers game where we didn’t shoot well. Our best shooters were missing some wide open shots, and we still won,” Cronin said. “To win six in a row, for anybody, you’ve got to win a game when you’re not at your best.”

Even if the Bruins do not play up to the level they finished the conference season with, mitigating guard Themus Fulks could be the biggest key to victory Friday night.

The guard ranks second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.1 points per game but leads the team in assists, garnering 6.7 per contest – a mark that ranks No. 11 in the nation.

“I’m impressed with him,” Cronin said. “I’m really impressed with him, how good he is with the ball, which, when you have a guy like that, it makes your offense easy because they make plays, they can make reads, they can break your defense down. He breaks defenses down.”

While the Bruins have opted for a three-guard starting lineup – featuring Dent, senior Skyy Clark and sophomore Trent Perry – it could be redshirt freshman guard Eric Freeny who makes the biggest difference against Fulks on Friday.

Freeny emerged as one of Cronin’s top depth options in the regular-season home stretch, and he also bolstered the Bruins’ play on the boards and in the defensive halfcourt.

“If you look at Freeny’s rebounds against Michigan State, he had two offensive rebounds, two guys knew that, if they didn’t block him out, then Coach Izzo was taking them out of the game,” Cronin said. “So they tried, and they couldn’t. Strength matters and rebounding. It’s not just desire and strength as well. He’s so compact and so strong, so his rebounding is as important as his defense that he’s given us off the bench.”

Freeny and the rest of the Bruin bench could be particularly important as Dent and senior forward Tyler Bilodeau recover from injuries suffered in the Big Ten tournament, where the Bruins reached the semifinal round without their two stars.

Both players should play Friday, Cronin said, but the duo may not be back at full strength.

But in the meantime, the Bruins are looking to ride the momentum built off their Big Ten tournament run.

“Playing those games in a row like that definitely builds momentum, definitely some extra games that give you some confidence going into The Big Dance,” Dailey said. “And, Big Dance, you have a day off in between, so that would be way better. We stay fresh. Three games in a row like that against tough teams. That’s what you need. That’s like that extra resilience that you need.”