Fresh off of a season-opening win over fifth-ranked rival Arizona, No. 22 UCLA makes its home debut on Friday when North Florida visits Los Angeles.
UCLA (1-0) held off a late surge to close Monday’s opener in Las Vegas, outscoring Arizona 13-5 down the stretch of an 84-75 win.
“Our team just doesn’t quit,” Bruins guard Jaylen Petty said following the contest. “Like coach (Mick Cronin) said, we all have great attitudes. We all want to win and come together, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Petty, who dished a game-high seven assists, is among the prominent newcomers joining a solid returning corps for UCLA. Petty averaged 9.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game and made 69 3-pointers last season at Texas Tech.
Fellow offseason addition and blue-chip prep recruit Joe Philon III knocked down a 3-pointer and scored seven points to kick off the campaign.
Meanwhile, UCLA’s key returners — Trent Perry and Eric Dailey Jr. — led the way in scoring with 21 and 13 points. Xavier Booker was limited to 13 minutes, but nailed a critical triple to begin the end-of-game push.
UCLA now opens Pauley Pavilion for the season with a signature win already to its credit and a solid foundation as the nonconference schedule unfolds.
“When you can get a quality win, learn some things, and get valuable film to teach from, that’s important,” Cronin said.
The Bruins are the first of back-to-back top 25-ranked opponents for North Florida (1-0), with the Miami Hurricanes next on their schedule come Nov. 9.
UCLA is also the second 2026 NCAA Tournament team from southern California that North Florida faces to open the campaign. The Ospreys tipped off their docket on Tuesday with a 71-63 win over California Baptist.
North Florida drew a much different roster than the final Western Athletic Conference champion Cal Baptist, which took Kansas to the limit in a wild March Madness matchup. Likewise, Tuesday introduced a fresh Ospreys roster, reflective of “the reality of the college basketball,” as coach Bobby Kennen described before the season.
Three of the five North Florida scorers in double figures at Cal Baptist were making their Ospreys debut, including Mason Watkins, who finished with 13 points.
“We needed physicality, we needed athleticism, we needed versatility in the frontcourt,” Kennen said of the program’s offseason priorities. “Eddie (Placer, a transfer from Wagner), Mason, those guys can play three or four positions. I wanted to be able to play different ways.”
Changes to the complexion of North Florida’s lineup resulted in an effective offensive approach to start the season. The Ospreys shot almost 64% from inside the 3-point arc, and pushed the pace with possessions of less than 15 seconds on average per KenPom.com.
And while there are plenty of new faces, Kennen is not working with a completely overhauled lineup. North Florida retained 2025-26 standout Kent Jackson, who picked up right where he left off with 15 points. Jackson averaged 14.8 points for the Ospreys a season ago.
–Field Level Media
