UCLA will host Kansas in early 2009-10 NCAA basketball showdown
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Kansas, the likely preseason No. 1 men’s basketball team, will come to Pauley Pavilion this year to take on a young UCLA squad with a lot to prove. Ben Howland pitted against Bill Self is the kind of match-up fans hope to see in March. The last time the coaches met, the Bruins beat the Jayhawks to advance to the 2007 Final Four. This time, they’ll battle it out on December 6.
The game is part of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series, which will also include USC hosting Nebraska and the Trojans making an extra trip to Texas.
Local teams have had mixed results in the Hardwood Series. In 2007, USC beat Oklahoma and picked up an important quality win to help with better seeding in the NCAA tournament. This year, a hard-fought, one-point loss at Oklahoma might have helped sneak them into the Big Dance (a moot point after USC won the conference tournament).
UCLA has dropped a pair of close games to Texas.
Designed to guarantee marquee match-ups and mimic the success of the ACC–Big Ten Challenge, the Hardwood Series has been fairly even -- the Pac-10 edged the Big 12 in the inaugural 2007 edition, 7 games to 5. The conferences tied 6-6 in 2008, when attendance averaged over 10,000 fans per game. Since the Big 12 has a dozen schools, two Pac-10 teams get to play twice each year.
The full schedule ...
Sunday, November 29
- Nebraska at USC
Thursday, December 3
- Washington at Texas Tech
- USC at Texas
- Baylor at Arizona State
Friday, December 4
- Colorado at Oregon State
Saturday, December 5
- Oregon at Missouri
- Iowa State at California
- Washington State at Kansas State
Sunday, December 6
- Kansas at UCLA
- Arizona at Oklahoma
Wednesday, December 16
- Oklahoma State at Stanford
Tuesday, December 22
- Texas A&M at Washington
-- Adam Rose