It’s been my experience as an avid sports fan that this time of the year is the best time of the year.
What I mean is that the period right around mid-to-late October and early November serves as an early Christmas for those intertwined in the sports universe.
As of today, we are in the midst of the World Series, it’s week nine in the NFL, the NBA season is off to a fresh start, as is the NHL, the college football season is in week 10 and, for you real sports fans, the NASCAR Chase for the Cup is winding down.
And tonight, you can add one more sport to that list: UCLA college basketball!
That’s correct. Not just college basketball, UCLA college basketball.
Tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion, the most storied college basketball program in the nation kicks off its 2009-2010 season with an exhibition game against the Concordia Eagles.
You don’t have to say it; this certainly isn’t one of the more exciting games on the Bruins schedule. But just so you have something to look forward to, here are five games on UCLA’s schedule that will serve as season definers for this year’s young Bruin squad:
UCLA v. Kansas, Dec. 6
The Bruins will host the Jayhawks in the Pac-10/Big-12 Hardwood Series, and if this season’s preseason projections hold any accuracy, this will be the toughest game on UCLA’s schedule, hands down.
When the preseason polls came out just more than a week ago, not only were the Jayhawks voted No. 1 in the country in both the Associated Press Poll and in the ESPN/USA Today Poll, but it wasn’t even close.
In the AP Poll, Kansas received 55 out of the 65 first-place votes, and they received 27 out of 31 first-place votes in the ESPN/USA Today Poll. In addition, the Jayhawks are the only team to boast two players on the AP preseason All-American team, senior guard Sherron Collins and junior center Cole Aldrich.
On top of all that, the Big 12 juggernaut landed the No. 1 high school recruit in the country in 6-foot-6 wingman Xavier Henry.
Even if UCLA, unranked in the preseason polls for the first time in the past five years, is unable to pull off the upset, the Bruins could still take a moral victory away from this game. If this Bruin squad doesn’t wilt under the pressure of such a humongous challenge and is somehow able to keep the contest interesting, the young team will gain some much-needed confidence with a tough Pac-10 schedule ahead of it.
UCLA v. Notre Dame, Dec. 19
This game will definitely serve as an interesting test for UCLA, seeing as how Notre Dame will undoubtedly have revenge on their minds.
Last season in Pauley, the Bruins embarrassed the Fighting Irish on national television, blasting the young men from South Bend, Ind., 89-63.
This will also serve as the second occasion in which UCLA will go up against preseason All-American talent, as Notre Dame will feature big-man Luke Harangody, who received the most preseason All-American votes overall.
Tensions should be running high for this one as the Fighting Irish look to avenge last year’s demolition at the hands of the Bruins, especially with the game being broadcast on national television once again.
UCLA v. California, Jan. 6, 2010
The Bruins will have had two Pac-10 conference games at this point of the season, but they are both home contests against Arizona and Arizona State, two teams picked to finish below UCLA in the final conference standings.
But in this game at Cal, the team that was picked to finish atop the Pac-10 could be make-or-break for the Bruins.
Although it will be early in Pac-10 conference play, the Bruins will be looking to establish themselves as legit conference championship contenders along with the Golden Bears and the Washington Huskies, who were picked to finish second in the conference.
In addition, Cal is ranked No. 12 in the preseason AP Poll, and UCLA will need to pick up good wins against ranked opponents in order to bolster their chances of getting a higher seed in the NCAA Tournament.
UCLA v. Washington, Jan. 21, 2010
This late-January matchup between these emerging Pac-10 rivals will serve as the first of the season, and will be substantially more important for UCLA than for Washington, seeing as how the Huskies are a different team at home.
Last season, when the Bruins lost on the road to the Huskies 86-75, I can remember saying to myself, “There is no way we’re going to beat these guys.”
Of course, I was wrong, as UCLA defeated Washington in Pauley Pavilion 85-76 a little more than a month later.
But with the way the two games went last year, I was forced to recognize just how effectively the Huskies play at home, in front of that crowd, in that atmosphere.
In short, the Bruins need to win this crucial Pac-10 game because, chances are, they won’t be the Huskies in Seattle.
UCLA v. USC, Feb. 14, 2010
You know I had to throw in a game against the Trojans simply for the rivalry factor.
The Bruins have traditionally been a better home team than the Trojans, so the matchup between the two teams at the Galen Center should serve as more of a barn-burner. And there will more than likely be Pac-10 conference implications involved with this one, especially with the season winding down.
Well, there you have it. The five most crucial games on the Bruins’ schedule.
What else is there to say but, “Go Bruins!”
If you think the Bruins are going 5-0 in these games, e-mail Watson at bwatson@media.ucla.edu.