UCLA's 2006-07 men's basketball schedule is highlighted by nonconference contests in the Maui Invitational and Wooden Classic, along with a trip to Morgantown to play Big East foe West Virginia.
At the 23rd annual EA Sports Maui Invitational (Nov. 20-22/Lahaina Civic Center), the Bruins will be joined by DePaul, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Memphis, Oklahoma, Purdue and host Chaminade. Last season en route to the NCAA Championship contest, the Bruins played Memphis twice - losing 88-80 on Nov. 23 in an NIT Season Tip-off semifinal game at New York City's Madison Square Garden and winning 50-45 on March 25 in an NCAA "Elite Eight" contest at the Oakland Arena. This will be UCLA's third appearance in Maui (2001/1995).
In the 13th annual Wooden Classic on Saturday, Dec. 9 at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, UCLA will play Big 12 opponent Texas A & M in game one (11:30 a.m. PST/tentative) and in game two, USC will play George Washington. This will be UCLA's fourth consecutive Wooden Classic appearance and 10th overall (6-3 overall). Last year, the Bruins defeated Nevada, 67-56 in the Wooden Classic.
Other nonconference highlights include - opening the regular season home campaign in Pauley Pavilion vs. Mountain West opponent Brigham Young (Nov. 15); hosting three local schools in Pauley (Long Beach State/Nov. 28; UC Riverside/Dec. 3; CS Fullerton/Dec. 5); hosting Big Ten foe Michigan in Pauley (Dec. 23) and playing at West Virginia on Feb. 10.
The UCLA/BYU game will be the schools' first meeting since 1988-89 (BYU leads the series 11-10); it will be the fifth consecutive game vs. Michigan (the Bruins won at Ann Arbor last season 68-61 on Dec. 17 and leads the series 9-3) and West Virginia last year defeated UCLA at Pauley Pavilion (60-56 on Jan. 21 and leads the series 2-1).
UCLA, the defending Pac-10 regular season and Tournament champion, opens defense of its conference crown in late December, hosting the Washington schools in Pauley Pavilion (Dec. 28-Washington State/ Dec. 30 Washington). The 2007 Pac-10 Tournament, featuring all 10 teams, will once again be held at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles (March 7-10).
In all, there are 11 teams on UCLA's 2006-07 schedule that last year advanced to post-season play - eight in NCAA play (Kentucky, Memphis and Oklahoma in the Maui Invitational; Texas A&M in the Wooden Classic; West Virginia and three teams from the Pac-10 - Washington, Arizona and California) and three from the NIT (BYU, Stanford and Michigan, the Wolverines lost in the NIT final to South Carolina, 76-64).
"I'm excited about our overall schedule, particularly the slate of nonconference teams that we will face," said Bruin head coach Ben Howland, entering his fourth season. "These tough nonconference contests will help prepare us to defend our Pac-10 title."
In 2005-06, UCLA advanced to the NCAA Championship game (losing to Florida, 73-57), finished 32-7 overall and 14-4 in the Pac-10. The Bruins set the school record for most games played (39) and tied a school record for most wins (32, with UCLA's 1995 NCAA Championship team that finished 32-1).
Tentative 2006-07 UCLA Men's Basketball Schedule
| DATE | OPPONENT |
| Thurs., Nov. 2 | Exhibition |
| Thurs., Nov. 9 | Exhibition |
| Wed., Nov. 15 | Brigham Young |
| Mon.-Wed., Nov. 20-22 | @ Maui Invitational (Lahaina Civic Center) (Chaminade, DePaul, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Memphis, Oklahoma, Purdue and UCLA) |
| Tues., Nov. 28 | Long Beach State |
| Sun., Dec. 3 | UC Riverside |
| Tues., Dec. 5 | Cal State Fullerton |
| Sat., Dec. 9 | @ Wooden Classic (Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim)
Game One - UCLA vs. Texas A & M (11:30 a.m. PST/tentative)
Game Two - USC vs. George Washington |
| Dec. 11-15 | Final Exams |
| Sat., Dec. 16 | Oakland University (MI) |
| Tue., Dec. 19 | Sam Houston State |
| Sat., Dec. 23 | Michigan |
| Thurs., Dec. 28 | Washington State |
| Sat., Dec. 30 | Washington |
| Thurs., Jan. 4 | @ Oregon State |
| Sat., Jan. 6 | @ Oregon |
| Sat., Jan. 13 | @ USC |
| Thurs., Jan. 18 | Arizona State |
| Sat., Jan. 20 | Arizona |
| Thurs., Jan. 25 | @ California |
| Sat., Jan. 27 | @ Stanford |
| Thu., Feb. 1 | Oregon |
| Sat., Feb. 3 | Oregon State |
| Wed., Feb. 7 | USC |
| Sat., Feb. 10 | @ West Virginia |
| Thurs., Feb. 15 | @ Arizona |
| Sat., Feb. 17 | @ Arizona State |
| Thurs., Feb. 22 | Stanford |
| Sat., Feb. 24 | California |
| Thurs., Mar. 1 | @ Washington |
| Sat., Mar. 3 | @ Washington State |
| Mar. 7 - Mar. 10 | Pac-10 Tournament @ Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA |
| Mar. 15 - Mar. 18 | NCAA First and Second Round |
| Mar. 22 - Mar. 25 | NCAA Regional |
| Mar. 31 - Apr. 2 | NCAA Final Four |
All times Pacific/to be announced at a later date.
