With nine games to go and the season tightening up, UCLA finds itself at a pivotal crossroads. The Bruins, now 15-7 after a heartbreaking 98-97 loss to Indiana, are staring down a crucial stretch that starts with back-to-back home games - Rutgers on February 3rd and Washington on February 7th at Pauley Pavilion. And while both are winnable, they’re also must-win games for a team that’s still trying to solidify its identity before the biggest test of the season.
Let’s be clear: the Bruins can’t afford to slip here. After Washington, the road gets steep - Michigan, Michigan State, and Illinois await in a brutal seven-day gauntlet. All three are currently top-10 teams, and UCLA will need every ounce of momentum heading into that stretch.
Washington, meanwhile, comes in at 12-10 and has been uneven at best. They’ve dropped six of their last nine and are still searching for consistency.
But don’t let the record fool you - this Huskies squad has some bite. Their best win came against then-No.
24 USC earlier in the season, and they’ve got one of the most dynamic young players in the conference in freshman big man Hannes Steinbach.
Steinbach is the real deal. He’s averaging 17.4 points and 11.3 rebounds a night - a double-double machine who’s already making his case as one of the Big Ten’s best frontcourt players, regardless of class.
The last time these two teams met, Steinbach was practically unstoppable. He went 11-for-12 from the field, dropping 29 points and grabbing 10 boards in a narrow 82-80 UCLA win.
And that was after missing four games with injury. The Bruins had no answer for him inside - he was efficient, physical, and relentless.
But UCLA had a counterpunch that night, and it came in the form of Skyy Clark. The guard lit it up from deep, going 6-for-7 from beyond the arc on his way to 25 points.
His shooting was the X-factor in a game that could’ve gone either way. The big question now: will Clark be back from injury in time for the rematch?
His presence could swing the game again, especially against a Washington defense that’s had its share of lapses.
UCLA will enter this one as the favorite, just as they will against Rutgers. But Washington presents a tougher challenge - not necessarily because of their record, but because of their ceiling. If Steinbach gets rolling again and UCLA doesn’t bring its A-game defensively, things could get dicey.
This is the moment where the Bruins need to lock in. Nine games left.
No room for error. They’ve shown flashes of what they can be - now it’s about consistency, execution, and urgency.
Because once Michigan comes to town, the margin for error disappears entirely.