Bruins have a busy schedule

UCLA will play in the 2008 2K Sports Classic, with the semifinals and finals at Madison Square Garden in New York, and will play at Texas on Dec. 4 as part of the Pac-10/Big 12 Hardwood Series in the tentative 2008-2009 basketball schedule released Friday.

For the 2K Sports Classic, UCLA will host games Nov. 12 and 13 against yet-to-be-determined opponents. The other three host schools are Duke, Michigan and Southern Illinois. The winners of the second-round games will advance to New York for semifinals and finals Nov. 20-21.

The Bruins will also play DePaul on Dec. 13 in the Wooden Classic at the Honda Center in Anaheim. The top nonconference opponent coming to Pauley Pavilion is Notre Dame on Feb. 7. Other nonconference opponents at Pauley are Wyoming, Mercer (which beat USC last year), Florida International, Cal State Northridge and Louisiana Tech. UCLA is still looking for an opponent to play Dec. 17.

UCLA begins defense of its Pac-10 title with three straight road games – at Oregon State on Jan. 2, at Oregon on Jan. 4 and at USC on Jan. 11. The Bruins play host to USC on Feb. 4.

The tentative schedule:

Tue., Nov. 4: Humboldt State

Fri., Nov. 7: Exhibition

Wed., Nov. 12: 2008 2K Sports Classic (Coaches vs. Cancer) First Round

Thu., Nov. 13: 2008 2K Sports Classic (Coaches vs. Cancer) Second Round

Thu., Nov. 20: 2008 2K Sports Classic (Coaches vs. Cancer) Semifinals @ Madison Square Garden

Fri., Nov. 21: 2008 2K Sports Classic (Coaches vs. Cancer) Final @ Madison Square Garden

Sat., Nov. 29: Florida International

Thu., Dec. 4: @Texas in Pac-10/Big 12 Hardwood Series

Sun., Dec. 7: Cal State Northridge

Sat., Dec. 13: DePaul @ Wooden Classic

Wed., Dec. 17: TBD

Sat., Dec. 20: Mercer

Tue., Dec. 23: Wyoming

Sun., Dec. 28: Louisiana Tech

Fri., Jan. 2: @ Oregon State

Sun., Jan. 4: @ Oregon

Sun., Jan. 11: @ USC

Thu., Jan. 15: Arizona

Sat., Jan. 17: Arizona State

Thu., Jan. 22: @ Washington State

Sat., Jan. 24: @ Washington

Thu., Jan. 29: California

Sat., Jan. 31: Stanford

Wed., Feb. 4: USC

Sat., Feb. 7: Notre Dame

Thu., Feb. 12: @ Arizona State

Sat., Feb. 14: @ Arizona

Thu., Feb. 19: Washington

Sat., Feb. 21: Washington State

Thu., Feb. 26: @ Stanford

Sat., Feb. 28: @ California

Thu., March 5: Oregon State

Sat., March 7: Oregon

March 11-14: Pac-10 tournament @ Staples Center

March 19-22: NCAA first and second round

March 26-29: NCAA regional

April 4, 6: NCAA Final Four