No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes (20-1; 9-1 Big Ten) will play the No. 1 UCLA Bruins (21-0; 9-0 Big Ten) this Wednesday, Feb. 5 in a matchup between the two top teams in the Big Ten. The game will be broadcast on NBC’s Peacock streaming service, with tip-off scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET.
Though the logistics of the NCAA’s recent conference realignment, in which UCLA and three other former Pac-12 programs were welcomed to the Big Ten, have surely taken some time for all parties to figure out, the Bruins have looked more than comfortable on the court—and they’ve already made a bit of conference history, too. Entering the month of February, UCLA’s schedule remains spotless, and the Bruins have now spent 11 straight weeks atop the AP Top 25 rankings, which is the longest such streak by any Big Ten team.
It all starts in the frontcourt for the Bruins, specifically with center Lauren Betts. The 6-foot-7 junior is currently averaging 20.2 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game, and even that describes only part of her impact for UCLA; Betts’ towering presence in the paint not only gives the Bruins a highly-efficient scorer (64.1 percent shooting) and rim protector, but the attention she commands from defenses opens things up for the rest of UCLA’s players. In a recent win…
