It was opening night for UCLA basketball with the men’s team taking on Purdue Fort Wayne at Pauley Pavilion and the women’s team 11 miles south at Loyola Marymount University. Both squads had differing results.
In the house that Wooden built, the men’s team took down the Mastodons, 96-71. Steve Alford’s team had amazing performances by several players, including a solid freshman outing. Down in the Lion’s Den, Cori Close’s Bruins had a tough time in a 69-63 loss.
Back in Westwood, it was all about preseason Naismith Trophy and Wooden Award nominee Kris Wilkes who went off for a career-high 27 points on 11/19 shooting with 3/7 coming from the outside.