It’s a Big 12/Pac-12 battle in southern California this afternoon, as two teams searching for identities will match up. Join us for our live coverage this afternoon, after the jump.
Game #45. On one side we’ve got UCLA, the most successful athletic department in the history of the NCAA (107 total NCAA championships), with 11 of those championships coming on the hardwood. On the other side, we’ve got Texas, the athletic department that features the biggest budget and the most revenue. In short, Saturday afternoon we’ve got a battle between two of the NCAA’s behemoths. And yet, both schools’ basketball programs are on a downswing. UCLA’s struggles in their first six games are no secret, but Texas too has taken a step back from their talent-laden programs of the early part of this century. Still, as RTC Live takes its first trip to a UCLA home game (albeit at the Bruins’ temporary home at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, instead of legendary Pauley Pavilion), we’ll certainly be excited to see a game between teams sporting UCLA and Texas on the front of their jerseys. And with coaches like Ben Howland and Rick Barnes manning the benches on the sidelines, we’ll expect to see both of these teams get better, little by little, as we approach conference play.