The fourth-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles will face the UCLA Bruins in the first round of the Maui Invitational on Monday night, with tip-off set for 10:30 p.m. CT. If you enjoy late-night college basketball, then this game is for you to stay up and watch.
Anyhow, both the Golden Eagles and the Bruins are 3-0 to start the season. It is interesting that UCLA is unranked, but they are a college basketball team that can’t be slept on, especially since they were in the Sweet 16 a season ago before losing to the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

UCLA is well coached by Mick Cronin, and that is something that Marquette head coach Shaka Smart should not ignore. The Bruins last played on Wednesday against LIU and won 78-58. UCLA had four different players in double figures.
Adem Bona had a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds for the UCLA Bruins. He will present a tough matchup for the Marquette Golden Eagles. Sebastian Machowski scored 11 points, Aday Mara scored 12 points, and Jan Vide scored 12 points and recorded seven assists for the UCLA Bruins.
Per UCLA communications, Bona spoke about the upcoming matchup with the Marquette Golden Eagles on Friday by saying to the media:
“From what I know about Marquette, I know that they’re a really experienced team. They’ve got guys that have been playing there for four years now. We do respect them, and I think we’ve got a game plan, and Coach Cronin is definitely going to come up with a game plan. It’s also exciting to be playing Marquette on national TV so we are excited, and we are also going in ready to play.”
Marquette Golden Eagles Haven’t Played Since Tuesday against the Illinois Fighting Illini and Will Need to Be Ready to Play Against the UCLA Bruins

It has been about six days since Marquette last played its last game against Illinois on the road and won that game 71-64. Tyler Kolek, the senior point guard, scored 24 points in that contest and showed his leadership when the game was on the line.

Monday night could be another close contest, and he has been good. Kam Jones has shown improvement this season for the Golden Eagles. Oso Ighodaro and David Joplin will need to be the ones to play well on Monday night because of the UCLA Bruins’s size. If UCLA wins, this would be a huge win for them when it comes to the NCAA Tournament resume. As for Marquette, this would be another win in their bank.