LOS ANGELES (KNX) — Friday is game day for UCLA men's basketball! The Bruins will face the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Penn. for the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 contest just before 7 p.m.
The No. 4-seed Bruins are competing in the Sweet 16 for the fifth time in the past nine seasons, the team said, explaining that they've been preparing for the match up against the No. 8-seed Tar Heels for weeks.
"I think our experience, having been through the tournament last year, is a factor," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach.
"We're just focused on North Carolina. We know we have to beat – these guys know they have to beat Carolina or we're going home, it's all over."
A majority of the Bruins playing in the game Friday will mark their ninth NCAA tournament game in the past two seasons, the team said, adding that the number includes six games in last year's tournament before the Bruins' pair of games in Portland last week.
Last season, UCLA was seeded No. 11 in the East Region.
"Despite 51 NCAA Tournament appearances by UCLA and 52 appearances by North Carolina, these two schools have only played each other twice in the history of the NCAA Tournament," the Bruins said.
The Bruins take on the Tar Heels at 6:40 p.m. (9:40 p.m. ET) Friday. The game will be broadcast on CBS and will start at the end of the Purdue-Saint Peter's game at 4 p.m.
The winner of the game will take on either No. 3-seed Purdue or No. 15-seed Saint Peter's in the regional final on Sunday.
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