Men’s basketball takes on the UCLA Bruins in a cross-division matchup in Los Angeles. The game is at Pauley Pavilion on UCLA’s campus Wed., Nov. 2.

This will be the Golden Eagle's first matchup with the Bruins in program history. This is a big moment for the Concordia team and Concordia as a whole. 

The men’s basketball team is playing the Bruins who are historically a Division I powerhouse of talented college players. The PAC-12 school has produced NBA talent like Russell Westbrook and Lonzo Ball, both of whom are in the NBA.

This is no small task even as an exhibition game. The Bruins are always looking to be a top 10 team nationally and will look to impose themselves in this matchup. The obvious Goliath will look to not let the Golden Eagles take them down. 

Connor Gleason, junior and SAAC rep for men's basketball, is excited as are his teammates for those exact reasons. “It is such an exciting thing honestly. These are the teams you see on TV and to get to play in that arena against that high of a level is something we’ll remember forever,” said Gleason. 

Gleason is adamant that Concordia will play its own game and not give into hype. He said, “Our mindset is really just to compete. Look at the game without labels or rankings or predictions. We are just going to show up and compete and the result will work itself out.” 

This team is not interested in labels and the what-ifs. They are looking to show up and be themselves. They are prepped to play high-level basketball and succeed against a good opponent. 

“For the prep, it is the same preparation for any game. It is easy to look at them on a pedestal because of their well earned success but our goal is to treat it like any other game,” said Gleason. 

After the game in L.A., the team returns home for an exhibition game against Vanguard in the CU Arena on Sat., Nov. 5 at 5 p.m. Come out and cheer on the team! To follow along with the men’s basketball team go to https://cuigoldeneagles.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule?path=mbball

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