The UCLA Bruins open their 2011 NCAA Tournament tonight with a marquee matchup with the Michigan St. Spartans in a Southeast Region matchup at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida. The No. 7 seed Bruins are 5-2 all-time against the No. 10 seed Spartans, though they have never met in the NCAA Tournament. UCLA won the last meeting between the two schools, beating Michigan St. 68-63 on November 20, 2007 in the CBE Classic in Kansas City.
This is the 44th NCAA Tournament appearance for UCLA, the second most all-time, and the Bruins are 32-11 in their first game. Michigan St. is making its 25th NCAA tourney appearance, and the Spartans are 19-5 in their first game of the tournament. The Spartans have made 14 straight NCAA appearances, behind only Kansas (22) and Duke (16) for longest active streak.
Tonight's game is expected to tip-off at 6:20 p.m. PST, and will be televised on TBS. Ian Eagle, Jim Spanarkel, and David Aldridge will call the game. The winner of this game will move on to face the winner of the No. 2 Florida vs. No. 15 UCSB matchup. Here are tonight's probable starting lineups:
Michigan St. (19-14)
- Guard: Kalin Lucas
- Guard: Durrell Summers
- Guard: Mike Kebler
- Forward: Draymond Green
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Center: Adreian Payne
UCLA (22-10)
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Guard: Lazeric Jones
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Guard: Malcolm Lee
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Guard: Tyler Honeycutt
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Forward: Reeves Nelson
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Center: Joshua Smith
For more UCLA Bruins hoops news and information, be sure to read the SB Nation blog Bruins Nation. For more information on Michigan St., be sure to read The Only Colors. For the full NCAA tournament bracket, click here.