| Year: | 2023-24 |
| Team: | UCLA Bruins |
| Sport: | basketball |
| Conference: | Pac-12 Conference |
| Short Conf: | Pac-12 |
| Record: | 16–17 |
| Conf Record: | 10–10 |
| Head Coach: | Mick Cronin |
| Hc Year: | 5th |
| Assoc Coach: | Darren Savino |
| Ahc Year: | 5th |
| Asst Coach1: | Rod Palmer |
| Ac1 Year: | 5th |
| Asst Coach2: | Nate Georgeton |
| Ac2 Year: | 1st |
| Asst Coach3: | Nemanja Jovanovic |
| Ac3 Year: | 1st |
| Asst Coach4: | Brendyn Taylor |
| Ac4 Year: | 1st |
| Arena: | Pauley Pavilion (Capacity: 13,819) |
The 2023–24 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bruins were led by fifth-year head coach Mick Cronin, and they played their home games at Pauley Pavilion as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. It was the Bruins' final season as a member of the Pac-12 before joining the Big Ten Conference on July 1, 2024.
UCLA had seven freshmen on their roster, and eight newcomers overall,[1] along with three sophomores.[2] The Bruins won their first three games and started the season 5–2.[3] [4] The team was limited offensively.[5] On January 11, 2024, they lost 90–44 to Utah for their eighth loss in nine games. The 46-point defeat was the second-worst in the program's history, behind a 48-point loss (109–61) to Stanford in 1997.[6] On January 27, UCLA defeated USC 65–50 at the Galen Center. It was the Bruins' first win in their crosstown rivalry under Cronin on the Trojans' home court, ending a five-game losing streak at the site. For the first time since 2004, the teams faced each other both with losing records.[7] UCLA beat Oregon 71–63, dropping the Ducks to second place, for their third straight win and fifth in their last six games.[2] They extended their winning streak to six games, and had won eight of their last nine, leading up to their rematch against Utah. However, the Bruins lost 70–69 to the Utes on a last-second basket.[8] They also lost their following game to USC to fall to 14–13 overall and 9–7 in the conference, needing to win the Pac-12 tournament to advance to the NCAA tournament.[9] UCLA lost their third game in a row, dropping back to .500 after allowing a season high in points in a 94–77 defeat to Washington.[10] The Bruins won their regular-season finale 59–47 at home against Arizona State to end a five-game losing streak, including three at Pauley Pavilion.[11]
In their Pac-12 tournament opener, Dylan Andrews scored a career-high 31 points to lead No. 5-seed UCLA to a 67–57 win over 12th-seeded Oregon State.[12] The Bruins were eliminated in the following game in the quarterfinals, losing 68–66 to No. 4-seed Oregon. With 4.4 seconds remaining, Andrews took the inbounds pass, drove downcourt, and shot a floater inside the free throw line over N'Faly Dante as the buzzer sounded, but the ball bounced off the back of the rim.[13] [14] He ended the game with 24 points,[13] and averaged 21.2 points over the final six games.[15] Cronin's personal streak of 12 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances ended.[15]
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | 5'11" | 180 | RS Senior | Graduated; Declared for the 2023 NBA Draft | |||
| G/F | 6'7" | 225 | Senior | Graduated; Declared for the 2023 NBA Draft | |||
| David Singleton | G | 6'4" | 205 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Russell Stong | G | 6'3" | 190 | Senior | Walk-on; Graduated | ||
| G | 6'5" | 210 | Junior | Declared for the 2023 NBA Draft | |||
| Mac Etienne | F | 6'10" | 230 | RS Freshman | Transferred to DePaul | ||
| G/F | 6'6" | 200 | Freshman | Transferred to Wake Forest | |||
| G | 6'5" | 185 | Freshman | Declared for the 2023 NBA Draft |
|-!colspan=12 style=| Exhibition|-!colspan=12 style=| Non-conference regular season|-!colspan=12 style=| Pac-12 regular season|-!colspan=12 style=|
See also: 2023-24 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings. *AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
| Recipient | Award (Pac-12 Conference) | Stats (PPG/RPG/APG) | Week | Date awarded | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freshman of the Week | 19.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.3 APG | 3 | November 27 | [16] | |
| Sebastian Mack | Freshman of the Week | 7 | December 26 | ||
| Dylan Andrews | Player of the Week | Averaged 19.5 points, 5.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals | 13 | February 5, 2024 | [17] |