UCLA vs Arizona | NCAA Mens’ Basketball–Rivalries take time to build and this one has had decades. UCLA and Arizona are two of college basketball’s premier programs. Over the years the race for Pac-12 titles and the right to move to March madness has created high heat when they meet.
Today we hear the magnitude of that rivalry from two who were in the middle of the spotlight.
UCLA vs Arizona

Don MacLean played at UCLA from 1988 to 1992. They won the Pac-12 championship in the ’91-’92 season. He thrived on the rivalry.
Matt Muehlebach played at AZ from 1987 to 1991. His teams never lost a game at home. Ironically, that streak would be broken by UCLA and MacLean.
MacLean was a pot-stirrer, especially on the court. Listen to Matt talk about that while Don tells you how that went over with former UCLA coach John Wooden.
Matt speaks to what it was like to be on each of these raucous home courts when the two great basketball programs went head to head. He’ll tell you about the “offer the hand and take it back move” made by Don to one of Matt’s teammates.
Enjoy the story of an epic basketball rivalry through the memories of two who helped create it.
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If you loved this episode, check out our others:
- The Crawl of Fame | Ep 1
- 1985 American League Championship | Ep 2
- Red Sox-Yankees Rivalry | Ep 3
- 1984 Tigers vs Blue Jays | Ep 4
- 2002 World Series | Giants vs Angels | Ep 5
- UCLA vs Arizona | NCAA Mens’ Basketball | Ep 6
- ACC College Basketball | MD vs VT | Ep 7
- Army vs Navy | NCAA Football | Ep 8
- GM vs Agent | Major League Baseball | Ep 9
- 1988 NLCS | Dodgers vs Mets | Ep 10
- In The Press Box | Nightengale vs Miller | Ep 11
- Reporters | Adamson vs Coakley | Ep 12
- Coaches | Raftery vs Carlesimo | Ep 13
- Pitchers | Blyleven vs Langston | Ep 14
- Public Relations | Horwitz vs Swanson | Ep 15
- Swimming | USA vs East Germany | Ep 16
- 1983 Sugar Bowl | PSU vs GA | Ep 17
- OSU vs Oregon | NCAA Basketball | Ep 18
- Olympic Diving | Potter vs King | Ep 19
- HOF Pitchers | Palmer vs Eckersley | Ep 20
- Ironman World Championships | Iron War | Ep 21
- 1981 London Marathon | A Historical First | Ep 22
- 1984 College World Series | Ep 23
- Placekickers | Stenerud vs Benirschke | Ep 24
- For Love of the Game | Lyons vs Hudler | Ep 25
- Arizona vs Stanford | NCAA Basketball | Ep 26
- 2003 ALCS | Boone vs Walker | Ep 27
- NHL Bargaining | McPhee & Scott | Ep 28
- MLB Closers | Brantley & Shaw | Ep 29
- AFL | Flores vs Maguire | Ep 30