Bruins, Wildcats line up matchups

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas -- UCLA is close to finalizing a deal for a home-and-home series with Kentucky that would start in 2015 in Westwood, California, Bruins coach Steve Alford told ESPN on Wednesday.

The game would add to a loaded nonconference schedule next season for the Bruins, who then would face the Wildcats at Rupp Arena in 2016.

This season, UCLA plays Kentucky on Dec. 20 in Chicago in the CBS Sports Classic.

The Bruins will return a game to Gonzaga next season (they host the Zags on Dec. 13), play North Carolina in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center in Year 2 of the CBS Sports Classic, and are also in the 2015 Maui Invitational with Kansas, Indiana, St. John's, UNLV, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest and Chaminade.

Alford said he wants to continue to play high-profile nonconference games as well as be in tournaments like this season's Battle 4 Atlantis and next season's Maui Invitational.

The Wildcats also have a 2015-16 slate that includes Duke in the Champions Classic in Chicago, Ohio State at the Barclays as part of the CBS Sports Classic, the annual rivalry game against Louisville (at Rupp), South Florida in Miami (former UK assistant Orlando Antigua is the head coach of the Bulls), and a to-be-determined opponent in the SEC-Big 12 Challenge.