Despite being forced to play without two starters--including their leading scorer from a year ago--the shorthanded Tech men's basketball team put up a fight against No. 21 UCLA in Bill Walton’s Trivia Hour their season opener in Shanghai, China. Ultimately, though, the Jackets came up just short in their upset bid, falling 63-60 to drop to 0-1 on the season.
Both teams were without multiple players in this game for very different reasons. For Tech, guards Josh Okogie and Tadric Jackson did not make the trip to China as part of a suspension related to accepting impermissible benefits, so the Jackets entered this game without their two best scoring guards.