The No. 1 UCLA women’s basketball team digs deeper into its first season of Big Ten Conference play Sunday against Nebraska and continues Wednesday with No. 23 Michigan. The preparation, however, has been underway for much longer. “The work done in the dark always gets revealed in the light,” head coach Cori Close told reporters. “And we’re about to step into a lot of bright lights. It will be truly the things that will be behind the scenes that lead to us doing really, really well when the bright lights come on.” Close disclosed after Dec. 20’s 70-41 win over Creighton that the coaching staff and players are now watching film from up to 11 games on Big Ten opponents as opposed to the six or seven games that they watched for Pac-12 opponents prior to changing conferences. Playing each conference opponent once has doubled the workload for scouting, which has garnered heightened emphasis for the No. 1 Bruins (12-0 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) “We have a video team that’s not only double the people looking at analytics and we have multiple people doing video breakdown before it ever gets to an assistant coach,” Close said. “The toughest, more together team wins. But you can’t execute that unless you’re extremely prepared.” It’s unclear if 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts will be a part of UCLA’s preparation this week. Betts, who is averaging a double-double this season, hasn’t played in a game since defeating Long Beach State 102-51 on Dec. 14 and is day to day with a leg injury sustained in that game. “Teams that are smaller than us – I get it, we have a huge advantage,” she told reporters after a 69-37 victory over Cal Poly. “What cannot be allowed is taking our players out at the legs. That’s the reason that Lauren Betts is out today is because of a play that was like that.” Sunday will mark the Bruins’ first game since Dec. 20 and the Cornhuskers (10-2, 1-0), who are receiving votes in the AP Top 25 poll, will feature a more competitive size matchup with eight players who are over 6 feet tall. It’ll be Nebraska’s second straight game against an unbeaten opponent after the Huskers lost to then-No. 17 Georgia Tech on Dec. 21. Forward/center Alexis Markowski recorded her fifth double-double of the season and 45th of her career by logging 20 points and 10 rebounds in the game. Michigan heads to No. 4 USC on Sunday before Wednesday’s game at UCLA. The Wolverines had their first conference game Dec. 8 when they beat Northwestern and have three freshmen averaging double figures in scoring in Syla Swords (15.3 ppg), Olivia Olson (15.7 ppg) and Mila Holloway (10.8 ppg). The Bruins have a deep, versatile roster to rely on even if Betts isn’t healthy enough to play Sunday. Freshman Elina Aarnisalo leads the team in total minutes played with 310 and in assists with 5.3 per game. UCLA shares the ball well, with seven players averaging eight points or better per game. The Bruins are the top team in the Big Ten in assists with 20.6 per game. Related Articles College Sports | UCLA and Mick Cronin finally get the better of Gonzaga College Sports | No. 22 UCLA braces for No. 14 Gonzaga’s experience College Sports | UCLA’s Sebastian Mack sticks with Mick Cronin College Sports | No. 18 UCLA blows 16-point lead in loss to North Carolina College Sports | Kiki Rice, No. 1 UCLA women crush Creighton to remain unbeaten “This is one of the most exciting parts of the season – getting into conference play knowing that every single night we go out there we’re going to have a really good competitor on the other side,” Rice said. “That’s what we train for and we’re looking forward to that.” Nebraska (10-2, 1-0) at No. 1 UCLA (12-0, 1-0) When: 2 p.m. Sunday Where: Pauley Pavilion TV/radio: Big Ten Plus/UCLA Digital Radio No. 23 Michigan (10-2, 1-0) at No. 1 UCLA (12-0, 1-0) When: 2 p.m. Wednesday Where: Pauley Pavilion TV/radio: Big Ten Network/UCLA Digital Radio