University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA to Face Cal Poly on Sunday
November 14, 2015 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – UCLA (0-1) returns to action against Cal Poly (0-1) on Sunday in Pauley Pavilion. Game time is 7 p.m. The Bruins own a 5-1 all-time record against the Mustangs. When the two programs last played each other, Cal Poly registered a 70-68 victory over UCLA in Pauley Pavilion (Nov. 25, 2012). In that contest, Dylan Royer made 6 of 10 shots from 3-point territory to help the visiting Mustangs overcome an 18-point deficit in the final 12 minutes of regulation. Sunday's game between UCLA and Cal Poly will be televised on Pac-12 Networks.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion (13,800)
Tipoff Time: 7:06 p.m. (PT)
Television: Pac-12 Networks
TV Talent: Josh Lewin, Don MacLean
Radio: AM 570
Radio Talent: Bill Roth (play-by-play), Darrick Martin (analyst)
SIRIUS Satellite Radio: Ch. 81
SIRIUS XM Radio: Ch. 81
GETTING TO THE GAME
Tickets are available by ordering online or calling the UCLA Central Ticket Office at 310-UCLA-WIN (825-2946). The Pauley Pavilion Box Office (north side) will be open by 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, prior to the Bruins' 7 p.m. contest against Cal Poly. Additional information about directions to Pauley Pavilion, parking and tickets can be found through our Gameday Info website.
LAST TIME OUT
UCLA dropped an 84-81 decision in overtime to Monmouth in the season opener for both programs on Friday night. With the game tied, 73-73, at the end of regulation, the Bruins used a 7-2 scoring run to secure an 80-75 cushion with 2:15 to play. Monmouth responded by getting to the foul line, sinking five of six free throw shots and tied the contest, 80-80, before using four more free throws to earn the three-point win. Bryce Alford finished with a team-high 22 points for UCLA. Tony Parker logged his ninth career double-double, netting 19 points and grabbing a career-best 19 rebounds.
OUT-REBOUND
UCLA's 60 rebounds on Friday night in the team's season opener marked the Bruins' highest single-game rebound total since securing 61 rebounds against Portland on Dec. 14, 2002. Ironically, UCLA had not recorded as many as 55 rebounds in a game since dropping its season opener in double overtime to Cal State Fullerton (68-65) on Nov. 16, 2009. Against Monmouth, UCLA won the battle on the boards by a 60-37 margin. Tony Parker had career highs with 19 rebounds, nine offensive boards and four assists, while Thomas Welsh logged a career-high 10 rebounds.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Monmouth's 17 steals last Friday were the most by any UCLA opponent since Kansas had 17 on March 24, 2007 (UCLA won that game, 68-55, to advance to the Final Four). Thomas Welsh finished with five blocks against Monmouth, the highest single-game total by any UCLA player since Travis Wear had five blocked shots in a win over Prairie View A&M on Dec. 15, 2012.
BIGTIME TANDEM
Senior Tony Parker and sophomore Thomas Welsh started in the Bruins' frontcourt together for the first time in a regular-season game last Friday. Parker, standing at 6-foot-9 and 260 pounds, and Welsh, towering at 7-feet and 240 pounds, combined to shoot 13-for-20 (65.0 percent), totaling 31 points, 29 rebounds, six blocks and five assists. Parker had seven double-doubles last season (and one as a sophomore in 2013-14), while Welsh registered his first collegiate double-double in the loss to Monmouth (12 points, 10 rebounds in a career-high 39 minutes).
ON THE HORIZON
After hosting Cal Poly in the “Maui on the Mainland” contest this Sunday, the Bruins will take on Pepperdine in Pauley Pavilion on Thursday, Nov. 19 (7:30 p.m.). UCLA will depart for Maui on Friday, Nov. 20, and will face three teams in as many days in the 2015 Maui Jim Maui Invitational from Monday, Nov. 23 through Wednesday, Nov. 25. The Bruins have not played in the Maui Invitational since 2011 and most recently won the tournament title in 2006. UCLA will open this year's tournament against UNLV and will face either Kansas or Chaminade on day two.
COLLEGIATE DEBUTS
Freshman Aaron Holiday scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds in his regular-season debut Friday night. Freshman Prince Ali tallied seven points and three rebounds off the bench, while classmate Alex Olesinski added seven points and five rebounds. Ali made two of four shots from 3-point range, while Olesinski nailed his lone 3-point attempt. In all, UCLA's incoming group features seven newcomers – six freshmen and one sophomore.
ABOUT CAL POLY
Under the direction of seventh-year head coach Joe Callero, Cal Poly returns three of five starters from last season's team. After making the NCAA Tournament in 2014, Cal Poly posted a 13-16 overall record and 6-10 mark in Big West Conference action (seventh place) last year. The Mustangs' roster features a four-player senior class that has made a combined 307 appearances for Cal Poly (Brian Bennett, David Nwaba, Joel Awich and Reese Morgan).
MOVING TO THE NBA
Two key players from last year's UCLA team opened the 2015-16 season on NBA rosters. Norman Powell (16.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg) and Kevon Looney (11.6 ppg, 9.2 rpg) played major roles for UCLA last season. Powell was a second-round NBA Draft selection last June by the Milwaukee Bucks before being traded to the Toronto Raptors. Looney was taken 30th overall in the first round by the Golden State Warriors, the organization that won last season's NBA Championship.
PRESEASON PROJECTIONS
UCLA was selected fifth in the Pac-12 preseason media poll, announced at Pac-12 Media Day on Oct. 15 in San Francisco. Arizona was picked to finish first, collecting 18 of 36 first-place votes. UCLA secured one first-place vote. Last season, UCLA finished fourth in the standings after having been picked fourth in the preseason poll. The Bruins have won the Pac-12 regular-season title in four of the last 10 seasons.
PARKER'S PROGRESSION
Senior forward/center Tony Parker has made steady increases in production each of his three seasons. Last year, he registered 11.5 points and 6.7 rebounds in 24.6 minutes per game (34 games, 33 starts). As a sophomore in 2013-14, he logged 6.9 points and 4.4 rebounds in 17.2 minutes per game (37 games, nine starts). Parker averaged 2.4 points and 1.2 rebounds in 6.3 minutes per game as a freshman in 2012-13 (33 games). He enters this Sunday's game versus Cal Poly having scored 745 career points, just 255 shy of the 1,000 career point mark.
KEY CONTRIBUTIONS
Junior guard Isaac Hamilton was one of four UCLA players to start in all 36 games last season. A former standout guard at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, Calif., Hamilton averaged 10.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game in 2014-15. He scored a season-high 36 points in UCLA's 96-70 win over USC at the Pac-12 Tournament, marking the program's highest single-game point total since Feb. 10, 2005 (Dijon Thompson had 39 points versus Arizona State). Hamilton played at least 30 minutes in 30 of UCLA's 36 games.
SCORE AND DISTRIBUTE
Bryce Alford entered the season as one of six returning players in the nation to have averaged at least 15.0 points and 4.5 assists per game in 2014-15 while totaling 170 or more assists. Also on that list are Jalan West (Northwestern State), Kahlil Felder (Oakland), Kris Dunn (Providence), Juan'Ya Green (Hofstra) and Chris Fowler (Central Michigan). Alford played in more games (36) and totaled more minutes (1307) than any of those players.
