LOS ANGELES – UCLA (1-1) hosts Pepperdine (1-1) on Thursday in Pauley Pavilion, with tipoff slated for 7:36 p.m. (PT). UCLA has compiled an 18-4 all-time record against Pepperdine. The two schools last faced each other Nov. 28, 2011, at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, where UCLA secured a 62-39 victory. The Bruins have won their last four meetings against Pepperdine, which last defeated UCLA on Nov. 28, 2001 (by an 85-78 margin in Pauley Pavilion).
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion (13,800)
Tipoff Time: 7:36 p.m. (PT)
Television: Pac-12 Networks
TV Talent: J.B. Long, Kevin O'Neill
Radio: AM 570
Radio Talent: Bill Roth (play-by-play), Darrick Martin (analyst)
SIRIUS Satellite Radio: Ch. 108
SIRIUS XM Radio: Ch. 197
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 6 p.m. on Sunday, prior to the 7:30 p.m. contest against Pepperdine. Additional information about directions to Pauley Pavilion, parking and tickets can be found through our Gameday Info website.
LAST TIME OUT
UCLA defeated Cal Poly, 88-83, in Pauley Pavilion on Sunday evening, bouncing back from an 84-81 loss in overtime to Monmouth last Friday night. Thomas Welsh scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed five rebounds, while Tony Parker finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds. UCLA led by 10 points at halftime (47-37) and pushed its margin to 15 points early in the second half before the Mustangs came charging back. Cal Poly took a 69-68 lead with under seven minutes left in regulation, but UCLA responded with an 11-2 scoring run to lead 79-71 in the final minute.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Senior forward/center Tony Parker has opened the season with back-to-back double-doubles. He registered a career-high 19 rebounds (and scored 19 points) in UCLA's season-opening loss to Monmouth (Nov. 13). Parker followed that game with a 16-point, 14-rebound effort in the team's 88-83 win over Cal Poly (Nov. 15). Parker, who had one double-double as a sophomore and seven as a junior, has now recorded 10 career double-doubles. The 6-foot-9, 260-pounder from Atlanta has averaged 9.3 points and 5.8 rebounds in 21.1 minutes per game since the start of his sophomore year.
CLOSE CALL
Tony Parker came within one point and one rebound of joining an exclusive club at UCLA last Friday. With 19 points and 19 rebounds, he nearly became the first UCLA player to record 20 points and 20 rebounds since Dec. 18, 1976, when David Greenwood tallied 31 points and 23 rebounds against Tulsa.
ON THE GLASS
UCLA's 60 rebounds in last Friday's season opener marked the team's highest single-game rebound total since grabbing 61 boards versus 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. In UCLA's first two games this season, the Bruins have outrebounded their opposition by a 102-72 margin (an average of 15.0 rebounds per game). Tony Parker has led UCLA's team with 16.5 rebounds per game in two non-conference contests.
IN THAT RECORD BOOK
Junior guard Bryce Alford continues to climb in UCLA's career record book. The 6-foot-3 guard from Albuquerque, N.M., currently ranks eighth on UCLA's all-time 3-point field goals made list (146), just 18 treys shy of tying Darren Collison's total of 164 (from 2006-09). Alford's 82.375 career free throw percentage (215-261) ranks eighth on the school's all-time list, just percentage points behind Gary Cunningham (82.377, 201-244). Alford has scored a team-best 889 career points, 111 away of becoming the 52nd UCLA player to have scored 1,000 career points as a Bruin.
STANDING TALL
7-foot center Thomas Welsh has made a noticeable impact early in his second year. Having started in each of UCLA's first two games, Welsh is currently averaging 17.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, (also had five blocked shots on Friday against Monmouth). Welsh has scored in double figures in both games, something he only did twice last season (he had one 14-point game and one 12-point effort). The former standout at nearby Loyola High School has made 16 of 21 field goal attempts (76.2 percent) and each of his two free throw attempts.
COLLEGIATE DEBUTS
Freshman Aaron Holiday scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds in his regular-season debut last Friday. Holiday has averaged 9.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in two games. Freshman Prince Ali tallied seven points and three rebounds off the bench in the season opener, while classmate Alex Olesinski added seven points and five rebounds. Sophomore Jonah Bolden made his collegiate debut on Sunday, totaling 11 points and five rebounds in 22 minutes.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE
Under the direction of sixth-year head coach Marty Wilson, Pepperdine returns all five starters from last season's team. Six of the Waves' top seven scorers from last year are back in 2015-16. Pepperdine has opened the year with a 1-1 record after having gone 18-14 overall last season (10-8, 4th place in the West Coast Conference). Junior Lamond Murray Jr. enters this Thursday's game having averaged a team-leading 16.5 points per game, while three other players are also averaging double figures (Stacy Davis 14.5 ppg, Kameron Edwards 11.5 ppg, Jeremy Major 10.0 ppg).
HEADING TO MAUI
UCLA departs for Maui on Friday, Nov. 20, set to play three games in as many days in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational from Nov. 23-25 (Monday through Wednesday). The Bruins open the tournament against UNLV on Nov. 23 (ESPN2, 4:30 p.m. PT) and will face either No. 4 Kansas or Chaminade on Tuesday. The four teams opposite UCLA's side of the bracket include No. 14 Indiana, No. 17 Vanderbilt, St. John's and Wake Forest. UCLA last played in the Maui Invitational in 2011 (went 1-2). Prior to that appearance, the Bruins won the 2006 Maui Invitational.
MOVING TO THE NBA
Two UCLA players – Norman Powell and Kevon Looney – were selected in the 2015 NBA Draft. A senior who graduated last June, Powell (16.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg) was a second-round selection by the Milwaukee Bucks (was immediately traded to the Toronto Raptors). Powell is serving as Thursday night's “honorary captain” for the Bruins. Looney (11.6 ppg, 9.2 rpg) was drafted No. 30 as the final first-round pick by the Golden State Warriors following a strong freshman year at UCLA.
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 Thursday night's game against Pepperdine having scored 761 career points, just 239 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 (averaged 10.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game). 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.
THREE-POINTERS
Bryce Alford, a junior guard from Albuquerque, N.M., established UCLA's single-season record for three-point field goals made last year. He nailed 93 of 238 three-pointers, registering a 39.1 percentage from downtown. The previous record for made three-pointers in one season was 87 (Arron Afflalo in 2007 and Jason Kapono in 2002). Now in his third season with the Bruins, Alford has made 146 of 373 three-point attempts (39.1 percent).
UCLA AND THE NBA
Matt Barnes entered the 2015-16 NBA season as the most veteran former UCLA player in the league. Barnes, a second-round pick (No. 46 overall) by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2002, didn't make his NBA debut until Jan. 19, 2004, for the Los Angeles Clippers. Barnes entered this season having played in 779 career NBA contests. Also in his 12th season in the NBA, Trevor Ariza began the 2015-16 campaign having played in 714 career NBA games. Ariza is the only current Bruin in the league to have won an NBA championship (2009, Los Angeles Lakers).
NBA ALL-STAR SELECTIONS
UCLA has sent 17 players to the NBA who have competed in the annual NBA All-Star Game. Playing in the league from 1969-89, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar earned an all-time record 19 All-Star Game selections. Gail Goodrich, Marques Johnson and Reggie Miller each secured five trips to the NBA All-Star Game. Current UCLA products in the NBA who have earned All-Star selections include Russell Westbrook (2011, 2012, 2013, 2015), Kevin Love (2011, 2012, 2014) and Jrue Holiday (2013). This season's NBA All-Star Game will take place in Toronto on Feb. 13, 2016.
STRONG SCHEDULES
Since arriving at UCLA in March 2013, head coach Steve Alford has helped the Bruins add top-ranked opponents such as Duke, Gonzaga, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Ohio State and Kentucky to the non-conference schedule. In 2013-14, UCLA faced Duke in a neutral site game at Madison Square Garden before scheduling a pair of home-and-home series with Gonzaga (Dec. 2014 and Dec. 2015) and Kentucky (Dec. 2015 and Dec. 2016).