LOS ANGELES – UCLA (2-1) will face UNLV (3-0) on Monday, Nov. 23, in a first round game of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. This marks the Bruins' fifth appearance in the annual tournament that began in 1984. The Bruins have compiled a 4-0 all-time record against UNLV, with the two teams having last met on Dec. 12, 1998 (UCLA won, 72-67, in Pauley Pavilion).
The Bruins arrived in Maui on Friday evening and will play three games in as many days in the Maui Invitational (Nov. 23-25). The winner of Monday's game between UCLA and UNLV will play the winner of Monday's first-round contest between Kansas and Chaminade.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Lahaina Civic Center (2,400)
Game Time: 8:30 p.m. PT (6:30 p.m. HT)
Television: ESPN2
TV Talent: Sean McDonough, Fran Fraschilla
Radio: AM 570
Radio Talent: Bill Roth (play-by-play), Darrick Martin (analyst)
SIRIUS Satellite Radio: Ch. 84
SIRIUS XM Radio: Ch. 84
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
UCLA's previous four trips to the Maui Invitational took place in the fall of 1995, 2001, 2006 and 2011. The Bruins won the tournament in 2006 on a team that featured NBA players Russell Westbrook, Arron Afflalo, Darren Collison and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and former NBA guard Jordan Farmar.
LAST TIME OUT
UCLA downed Pepperdine, 81-67, in Pauley Pavilion on Thursday night, backed by a team-high 19 points from Bryce Alford. Alford, who tied his career high with nine made field goals, finished that game shooting 9-for-16 overall. Tony Parker logged his third consecutive double-double, finishing with 15 points and 15 rebounds. UCLA led the visiting Waves the entire contest, pushing its advantage to as many as 20 points midway through the second half. Aaron Holiday scored a season-high 16 points, while Prince Ali totaled a season-best 12 points in 12 minutes off the bench.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Senior forward/center Tony Parker has opened the season with three consecutive double-doubles. Currently averaging 16.7 ppg and 16.0 rpg, Parker has become UCLA's first player with three double-doubles in the Bruins' first three games since Bill Walton opened the 1973-74 campaign with nine straight double-doubles. Parker had 19 points and 19 rebounds in the team's season opener against Monmouth (Nov. 13) and followed up that performance with 16 points and 14 rebounds versus Cal Poly (Nov. 15). Parker has now tallied 11 career double-doubles.
ON THE GLASS
UCLA's 60 rebounds in the 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 three games this season, the Bruins have out-rebounded the opposition by a 145-107 margin (an average of 12.7 rebounds per game). Tony Parker has led UCLA with 16.0 rebounds per game in three non-conference contests.
IN UCLA'S RECORD BOOK
Junior guard Bryce Alford continues to climb up UCLA's career record lists. The 6-foot-3 guard from Albuquerque, N.M., currently ranks eighth on UCLA's all-time 3-point field goals made list (147), just 17 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, percentage points behind Gary Cunningham (82.377, 201-244). Alford has scored a team-best 908 career points, 92 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 strong impact through three contests, averaging 13.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Welsh, who had five blocked shots against Monmouth (Nov. 13), scored in double figures in UCLA's first two games, recording a career-high 22 points versus Cal Poly (Nov. 15). He scored in double figures twice last season (14 and 12 points). This year, he has made 18 of 26 shots from the field (69.2 percent). The former standout at nearby Loyola High School played for the USA Basketball U19 Team in the summer, helping Team USA win a gold medal (in Greece).
FRESHMEN IMPACT
Aaron Holiday, a 6-foot-1 guard from Chatsworth, Calif., has averaged 11.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Holiday scored a season-high 16 points in the team's win over Pepperdine (Nov. 19) and had a season-best seven assists against Cal Poly (Nov. 15). Prince Ali, a 6-foot-3 guard from the Bronx (N.Y.), finished with a season-high 12 points in just 12 minutes off the bench in the win over Pepperdine (Nov. 19). Freshman forward Alex Olesinski (6-foot-10 forward from Roswell, N.M.), had seven points and five rebounds in the season opener against Monmouth (Nov. 13).
IN THE FAMILY
Aaron Holiday is the younger brother of former UCLA guard Jrue Holiday. Jrue, in his sixth NBA season, was a freshman for the Bruins in 2008-09. He was selected No. 17 by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 2009 NBA Draft after his freshman season and now plays for the New Orleans Pelicans. Jrue Holiday is married to former UCLA soccer player and USA women's national team player Lauren (Cheney) Holiday.
ABOUT UNLV
Under the direction of fifth-year head coach Dave Rice, UNLV has returned two of its five starters from last season. Sophomore guard Patrick McCaw has averaged 16.7 points and 4.3 rebounds through the Runnin' Rebels first three games. Freshman forward Derrick Jones Jr. has logged 13.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game off the bench, while freshman center Stephen Zimmerman is currently averaging 12.7 points and a team-leading 9.7 rebounds per game. Last season, UNLV posted an 18-15 overall mark, going 8-10 in the Mountain West (seventh-place finish).
WHAT'S ON DECK
UCLA will play either No. 4-ranked Kansas or Chaminade University on Tuesday, Nov. 24, in the Bruins' second game of the Maui Invitational. The Bruins will take on either St. John's, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest or Indiana on the third and final day of the tournament. UCLA is scheduled to return to Los Angeles on Friday, Nov. 27, and will face CSUN in Pauley Pavilion on Sunday, Nov. 29. The Bruins last faced Kansas and Chaminade in the 2011 Maui Invitational on back-to-back days. UCLA defeated Chaminade in the first round and dropped a 75-56 decision to Kansas on day two.
MOVING TO THE NBA
Two UCLA players – Norman Powell and Kevon Looney – were selected in the 2015 NBA Draft. Powell (16.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg) graduated last June and was a second-round selection by the Milwaukee Bucks (immediately traded to the Toronto Raptors). Powell served as the team's “honorary captain” last Thursday night in Pauley Pavilion. 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.