LOS ANGELES – UCLA will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Pauley Pavilion this Sunday when the Bruins host a non-conference game against CSUN (2-4). The Bruins (3-3) most recently went 1-2 in three games in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, finishing in fourth place in the eight-team, three-day tournament.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion (13,800)
Tipoff Time: 4:06 p.m. (PT)
Television: Pac-12 Networks
TV Talent: J.B. Long, Don MacLean
Radio: AM 570
Radio Talent: Bill Roth (play-by-play), Darrick Martin (analyst)
SIRIUS Satellite Radio: Ch. 145
SIRIUS XM Radio: Ch. 197
SUNDAY'S GAME
The Bruins will take on CSUN in a non-conference game this Sunday in Pauley Pavilion. Game time is 4 p.m. (PT). UCLA has not played CSUN since Nov. 28, 2012, when the Bruins secured an 82-56 win over the Matadors. UCLA leads the all-time series against CSUN by a 7-1 margin. The Matadors' lone victory against the Bruins took place on Nov. 21, 2000 (CSUN defeated UCLA, 78-74). UCLA has won its last three games against CSUN.
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 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, prior to the 4 p.m. contest against CSUN. Additional information about directions to Pauley Pavilion, parking and tickets can be found through our Gameday Info website.
BACK FROM MAUI
UCLA finished in fourth place in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational last week. After a 77-75 win over UNLV on Monday evening, the Bruins dropped a 92-73 decision to No. 5-ranked Kansas on Tuesday before falling to Wake Forest, 80-77, on Wednesday in the third-place game. Through the three games at the Lahaina Civic Center on the island of Maui, Isaac Hamilton averaged a team-leading 14.7 points per game while Aaron Holiday netted 14.3 points per game.
SUNDAY'S CELEBRATION
As part of the 50-year celebration of Pauley Pavilion, UCLA is selling tickets at a “throwback” price of $3.50 for Sunday's game. Subject to availability, tickets in several 200-level sections will be available for $3.50, the price of a ticket during the 1965-66 season when UCLA first opened Pauley Pavilion. Other special in-game festivities will include Nan Wooden, the daughter of the late legendary coach John Wooden, serving as UCLA's honorary captain. During halftime on Sunday, UCLA will recognize fans who have had season tickets in Pauley Pavilion for 50 years in addition to honoring the Pauley family.
LEADING SCORER
Junior guard Bryce Alford has registered a team-leading 16.5 points per game, having scored in double figures in five of UCLA's six games. Alford finished with 14 points on 6-of-14 shooting in UCLA's most recent game, an 80-77 loss to Wake Forest. He is UCLA's only player to have logged a positive assist-turnover ratio, compiling 29 assists and 14 turnovers (2.07 ratio). Alford has made a team-leading 29 of 34 free throws, converting at 85.3 percent.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Tony Parker, a 6-foot-9 senior forward/center from Atlanta, has recorded four double-doubles in UCLA's first six games. Parker has averaged 14.2 points and 12.3 points per game, scoring in double figures in all but one of the Bruins' games. He opened the season with three double-doubles in the team's first three games, becoming UCLA's first player to accomplish that feat since Bill Walton opened the Bruins' 1973-74 campaign with nine straight double-doubles.
STANDING TALL
Sophomore center Thomas Welsh, at 7-feet and 245 pounds, has averaged 12.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game through six contests. Welsh, who scored in double figures just twice last season, has tallied at least 20 points in two games this year – 22 against Cal Poly (Nov. 15) and 20 versus UNLV (Nov. 23). The former standout at Loyola High School (Los Angeles) finished with 20 points and eight rebounds against UNLV last Monday.
HIGHER PERCENTAGE
Junior guard Isaac Hamilton leads UCLA's guards with a 45.8 field goal percentage, having made 27 of 59 shots through six games. The former standout at St. John Bosco High School averaged 10.6 points per game last season and has registered 11.5 ppg in the early going this season. After scoring just seven points in UCLA's win over UNLV, Hamilton finished with 19 points against No. 5 Kansas and 18 points against Wake Forest the next day.
FREE THROWS
Through the team's first five games, UCLA has shot 72.3 percent from the free throw line (102-141). In fact, UCLA guards Bryce Alford, Aaron Holiday, Isaac Hamilton, Prince Ali and Jonah Bolden have made 74 of 92 free throw attempts (80.4 pct). Alford leads the team with an 85.3 percentage (29/34), while Holiday has made 21 of 26 free throws (80.8 pct). Last season, the Bruins made 67.6 percent of their free throw shots.
FRESHMEN IMPACT
Aaron Holiday, a 6-foot-1 guard from Chatsworth, Calif., has averaged 13.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. He scored a season-high 18 points last Monday against UNLV (Nov. 23) and has also registered 16 points against Pepperdine (Nov. 19) and Kansas (Nov. 24). 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 versus 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 (Nov. 13).
BROTHERLY LOVE
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 THE MATADORS
Currently in his third season as CSUN's head coach, Reggie Theus guided the Matadors to a 26-42 overall record the previous two years. This year, Theus and CSUN have returned two of last season's five starters and have opened the year with a 2-4 record. Freshman guard Jason Richardson is currently averaging a team-leading 15.2 points per game, (six starts). Sophomore guard Micheal Warren enters this Sunday's game as the Matadors' second-leading scorer, having averaged 14.3 points in six games (shooting 42.6 percent from the field.).
ON DECK
UCLA will host No. 1-ranked Kentucky in Pauley Pavilion on Thursday evening. This will mark the second time in the last three seasons in which the Bruins have hosted the nation's No. 1-ranked team at home. In Jan. 2014, UCLA lost to No. 1-ranked Arizona, 79-75, in a Pac-12 contest in Pauley Pavilion. UCLA last defeated the nation's No. 1-ranked team at home on Jan. 12, 2002, taking down Kansas by an 87-77 margin in Pauley Pavilion. Following the upcoming Thursday night showdown against Kentucky, the Bruins will host Long Beach State on Sunday, Dec. 6.