LOS ANGELES – UCLA (7-3) will host Louisiana-Lafayette (3-4) on Tuesday evening in Pauley Pavilion. Game time is 6 p.m. (PT). Riding a four-game winning streak, the Bruins will face the Ragin' Cajuns for the first time on the hardwood this week. Tuesday's game in Pauley Pavilion will be televised by Pac-12 Networks. Most recently, UCLA won at No. 20 Gonzaga, 71-66, on Saturday, Dec. 12.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion (13,800)
Tipoff Time: 6:02 p.m. (PT)
Television: Pac-12 Networks
TV Talent: Ted Robinson, Bill Walton
Radio: AM 570
Radio Talent: Bill Roth (play-by-play), Darrick Martin (analyst)
SIRIUS/XM Channels: Ch. 84/Ch. 84
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 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday prior to the 6 p.m. tipoff. Additional information about directions to Pauley Pavilion, parking and tickets can be found through our Gameday Info website.
THE LATEST
The Bruins earned their second win over a top-20 team in a nine-day span on Saturday, taking down No. 20 Gonzaga on the road, 71-66. UCLA handed the host Bulldogs just their 11th loss at the McCarthey Athletic Center since the building opened prior to the 2004-05 season (Gonzaga's record in the arena is 154-11). Isaac Hamilton scored a team-leading 20 points and had three steals. Jonah Bolden registered his first collegiate double-double, totaling 10 points and 11 rebounds in a season-high 30 minutes off the bench.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
UCLA's non-conference schedule features four games against top-20 ranked teams (AP poll), including a pair of contests against top-five schools. Among Pac-12 programs, UCLA's non-conference schedule is rated the second-most challenging (behind Stanford) by both KenPom.com and WarrenNolan.com.
MARQUEE VICTORIES
With wins over No. 1 Kentucky (Dec. 3) and No. 20 Gonzaga (Dec. 12), UCLA has registered at least two regular-season wins over top-20 ranked teams in a nine-day span for the first time since Jan. 2008, when the Bruins beat No. 20 Stanford (Jan. 3) and No. 4 Washington State (Jan. 12).
1,000 POINT CLUB
Junior guard Bryce Alford has become the 52nd player in program history to have scored at least 1,000 points during his UCLA career. Alford scored 13 points in the Bruins' 71-66 win at No. 20 Gonzaga on Dec. 13, sending his career point total to 1,008. He currently leads the team in scoring (15.9 ppg), assists (5.2 apg), assist-turnover ratio (2.4) and free throw percentage (83.3 pct). Alford enters this Tuesday's game against Louisiana-Lafayette leading the Bruins in 3-point field goals made (17), free throws made (40) and minutes per game (36.6).
DOWN GOES NO. 1
Thomas Welsh registered team highs with 21 points and 11 rebounds in UCLA's 87-77 win over No. 1 Kentucky on Thursday, Dec. 3. Five UCLA players scored in double figures as the Bruins secured their first win over the nation's No. 1-ranked team since toppling No. 1 Arizona in overtime, 96-89, in a first-round game of the Pac-10 Tournament on March 13, 2003. UCLA led against Kentucky during the game's final 38 minutes and 10 seconds.
NOTES ON NUMBER ONE
Prior to the win over Kentucky, UCLA had faced the nation's No. 1-ranked team five times since an overtime upset versus Arizona in March 2003. The Bruins were unable to get the win against Stanford (Feb. 2004), Kansas (Dec. 2009), Arizona (Jan. 2014), Florida (March 2014) and Kentucky (Dec. 2014).
THE LAST TIME
UCLA's win over Kentucky marked the program's first victory over a top-10 team since March 15, 2014, when the Bruins downed No. 4 Arizona, 75-71, in the 2014 Pac-12 Tournament championship. UCLA earned its first home win over the nation's No. 1 team since Jan. 12, 2002 (vs. No. 1 Kansas, 87-77).
DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Tony Parker, a 6-foot-9 senior forward/center from Atlanta, has recorded six double-doubles in 10 games. Parker has averaged 14.2 points and a Pac-12 leading 10.3 rebounds per game, scoring in double figures in all but one contest. 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.
HAMILTON HEATS UP
Junior guard Isaac Hamilton has scored in double figures in each of UCLA's last six games and enters the week as the Bruins' third-leading scorer (13.9 ppg). Hamilton scored a team-leading 20 points in the team's 71-66 win at No. 20 Gonzaga, logging three assists and three steals. He made two 3-pointers in the game's first two minutes, finishing 3-for-6 from downtown. Hamilton has shot 45.2 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from 3-point range.
ABOUT THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
Under sixth-year head coach Bob Marlin, Louisiana-Lafayette (3-4) enters the week coming off a 91-79 loss at Louisiana Tech last Saturday afternoon. The Ragin' Cajuns three wins this season have come against Louisiana College (Nov. 13), Loyola of New Orleans (Nov. 25) and McNeese State (Dec. 9). Shawn Long (18.3 ppg), Kasey Shepherd (12.0 ppg) and Jay Wright (10.9 ppg) are Louisiana-Lafayette's three players who are currently averaging in double figures. Averaging 90.0 points per game, the Ragin' Cajuns have the nation's third-highest scoring offense (through Dec. 12).
ON DECK
After Tuesday's game versus Louisiana-Lafayette, the Bruins will play No. 3 North Carolina in Brooklyn on Saturday, Dec. 19, as part of the CBS Sports Classic. UCLA and UNC will take the floor at 10 a.m. (PT) prior to a matchup featuring Ohio State and Kentucky (12:30 p.m. PT). The Bruins dropped a 78-56 decision to then No. 5-ranked North Carolina in last season's Battle 4 Atlantis (Bahamas). Last year, UCLA lost to No. 1-ranked Kentucky in the CBS Sports Classic, 83-44, at the United Center in Chicago. Next season, the Bruins will face Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic (Las Vegas).
YEAR THREE
Steve Alford is currently in his third season as UCLA's head coach and his 25th year as a college basketball head coach. In his third year at UCLA, Alford has led the Bruins to a 57-26 record. After guiding the Bruins to the Pac-12 Tournament title and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2014, Alford helped UCLA engineer a second consecutive trip to the Sweet 16 last March. He has led his teams to at least 22 wins in each of the last eight years, including at least 28 wins in three of the previous four seasons (107-36 record over the previous four years).