LOS ANGELES – UCLA (8-4) is set to host McNeese State (2-7) on Tuesday evening in Pauley Pavilion. Game time is 8 p.m. (PT). Winners of five of their last six games, the Bruins will face the Cowboys for the first time on the hardwood this week. Tuesday's game in Pauley Pavilion will be televised by Pac-12 Networks. This marks UCLA's final non-conference game before opening Pac-12 play on New Year's Day in Seattle against Washington.

GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion (13,800)
Tipoff Time: 8:06 p.m. (PT)
Television: Pac-12 Networks
TV Talent: Jim Watson, Don MacLean
Radio: AM 570
Radio Talent: Bill Roth (play-by-play), Darrick Martin (analyst)
SIRIUS/XM Channels: Ch. 134/Ch. 198

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 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday prior to the 8 p.m. tipoff. Additional information about directions to Pauley Pavilion, parking and tickets can be found through our Gameday Info website.

BENEFITTING THE FOOD BANK
Be sure to help support the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank on Tuesday evening. Fans can secure one free ticket to Tuesday's game by bringing at least two non-perishable food items to Pauley Pavilion as part of a Holiday Food Drive. Staff members will be located at the north and southeast entrances to Pauley Pavilion as part of the Bruins' Holiday Food Drive. For more information and details, please visit this website.

ABOUT THE BRUINS
- The Bruins have posted an 8-4 record and have just one non-conference game remaining in its regular-season schedule ... UCLA will face McNeese State (2-7) on Tuesday, Dec. 22, at 8 p.m. (PT) in Pauley Pavilion.
- UCLA's five starters have each averaged at least 10.0 points per game, with junior guard Bryce Alford having registered a team-leading 16.8 points per game (the fifth-highest scoring average among Pac-12 players).
- Junior guard Isaac Hamilton has scored at least eight field goals and registered at least 19 points in each of the last four games ... he averaged 8.0 ppg in the team's first four games – since then, 18.6 ppg in the last eight contests.
- Senior forward/center Tony Parker ranks first in the Pac-12 (through Dec. 19) with seven double-doubles and is the conference's second-leading rebounder (10.3 rpg) behind Washington State's Josh Hawkinson (10.4 rpg).
- Prior to last Saturday's 89-76 loss to No. 11 North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic (Brooklyn, N.Y.), UCLA had reeled off five consecutive wins, including victories over No. 1 Kentucky (Dec. 3) and at No. 20 Gonzaga (Dec. 12).
- Sophomore center Thomas Welsh, hailing from Redondo Beach, Calif., has scored in double figures in seven of 11 games, netting at least 20 points in three contests ... Welsh has averaged 12.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.

BACK FROM BROOKLYN
Isaac Hamilton scored a season-high 23 points in UCLA's 89-76 loss to No. 11 North Carolina on Saturday, Dec. 19, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Hamilton was one of four UCLA players to score in double figures, making 9 of 12 field goal attempts (and 4 of 5 shots from 3-point range). Bryce Alford had 15 points and four assists, Tony Parker finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds and Thomas Welsh had 10 points. UCLA led 26-15 with nearly 10 minutes to play before halftime and was tied with the Tar Heels, 38-38, at the break.

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.

1,000 POINT CLUB
Junior guard Bryce Alford became the 52nd player in program history to have scored at least 1,000 points during his UCLA career. He totaled 13 points in the Bruins' 71-66 win at No. 20 Gonzaga on Saturday, Dec. 12, pushing his his career point total to 1,008 (currently has logged 1,050 career points). Alford leads UCLA's team this season in scoring (16.8 ppg), assists (5.3 apg) and free throw percentage (83.9). He enters this Tuesday's home game leading the Bruins in 3-point field goals made (24), free throws made (47) and minutes per game (36.6).

BRUINS DEFEAT RAGIN' CAJUNS
UCLA earned its eighth win of the season on Tuesday, Dec. 15, defeating Louisiana-Lafayette by a 89-80 margin in Pauley Pavilion. Bryce Alford scored a season-high 27 points, connecting on 10 of 15 shots and 4 of 6 attempts from 3-point range. Isaac Hamilton and Tony Parker each finished with 19 points in the nine-point non-conference win. UCLA led by as many as 19 points late in the first half and carried a 47-35 cushion into the locker room at halftime. The visiting Ragin' Cajuns closed the gap to as few as four points in the second half before UCLA pulled away for the win.

WESTBROOK'S DONATION
Former UCLA standout and four-time NBA All-Star Russell Westbrook has made a significant financial contribution to the school's Mo Ostin Basketball Center project – the largest donation by a former basketball student-athlete in school history. In honor of Westbrook's gift, the practice floor inside the program's new state-of-the-art facility will be known moving forward as Russell Westbrook Court. Westbrook starred for two seasons at UCLA (2006-07 and 2007-08), helping lead the Bruins to consecutive NCAA Final Four appearances those years.

HONORING RUSSELL
The Bruins will formally recognize Westbrook's generosity and welcome him back to Pauley Pavilion when UCLA hosts Arizona (Jan. 7). Along with his wife Nina (Earl) Westbrook – a former UCLA women's basketball student-athlete – and parents Russell and Shannon Westbrook, he will be sitting courtside at the team's Pac-12 Conference home opener. To commemorate the evening, all fans in attendance will receive complimentary eyeglass frames, a trademark of Russell's at post-game NBA press conferences, courtesy of Wescom.

TALL TANDEM
UCLA's duo of senior Tony Parker and sophomore Thomas Welsh has averaged 26.0 points and 16.8 rebounds per game through the team's first 12 contests. Parker, a 6-foot-9 forward/center from Atlanta, Ga. (Miller Grove High School), is currently averaging career highs of 14.5 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Welsh, who logged just 3.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game as a freshman last year, has significantly upped his production as a sophomore. The 7-footer from Loyola High School (Los Angeles) is averaging 12.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.

ABOUT McNEESE STATE
McNeese State enters this Tuesday's game in Pauley Pavilion with a 2-7 overall record, having registered wins against Dillard (Nov. 25) and LSU-Alexandria (Dec. 16). Led by 10th-year head coach Dave Simmons, the Cowboys will be facing UCLA for the first time on the hardwood this Tuesday. Junior guard Jamaya Burr leads the Cowboys in scoring (14.8 ppg) and assists (2.3 apg). Located in Lake Charles, La., McNeese State posted a 15-16 overall record in 2014-15, going 8-10 in the Southland Conference (seventh place). The Cowboys last advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2002.

PAC-12 PLAY NEARS
UCLA will open Pac-12 play on the road on New Year's Day, taking on Washington at Alaska Airlines Arena (Jan. 1, 2016 at 8 p.m.). This marks the second consecutive year in which UCLA will open its conference schedule away from home. Last season, the Bruins dropped a 62-56 decision at Colorado on Jan. 2, 2015, in the Pac-12 opener. Following this season's game at Washington, the Bruins will take on Washington State in Pullman, Wash., on Sunday, Jan. 3 (6:30 p.m.). UCLA has not played on New Year's Day since 1948, when the Bruins defeated Cornell on the road, 50-47.

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 58-27 overall 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).