UCLA (13-10, 4-6) returns to action at No. 17/14 Arizona (19-5, 7-4) on Friday evening. Game time is 6 p.m. (PT)/7 p.m. (MT). The Bruins look to sweep the regular-season series versus Arizona, having defeated the Wildcats in Pauley Pavilion, 87-84, on Jan. 7. Bryce Alford hit a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds to play in that game, leading UCLA to an 87-84 win.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: McKale Center (14,538)
Game Time: 6 p.m. (PT)/7 p.m. (MT)
Television: ESPN
TV Talent: Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Bill Walton (analyst)
Radio: AM 570
Radio Talent: Bill Roth (play-by-play), Darrick Martin (analyst)
SIRIUS/XM Channels: Ch. 84/Ch. 84
ABOUT THE BRUINS
- The Bruins have gone 13-10, including a 4-6 mark in Pac-12 games, and have eight regular-season games remaining ... three of UCLA's wins this season have come against teams ranked in the Associated Press top-25 poll – No. 1 Kentucky (Dec. 3), at No. 20 Gonzaga (Dec. 12) and No. 7 Arizona (Jan. 7).
- In the team's only game last week, UCLA dropped an 80-61 decision at USC, marking the first time since 2010 in which the Bruins lost both regular-season contests to the Trojans ... four UCLA players scored in double figures, with Aaron Holiday scoring a team-leading 15 points before a capacity crowd at USC's Galen Center.
- The Bruins are currently amidst a seven-game stretch that features five road games ... following this week's games at Arizona (Feb. 12) and Arizona State (Feb. 14), UCLA will return home to host Utah (Feb. 18) and Colorado (Feb. 20) ... UCLA seeks its second win in its last three trips to the McKale Center (won 84-73 at Arizona on Jan. 24, 2013).
- UCLA is the only Pac-12 team to have at least two scorers in the conference's top 10 (Bryce Alford ranks third with 16.7 ppg while Isaac Hamilton is seventh in the league with 16.3 ppg) ... the Bruins are the only Pac-12 program with at least two players among the league's top 10 rebounders (Tony Parker is third with 9.3 rpg and Thomas Welsh ranks sixth with 8.8 rpg).
SERIES NOTES
UCLA leads the all-time series, 54-40 ... the Bruins have won five of the last eight games against the Wildcats ... the Bruins lost at the McKale Center last season, 57-47, (Feb. 21, 2015) and did not face the Wildcats in Los Angeles ... in March 2014, UCLA outlasted Arizona, 75-71, in the Pac-12 Tournament title game.
STREAKIN'
Junior guard Isaac Hamilton has scored in double figures in 19 consecutive games for UCLA, the longest such streak since the 2012-13 season, when Shabazz Muhammad scored in double figures in 19 straight games as a freshman (Muhammad scored in double figures in the team's final 19 games). The last UCLA player to record at least 10 points in 20 or more consecutive games is Kevin Love, who scored in double figures in all 39 games during his freshman season (2007-08) before being selected fifth overall in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies.
FRESHMAN PLAYMAKER
Aaron Holiday, a freshman guard who starred at nearby Campbell Hall High School, has averaged 11.3 points, 3.7 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game, starting all 23 contests. Holiday has scored in double figures in the team's last nine games, logging a season-high 19 points in UCLA's loss at Oregon on Jan. 23. He leads the Bruins in three-point field goal percentage (40.3), having made 27 of 67 attempts. In addition, Holiday has made 24 of his last 28 free throw attempts (85.7 percent), shooting 73.7 percent overall from the line (56 for 76).
BRUINS ON THE BOARDS
Senior Tony Parker and Thomas Welsh rank first and second, respectively, among all Pac-12 players in offensive rebounds. Parker, who ranks third in the league in total rebounds per game (9.3 rpg), has registered 3.9 offensive boards per game. Welsh, the league's sixth-leading rebounder (8.8 rpg), has averaged 3.6 offensive rebounds per contest. Parker and Welsh have each recorded nine double-doubles, tied for the fourth-highest total among Pac-12 players. The Bruins' duo has grabbed 43 percent of UCLA's total rebounds (408 of 947).
SCORE AND DISTRIBUTE
Junior guard Bryce Alford has averaged a team-leading 16.7 points per game, the third-highest scoring average in the Pac-12. Alford also ranks third in the conference in both assists per game (5.3) and assist-turnover ratio (2.4). He has not committed more than two turnovers in any of the team's last nine games, logging 50 assists and 12 turnovers over that span (4.2 assist-turnover ratio). With a conference-leading 122 assists this year, he has become UCLA's first player since Earl Watson (1998-2001) to have dished at least 100 assists in each of his first three seasons.
1,000 POINT CLUB
Bryce Alford and Tony Parker have each crossed the 1,000 point mark at UCLA this season. Alford, currently at 1,233 career points, accomplished the feat during UCLA's 71-66 victory at No. 20 Gonzaga on Dec. 12. Parker scored career point No. 1,000 against Washington in Pauley Pavilion (Jan. 28). Parker became the fourth UCLA player in the last three seasons to have recorded his No. 1,000 career point (joining Alford, Jordan Adams and Norman Powell). Parker is also tied for the No. 25 spot on UCLA's all-time rebounds list (647 rebounds, tied with Jason Kapono).
WHO'S ON DECK
Following the Bruins' road game at Arizona on Friday evening, UCLA will play at Arizona State on Sunday, Feb. 14. The Bruins recorded an 81-74 victory over Arizona State in Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 9. In that contest, the Bruins trailed 56-50 with 11:49 to go and 63-59 at the 7:54 mark. Isaac Hamilton made six consecutive points for the Bruins to tie the game, 65-65, before Aaron Holiday gave the Bruins a 77-74 cushion on a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 1:13 left.
SOPHOMORE SURGE
Sophomore center Thomas Welsh has significantly upped his production as a starter this season, averaging 12.0 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Last summer, he helped the USA Basketball U-19 men's team win the gold medal at the FIBA World Champmionships on the island of Crete in Greece. As a freshman for the Bruins last season, Welsh averaged 3.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game as a key contributor off the bench. This year, Welsh ranks third among Pac-12 players in field goal percentage (59.1), having made 117 of 198 shot attempts.
AT THE STRIPE
Junior guard Bryce Alford leads all Pac-12 players in free throw percentage (85.7). He entered the season having shot 82.4 percent from the free throw line and has moved into sixth place on UCLA's all-time free throw percentage list (83.5 pct), just behind former teammate Jordan Adams (fourth place) and all-time NBA great Reggie Miller (fifth place). Alford's current single-season percentage (85.7) is the highest by any UCLA player since 2009, when Darren Collison concluded his senior year shooting 89.7 percent from the free throw line.
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 63-33 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).
NEWS AND NOTES
- During the Bruins' 10 conference games, junior guard Isaac Hamilton has averaged a team-best 17.6 points per game. In that 10-game span, Hamilton has connected on 47.1 percent of his shots (66 for 140) ... Hamilton has also shot 44.0 percent from 3-point range (22 for 50) while totaling 41 assists in those 10 games.
- Sophomore forward G.G. Goloman returned from an injury on Jan. 13 and has played in the Bruins' last six games ... Goloman missed UCLA's first 17 contests with a stress fracture below his right knee) ... he scored a career-high seven points in UCLA's 80-61 loss at USC last Thursday night, playing a season-high 23 minutes in that game.
- Sophomore guard/forward Jonah Bolden made his third start of the season last Sunday ... the resident of Sydney, Australia, has averaged 4.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in 22 total games ... Bolden has scored in double figures twice this season and has recorded at least 10 rebounds in three games.
- Bryce Alford has become the sixth player in school history, on record, to have scored at least 1,200 career points and registered 400 or more assists. Alford has become the first UCLA player to equal or eclipse those two career totals since Darren Collison, who amassed 1,634 points and 577 assists over four seasons (2006-09).