UCLA
Utah
No. 4 UCLA Set to Face Utah on Saturday
January 13, 2017 | Men's Basketball
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah โ No. 4 UCLA returns to action at Utah on Saturday at 3 p.m. PT (4 p.m. MT), closing a Pac-12 road trip through the Rocky Mountains. The Bruins went 0-1 against Utah last season, losing their lone matchup to the Utes in Pauley Pavilion. Most recently, UCLA outlasted Colorado, 104-89, at the Coors Events Center in Boulder, Colo., on Thursday night. The Bruins have opened the season with 17 wins through their first 18 games.
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GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,000)
Tipoff Time: 3:05 p.m. PT/4:05 p.m. MT
Television: Pac-12 Network
TV Talent: J.B. Long (play-by-play), Matt Muehlebach (analyst)
Radio: AM 1150
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
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HISTORY AGAINST THE UTES
The Bruins only faced Utah once last season, dropping a 75-73 decision to the Utes in Pauley Pavilion (Feb. 18, 2016). UCLA split a pair of games against Utah one season prior (2014-15), losing at Utah, 71-39, on Jan. 4, 2015, before securing a 69-59 win against the Utes in Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 29, 2015. The Bruins have opened their regular-season schedule with 17 wins in their first 18 games for the first time since 2006-07, as that UCLA squad won 18 of its first 19 games.
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LAST TIME OUT
Senior Bryce Alford scored a career-high 37 points and Isaac Hamilton added 20 points as UCLA defeated Colorado, 104-89, at the Coors Events Center on Thursday night. UCLA shot 19-for-31 from 3-point range, setting a school record with 19 three-pointers (the Bruins previously set that record with 18 three-pointers in the season opener against Pacific on Nov. 11, 2016). UCLA led Colorado at halftime, 51-45, and pushed its margin to as many as 21 points in the second half. Alford made 9 of 14 three-pointers on Thursday, including 7 of 10 after halftime.
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ALFORD'S 37-POINT NIGHT
Bryce Alford was 9-for-11 from three-point range in UCLA's win over SMU in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Not only did he tie his career high on Thursday at Colorado, but he also tied the school record for three-pointers in a game (Jason Kapono was 9-for-10 from long range at Washington State on Jan. 4, 2003). Alford's 37 points on Thursday night marked the most points scored in a game for any UCLA player, away from Pauley Pavilion, since Jason Kapono had 44 points in UCLA's 98-83 win at Washington State on Jan. 4 2003 (the same game in which Kapono was 9-for-10 from 3-point range).
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BALANCING ACT
Through 18 games, the Bruins have six players who have averaged in double-figure scoring (Alford, Leaf, Ball, Hamilton, Holiday and Welsh). Bryce Alford (17.9 ppg), TJ Leaf (17.1), Lonzo Ball (14.5) and Isaac Hamilton (14.4) all rank among the top 16 in the Pac-12 in scoring (through Jan. 12). Seven of UCLA's eight regular contributors have recorded more assists than turnovers, with the only exception being freshman forward/center Ike Anigbogu. Four of those seven Bruins have assist-turnover ratios of 1.4 or higher (Lonzo Ball's 3.4 ratio leads all Pac-12 players).
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NO ORDINARY FRESHMEN
Freshmen TJ Leaf (17.1 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 2.8 apg) and Lonzo Ball (14.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 8.0 apg) rank among the top 10 in multiple categories in the Pac-12. Leaf has twice been named the conference's player of the Week (Dec. 5, Dec. 19). He ranks first among all Pac-12 players in overall field goal percentage (65.1%) and fifth in scoring. Ball, named Pac-12 Player of the Week on Nov. 28, is the nation's only player averaging at least 10 points, four rebounds and seven assists per game. He has scored at least 20 points in three games and dished at least 10 assists in five games.
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MOVING UP THE LISTS
Senior Bryce Alford ranks No. 10, nationally, among all active players in career points (1,687), through Jan. 12. In fact, Alford is the only player on that list's "top 20" who competes in a Power 5 conference. Alford, who has scored at least 10 points in all but one game, ranks No. 15 on UCLA's career scoring list. Alford has made 275 career three-point shots, the second-highest total at UCLA and the 10th-highest career total in Pac-12 Conference history.
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SPARK PLUG
Sophomore Aaron Holiday has established himself as the conference's premier "sixth man," having averaged 13.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 18 games. He has scored in double figures in 13 of 18 games, totaling a career-high 20 points in consecutive wins over UC Santa Barbara (Dec. 14) and Ohio State (Dec. 17). No other player in the Pac-12 has averaged as many points as Holiday has, coming off the bench. He ranks third in the Pac-12 in three-point field goal percentage (48.5%, 32/66) and ranks fifth in assists per game (4.4 apg).
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BIGTIME OFF THE BENCH
Holiday is one of seven players in the nation, without any starts, to have scored at least 210 points. He leads that group of players in overall field goal percentage (50.0%) and three-point field goal percentage (49.2%), according to sports-reference.com. Holiday's 80 assists are the most of any non-starter.
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STARTING FIVE, PLUS ONE
- Bryce Alford ranks No. 15 on UCLA's all-time scoring list, just ahead of Marques Johnson. Alford has scored 1,687 points in his four-year career, four shy of Gail Goodrich (1,691). Alford has scored in double figures in 17 of 18 games, having registered at least 20 points in five of the Bruins' last seven contests.
- Isaac Hamilton has averaged at least 10 points per game in each of his three seasons on the court with UCLA. Currently averaging 14.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists, Hamilton has shot 45.7 percent from the field and is third on the team with 39 made 3-pointers. He has scored in double figures in 44 of the Bruins' last 50 games.
- Lonzo Ball, who has emerged as a national player of the year candidate, ranks second in the nation in assists per game (8.0), averaging 14.5 ppg and 5.4 rpg. Ball's current total of 144 assists is the fourth-highest single-season total by any UCLA freshman (Pooh Richardson established UCLA's freshman record with 179 assists in 1985-86).
- TJ Leaf has scored at least 20 points in a team-best six games and ranks second on the squad and fifth in the conference in scoring (17.1 ppg). The freshman has eight double-doubles, including an 18-point, 11-rebound game against California on Jan. 5. He is one of four players in the Pac-12 to rank in the top 10 in scoring and rebounding.
- Thomas Welsh has made 52.6 percent of his total shot attempts (61/116) and is currently tied for sixth place on UCLA's career blocks list (99). Welsh has registered six double-doubles this season and has made all 20 of his free throw attempts. He missed four games from Dec. 10-21 while recovering from a bruised right knee.
- Aaron Holiday ranks third in the Pac-12 in three-point field goal percentage (48.5, 32/66), through Jan. 12. He ranks fifth in assists per game (4.4) and has scored in double figures in 13 of 18 games. Last month, he became UCLA's first player since Jordan Adams (Nov. 2012) to score at least 20+ points off the bench in back-to-back games.
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HIGH MARKS ...
Through games played on Jan. 12, UCLA led the nation in assists per game (22.4), total assists (403) and three-point field goal percentage (44.1). In addition, the Bruins ranked second in assist-turnover ratio (1.82) and overall field goal percentage (53.5). UCLA also ranked third in points per game (93.4), seventh in scoring margin (18.5) and eighth in blocks per game (6.2). UCLA's 102 points scored against Michigan (Dec. 10), 81 points versus California (Jan. 5) and 104 points at Colorado (Jan. 12) were the most scored by any team against those respective programs this season.
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UTAH AT A GLANCE
Utah enters this Saturday afternoon's game against UCLA having compiled a 12-4 overall record (including a 3-1 mark in Pac-12 play). Junior forward David Collette, who debuted with Utah on Dec. 17, has averaged a team-leading 15.4 points per game through eight contests. Junior forward Kyle Kuzma has registered a team-best 9.5 rebounds per game and is Utah's second-leading scorer (14.6 ppg). In all, Utah has six players who have averaged at least 10 points per game. The Utes currently rank second in the Pac-12 (behind UCLA) in overall field goal percentage (50.5 pct).
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THREE-POINT CHALLENGE
UCLA has teamed with the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) in this season's Coaches vs. Cancer 3-Point Challenge. Coaches vs. Cancer has joined forces with the online fundraising vendor PLEDGE IT, bringing back the 3-Point Attack. This 3-Point Challenge is spreading from coast to coast during the 2016-17 college basketball season, looking to help raise funds in the fight against our ultimate rival โ cancer. Support UCLA's team by pledging for every 3-point shot the Bruins make this season. Join our program to help in the ongoing fight against cancer by donating here: https://pledgeit.org/cvc-ucla
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