UCLA
Central Arkansas
No. 18 UCLA Hosts Central Arkansas on Wednesday
November 12, 2017 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – The Bruins return to action against Central Arkansas on Wednesday evening, marking UCLA's first regular-season home game of the 2017-18 campaign. This will mark the first-ever meeting on the hardwood between UCLA and Central Arkansas. The visiting Bears will enter Wednesday's contest with a 1-1 record, having dropped their regular-season opener to No. 24 Baylor (107-66) last Friday before bouncing back with a win over University of the Ozarks (100-51) on Sunday.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion (13,800)
Tipoff Time: 8:06 p.m. PT
Television: Pac-12 Network
TV Talent: J.B. Long (play-by-play), Don MacLean (analyst)
Radio (UCLA Sports Network from IMG): AM 570
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS/XM Channels: Ch. 81/Ch. 81
SIRIUS App. Channel: Ch. 81
PURCHASE TICKETS
Season ticket packages for 2017-18 men's basketball campaign are on sale for less than $19 per game. To secure seats for all the home games in 2017-18, call (310) 206-5991 or visit uclabruins.com/tickets. Fans can click here to download the men's basketball schedule directly to their calendar.
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BRUINS DEFEAT GEORGIA TECH
UCLA secured a 63-60 victory over Georgia Tech in the regular-season opener last Saturday in Shanghai, China. In what marked the third edition of the Pac-12 China Game, freshman Kris Wilkes scored a team-leading 18 points and classmate Jaylen Hands finished with 14. The game tipped off Saturday afternoon in Shanghai (on Friday evening along the West Coast). UCLA led the Yellow Jackets at halftime by a 35-32 margin and finished with four players scoring in double figures.
SEASON OPENER
The Bruins limited Georgia Tech to 20 made field goals in the team's regular-season opener in Shanghai. The 20 shots made by Georgia Tech marked the fewest made against UCLA since Feb. 20, 2016 (when Colorado was 19-for-61 in a loss to the Bruins in Pauley Pavilion). UCLA limited Georgia Tech to four three-pointers (on 18 attempts), the fewest made threes by a team against the Bruins since Dec. 19, 2015 (North Carolina shot 4-for-19 from long range in that game).
VETERAN PRESENCE
UCLA returns nine players from last season's roster, including three significant contributors from the team's eight-man rotation. Senior Thomas Welsh (10.8 ppg, 8.7 rpg in 2016-17) is the only returning starter, but the Bruins also bring back junior Aaron Holiday (12.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 4.4 apg) and senior G.G. Goloman (3.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg). In addition, Prince Ali and Alex Olesinski have returned as redshirt sophomores after having redshirted the 2016-17 season.
NEARING 1,000
Senior center Thomas Welsh and junior guard Aaron Holiday are both nearing the 1,000-career-point plateau. Welsh will enter this Wednesday night's game having scored 841 career points, needing just 159 more to reach 1,000. Holiday has totaled 783 points, now into his third season, and stands 217 points shy of tying the 1,000-point mark. UCLA's tradition-rich men's basketball program has 54 former players who have scored at least 1,000 career points wearing the Bruins' uniform.
NATIONAL HONORS
Junior guard Aaron Holiday has been named as one of 50 players to the preseason watch list for the 2018 Citizen Naismith Trophy, as announced earlier this month by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. In addition, Holiday is among 40 student-athletes on the preseason watch list for the Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award. Hailing from nearby Chatsworth, Calif., Holiday averaged 12.3 points and 4.4 assists per game coming off the bench for the Bruins last season.
MAKING A DEBUT
With Kris Wilkes (18 points) and Jaylen Hands (14 points) posting double-digit scoring efforts against Georgia Tech, at least one UCLA freshman has scored in double figures in his collegiate debut in six straight seasons. Last fall, TJ Leaf (22 points) and Lonzo Ball (19) scored in double figures against Pacific. Other recent freshmen in that category have included Aaron Holiday (10 pts, 2015), Kevon Looney (20 pts, 2014), Thomas Welsh (14 pts, 2014), Zach LaVine (14 pts, 2013), Jordan Adams (21 pts, 2012), Kyle Anderson (10 pts, 2012) and Shabazz Muhammad (15 pts, 2012).
MOVIN' ON UP
Thomas Welsh has moved into a tie for fourth place, along with Lorenzo Mata-Real, on UCLA's all-time blocked shots list. Welsh (117 blocks) needs just one more block to tie Charles O'Bannon (118) for third place on the list. The top two spots on UCLA's career blocks list are occupied by Jelani McCoy (188) and Dan Gadzuric (184). In addition, Welsh currently ranks No. 7 on the school's all-time field goal percentage list, having shot 56.5 percent in over three seasons.
