UCLA
Creighton
No. 18 UCLA to Face Creighton in Kansas City
November 18, 2017 | Men's Basketball
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Bruins will take on Creighton this Monday at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., in the Hall of Fame Classic. This will mark the first meeting between these two teams since Dec. 21, 1963, when the Bruins secured a 95-79 victory in a game played in Long Beach, Calif.
The winner of Monday's game will play at 7 p.m. (PT)/9 p.m. (CT) on Tuesday against Baylor or Wisconsin in the tournament's title contest. The losing team from each of Monday's games will face off Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. (PT)/6:30 p.m. (CT). Baylor is scheduled to take on Wisconsin after UCLA's game on Monday evening at the Sprint Center.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Sprint Center (18,972)
Game Time: 4 p.m. PT (6 p.m. CT)
Television: ESPNU (watch live)
TV Talent: Clay Matvick (play-by-play), Fran Fraschilla (analyst)
Radio (UCLA Sports Network from IMG): AM 1150
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS/XM Channels: Ch. 138/Ch. 201
SIRIUS App. Channel: Ch. 961
KANSAS CITY HISTORY
UCLA won its first of 11 NCAA Championships at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo., on March 21, 1964. Under the leadership of head coach John Wooden, the Bruins defeaed Duke in the title contest, 98-83. Gail Goodrich scored a team-leading 27 points in that game, while Kenny Washington added 26
.
BACK IN THE SHOW-ME STATE
The Bruins last played in the state of Missouri during head coach Steve Alford's first season at UCLA (Dec. 8, 2013). In a nationally-televised non-conference tilt, Missouri overcame a 43-35 halftime deficit to defeat the Bruins, 80-71. Jordan Adams scored a team-leading 22 points for UCLA in the loss at Mizzou Arena.
HALL OF FAME CLASSIC
UCLA last played in the Hall of Fame Classic in Nov. 2007, securing the tournament title with wins in Kansas City against Maryland (71-59) and No. 10 Michigan State (68-63). That season's UCLA squad featured current NBA players Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Darren Collison and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute.
PURCHASE TICKETS
Season ticket packages in Pauley Pavilion for the 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.
DOWNLOAD THE UCLA APP
Be sure to download the UCLA Bruins Mobile App to your device, free of charge (download here). The official app of UCLA Athletics allows fans to receive in-game stats and live updates during events. Fans can also sign up to receive push notifications about gameday promotions, game times, live scoring and more. Fans can shop for UCLA gear with one click in addition to getting breaking news from UCLA Athletics. When searching iTunes or Google Play, use the term "UCLA Bruins" for more direct access.
BRUINS OPEN 3-0
UCLA has opened with a 3-0 mark, notching wins over Georgia Tech (63-60), Central Arkansas in overtime (106-101) and South Carolina State (96-68). The Bruins' win over Georgia Tech took place Saturday, Nov. 11, in Shanghai, China, as part of the Pac-12 China Game. UCLA earned a pair of home victories over Central Arkansas on Nov. 15 and South Carolina State on Nov. 17. Freshman Kris Wilkes has led the Bruins in scoring through three games, averaging 17.3 points per contest.
LAST TIME OUT
The Bruins outscored South Carolina State by a 55-33 margin in the second half last Friday night after having led 41-35 at halftime. Freshman Jaylen Hands scored a team-leading 22 points, totaling 13 in the game's final seven minutes. Freshman Chris Smith provided a spark off the bench, scoring a season-high 15 points in 21 minutes. Thomas Welsh registered his second consecutive double-double (13 points, 15 rebounds) and Kris Wilkes finished with 14 points and six boards.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Five players in the current eight-man rotation did not play for the Bruins last season. Back from last year's rotation are seniors Thomas Welsh and G.G. Goloman and junior Aaron Holiday. Sophomores Prince Ali and Alex Olesinski have been a part of UCLA's program the past two seasons, but did not play last year (redshirted in 2016-17 after having opened the year injured). Freshmen Kris Wilkes, Jaylen Hands and Chris Smith have played in each of UCLA's three regular-season games.
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 Monday evening's game having scored 870 career points, needing just 130 more to reach 1,000. Holiday has totaled 815 points, now into his third season, and stands 185 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 lists for the 2018 John Wooden Award and the Citizen Naismith Trophy. 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., and Campbell Hall High School, 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 now ranks third on the school's all-time blocked shots list (120), having recently surpassed Charles O'Bannon (118) for the No. 3 slot. The top two spots on UCLA's career blocks list are occupied by Jelani McCoy (188) and Dan Gadzuric (184). McCoy played at UCLA from 1995-98, while Gadzuric starred for the Bruins from 1999-2002. Welsh currently ranks No. 7 on the school's all-time field goal percentage list, having shot 56.1 percent overall.
BRUIN SENIORITY
The Bruins' 16-man roster features four senior student-athletes – Thomas Welsh (center, 7-foot), G.G. Goloman (forward, 6-foot-11), Ikenna Okwarabizie (center, 6-foot-9) and Alec Wulff (guard, 6-foot-3). Welsh has played in 101 games (63 starts) for the Bruins, having missed just five games the past three seasons due to illness/injury. Welsh has averaged 8.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game in his career, shooting 56.1 percent from the field. Goloman has played in 88 games in just over three seasons in Westwood, averaging 2.6 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.
