UCLA
Montana
No. 23 UCLA to Square Off Against Montana
December 04, 2017 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – No. 23 UCLA (7-1) will take on Montana (5-3) on Wednesday evening in Pauley Pavilion. Game time is set for 8 p.m. (PT). The Bruins have compiled a 4-1 all-time record against the Grizzlies. Montana won the most recent meeting against UCLA, securing a 66-57 decision in Pauley Pavilion on Dec. 5, 2010. This Wednesday's game will mark the final contest of a four-game homestand for UCLA.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion (13,800)
Tipoff Time: 8:06 p.m. PT
Television: Pac-12 Network
TV Talent: Ted Robinson (play-by-play), Casey Jacobsen (analyst)
Radio (UCLA Sports Network from IMG): AM 1150
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS/XM Channels: Ch. 84/Ch. 84
SIRIUS App. Channel: Ch. 84
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PURCHASE TICKETS
Ticket for all UCLA men's basketball games can be purchased online by visiting uclabruins.com/tickets or by clicking here. After this Wednesday night's game against Montana, the Bruins will play at Michigan (Saturday, Dec. 9), before returning home to host No. 17 Cincinnati (Saturday, Dec. 16).
THE LATEST
UCLA won by a season-high 33 points (106-73) on Sunday night against Detroit Mercy in Pauley Pavilion. Jaylen Hands scored a team-leading 23 points off the bench for the Bruins, while Prince Ali netted 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Through games played Dec. 4, Aaron Holiday ranked second in the Pac-12 in assists per game (5.5) and was No. 11 in scoring (16.5 ppg). Holiday scored a team-leading 16 points and added seven rebounds and six assists in last week's 75-66 win over CSU Bakersfield (Nov. 29). Prince Ali (11.6 ppg) ranks second on the team in overall shooting percentage (53.4%).
DEFENSIVE EFFORT
UCLA limited CSU Bakersfield to 29.9 percent shooting (20-for-67) on Wednesday, Nov. 29, as the Bruins won that game, 75-66. That marked the lowest overall shooting percentage by any Bruins' opponent since limiting CSUN to 29.3% (17-for-58) in UCLA's victory against the Matadors in Pauley Pavilion on Nov. 29, 2015.
OUR BIG MEN
Senior Thomas Welsh has recorded five double-doubles in eight games, averaging 12.5 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. Welsh, through Dec. 4, ranked second among all Pac-12 players in rebounds per game and in double-doubles (five, one shy of Arizona's Deandre Ayton). Senior Gyorgy "G.G." Goloman (7.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg) recorded a career-high five assists in last Sunday evening's win over Detroit Mercy. Sophomore Alex Olesinski (6.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg) has tallied the team's best overall field goal percentage (63.3%), having made 19 of 30 shots. Olesinski has averaged 19.9 minutes per game off the bench.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Five of the Bruins' eight regular players in the current rotation did not see action on the court for UCLA last season. Both Prince Ali and Alex Olesinski (redshirt sophomores) played as true freshmen in 2015-16 but took redshirt years in 2016-17. Jaylen Hands, Chris Smith and Kris Wilkes are all true freshmen and have each played vital roles early this season. Wilkes enters the game on Wednesday as UCLA's second-leading scorer (13.1 ppg) and rebounder (6.4 rpg). He ranks third on the team in minutes (26.8 mpg) and has started all eight contests for UCLA.
LOOKING AHEAD
UCLA will close the 2017 calendar year with seven more games this month, including five non-conference contests before facing Washington State (Dec. 29) and Washington (Dec. 31) to open Pac-12 play in Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins will cap their current four-game homestand on Wednesday against Montana before hitting the road for a non-conference tilt at Michigan on Saturday, Dec. 9. UCLA's game at Michigan's Crisler Center will be nationally televised by CBS at 9 a.m. (PT). The Bruins will return home to face Cincinnati on Saturday, Dec. 16, in another nationally-televised contest (CBS).
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's game in Pauley Pavilion having totaled 931 career points (needing just 69 more to reach 1,000 points). Holiday has totaled 904 points and stands just 96 shy of tying the 1,000-point mark. UCLA's men's basketball program has 54 former players who have scored at least 1,000 career points wearing the Bruins' uniform. Last season, Isaac Hamilton became the 54th Bruin to have reached the vaunted 1,000 career-point plateau.
THE MOST SINCE ...
UCLA got to the free throw line for 40 attempts (26 makes) against UC Irvine (Nov. 26). That was the most attempted free throws in a game by UCLA since a double overtime loss at Washington on Jan. 1, 2016, when the Bruins attempted 50 free throws (38 makes). In that game at Washington, Bryce Alford was 17 for 18 at the free throw line. In addition, UCLA's 19 offensive rebounds against South Carolina State earlier this season (Nov. 17) marked the program's largest single game offensive rebound total since grabbing 23 in the double overtime loss at Washington on Jan. 1, 2016.
MOVING ON UP
Thomas Welsh ranks third on the school's all-time blocked shots list (125), 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. 9 on the school's all-time field goal percentage list (55.5 percent overall). Please note, UCLA's official "blocked shot" statistic has only been tracked on a consistent basis since the 1978-79 season.
VALUING THE BASKETBALL
UCLA has committed eight or fewer turnovers in three of their previous five games. Through games played Dec. 4, the Bruins ranked second in the Pac-12 in assist-turnover ratio (1.3), having totaled 127 assists and 97 turnovers through their first eight games. Last season, UCLA led the Pac-12 in assist-turnover ratio (1.9). In fact, UCLA's team turned the ball over eight times (or fewer) in 12 of the Bruins' 36 contests last season. Entering this Wednesday's game against Montana, Aaron Holiday has compiled a 1.9 assist-turnover ratio (44 assists, 23 turnovers), while Jaylen Hands has logged a 1.6 ratio
