University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
Saint Francis U
No. 20 UCLA to Face Saint Francis U on Friday
November 12, 2018 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES โ No. 20 UCLA (2-0) returns to action against Saint Francis U in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom on Friday, Nov. 16. Game time is 8 p.m. (PT). The Bruins recorded wins last week against Purdue Fort Wayne and Long Beach State. Friday night's game is being played as part of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational. Friday night's game will be televised by Pac-12 Network, while the radio broadcast will be available on AM 570 (KLAC).
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GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom (13,800)
Tipoff Time: 8:06 p.m. (PT)
Television: Pac-12 Network
TV Talent: Jim Watson (play-by-play), Don MacLean (analyst)
Radio (UCLA Sports Network): AM 570
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS/XM Radio Channels: Ch. 137 / Ch. 197
SIRIUS App Channel: Ch. 959
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BRUINS OPEN WITH TWO WINS
Freshman Moses Brown logged his second double-double in as many games last Friday night, totaling 17 points and 10 rebounds, to lead the Bruins past Long Beach State, 91-80. Brown was one of six UCLA players to score in double figures in the win over Long Beach State. Brown registered 19 points and a team-leading 17 rebounds in a season-opening win against Purdue Fort Wayne on Tuesday, Nov. 6. In addition, sophomore Kris Wilkes had a career-high 27 points in the victory versus Purdue Fort Wayne, adding 10 rebounds to notch his second career double-double.
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ELITE COMPANY
Moses Brown became UCLA's first player to record at least 19 points and 17 rebounds in his collegiate debut since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) registered a then-school-record 56 points and totaled 21 rebounds in UCLA's 105-90 win over USC on Dec. 3, 1966. Abdul-Jabbar made 23 of 32 shots from the field and 10 of 14 free throws in the Bruins' season opener in Pauley Pavilion (the arena had opened one year prior).
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NOTABLE DEBUTS
Brown's 19-point, 17-rebound game marked the first point-rebound double-double by any UCLA freshman in his debut since TJ Leaf had 22 points and 15 rebounds against Pacific in the Bruins' 119-80 season-opening win on Nov. 11, 2016. Lonzo Ball had 19 points and 11 assists for UCLA in that victory. Kevin Love had 22 points and 13 rebounds in his freshman debut (Nov. 9, 2007) to lead the Bruins past Portland State, 69-48.
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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.
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PURCHASE TICKETS
Fans can purchase tickets to UCLA's upcoming home games by clicking here. Fans can also purchase tickets by visiting uclabruins.com/tickets or by calling (310) 206-5991.
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KEY NOTES ABOUT UCLA
The Bruins return five of their eight rotation players from last season's team, a squad that went 21-12 overall en route to the NCAA Tournament's "First Four" in Dayton, Ohio. Redshirt juniors Prince Ali and Alex Olesinski, along with sophomores Kris Wilkes and Chris Smith, played in all 33 games last season. Sophomore Jaylen Hands played in 31 of 33 games. This year's team brings in eight freshmen โ six true freshmen and a pair of redshirt freshmen (Jalen Hill and Cody Riley).
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Both Kris Wilkes and Jaylen Hands chose to return to UCLA for their sophomore seasons in May after having gone through the NBA's evaluation process prior to June's NBA Draft. Wilkes and Hands represented UCLA's program at Pac-12 men's basketball media day on Thursday, Oct. 11, and they will play even more prominent roles for the Bruins this season. Wilkes averaged 13.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, while Hands registered 9.9 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
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Steve Alford enters his sixth season as The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. Hired as the Bruins' head coach in March 2013, he has guided the program to an overall record of 119-57. UCLA has made four trips to the NCAA Tournament (and three Sweet 16 appearances) under Coach Alford. In addition, the Bruins have produced 11 NBA Draft selections during Coach Alford's five years as the program's head coach.
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LOOKING AT SAINT FRANCIS U
UCLA will face Saint Francis U for the first time in program history this Friday night. Saint Francis U split its first two games of the season, recording an 80-62 victory at home last Friday (Nov. 9) against Morgan State. Saint Francis U dropped its season opener to Buffalo (now ranked No. 25 in the AP top 25 poll) on Tuesday, Nov. 6, by an 82-67 margin (at Buffalo). Junior guard Keith Braxton leads the Red Flash in both scoring (19.0 ppg) and rebounding (11.0 rpg).
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FROM LONG DISTANCE
In the past two seasons, UCLA has shot the No. 1 percentage from 3-point territory of any Pac-12 team. With Lonzo Ball and Bryce Alford in 2016-17, the Bruins shot 40.6 percent from 3-point range. In 2017-18, after losing Ball and Alford along with Isaac Hamilton and TJ Leaf, the Bruins shot 38.1 percent from 3-point distance, a mark that still ranked No. 1 in the conference. Aaron Holiday led the Bruins last season by shooting 42.9 percent from 3-point territory.
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IN THE RECORD BOOKS
UCLA established its program record for most attempted 3-pointers (872) and made 3-pointers (354) in 2016-17. Last season, the Bruins came close. UCLA made its second-most 3-pointers in program history (310) and recorded its second-highest total of 3-point attempts (813).
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THE STREAK CONTINUES
UCLA has made at least one three-pointer in its last 624 games. That streak began after the Bruins went 0-for-14 from three-point range in a 78-63 loss at No. 2 Stanford on Feb. 3, 2000. The Bruins have made at least three 3-pointers in 171 of 176 games under sixth-year head coach Steve Alford.
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UCLA'S FRONTCOURT
Last season, UCLA ranked No. 28 in the nation in rebounds per game (38.8) and finished the year No. 11 in defensive rebounds per game (28.6). The Bruins will rely on freshman center Moses Brown, redshirt freshmen Jalen Hill and Cody Riley, redshirt junior Alex Olesinski and freshman forward Kenneth Nwuba. Those five players will be responsible for replacing the production of graduates Thomas Welsh and G.G. Goloman, a pair of players who were at UCLA for four seasons.
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GLANCING AT THE GUARDS
UCLA's returning guards from last season's team include junior Prince Ali (6-foot-4) and sophomores Jaylen Hands (6-foot-3), Kris Wilkes (6-foot-8) and Chris Smith (6-foot-9). All four guards played major minutes in 2017-18 and are expected to play even larger roles for UCLA this season. Also pushing for playing time at the shooting guard positions are freshmen Jules Bernard (6-foot-6) and David Singleton (6-foot-4), both hailing from the Los Angeles area.
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STANDING TALL
UCLA's 16-person roster includes eight players who measure at least 6-foot-8. Incoming freshman Moses Brown (7-foot-1, 245 pounds) is the Bruins' tallest player since the late Mike Lanier (7-foot-7, 310 pounds) competed as a reserve center for UCLA in 1991-92 and 1992-93. UCLA's Jalen Hill and Alex Olesinski are both 6-foot-10, while Kenneth Nwuba, Cody Riley, Shareef O'Neal and Chris Smith all stand at 6-foot-9. Kris Wilkes rounds out the group at 6-foot-8.
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