LOS ANGELES – No. 21/20 UCLA returns to action at home this Friday evening against Long Beach State (8 p.m., PT). The Bruins are seeking their second consecutive victory after having opened the regular season with a 96-71 win over Purdue Fort Wayne in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom on Tuesday, Nov. 6. Friday night's game will be televised by Pac-12 Network, while the radio broadcast will be available on AM 570 (KLAC).
 
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), Bill Walton (analyst)
Radio (UCLA Sports Network): AM 570
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS/XM Radio Channels: Ch. 136 / Ch. 197
SIRIUS App Channel: Ch. 959
 
BRUINS WIN SEASON OPENER
Sophomore Kris Wilkes scored 19 of his career-high 27 points in the first half to lead UCLA past Purdue Fort Wayne, 96-71, in Pauley Pavilion on Tuesday night. Wilkes logged his second career double-double, totaling 10 rebounds. Freshman Moses Brown finished with 19 points and 17 rebounds in his first official college game, making 9 of 10 shots from the field. Jaylen Hands had 18 points, seven assists and three rebounds, while Chris Smith totaled 13 points and eight boards. UCLA led from the start, pushing its lead to 48-31 by halftime. The Bruins outrebounded Purdue Fort Wayne, 52-28.
 
THAT'S SOME 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).
 
OTHER 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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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.
 
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.
 
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 – six true freshmen and a pair of redshirt freshmen (Jalen Hill and Cody Riley).
 
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.
 
Junior guard Prince Ali enters his fourth year in the program and will begin his third year on the court. Ali averaged 9.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per game last season, playing in all 33 games (making 22 starts). He shot 44.0 percent from the field and made 36.0 percent of his three-point attempts. Hailing from The Bronx in New York City, Ali redshirted the 2016-17 season (his second year at UCLA) after having sustained a torn meniscus in his left knee in July 2016.
 
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 117-57 the previous five years. 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.
 
LOOKING AT LONG BEACH STATE
UCLA will face Long Beach State for the fourth time in head coach Steve Alford's six seasons in Westwood this Friday evening. The Bruins won previous showdowns against the 49ers in Nov. 2014, Dec. 2015 and Nov. 2016. In all, UCLA has registered a 15-1 all-time record against Long Beach State. Most recently, the Bruins secured an 114-77 win over Long Beach State in Pauley Pavilion the night of Nov. 20, 2016. Friday's game will be Long Beach State's season opener.
 
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.
 
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).
 
ALSO OF NOTE
The Bruins' program has shot at least 38.0 percent from 3-point range in three of head coach Steve Alford's five seasons at UCLA (2014, 2017 and 2018). Since college basketball adopted the 3-point arc in 1986-87, UCLA has had just eight teams shoot at a 38.0 percent clip or better from long distance.
 
WHAT DOES UCLA RETURN?
Looking at the team's entire offense, and not simply 3-point shooting, UCLA has returned 50.0 percent of its scoring production from last season. Kris Wilkes shot 44.1 percent from the field last year (including 35.2 percent from 3-point range), while Hands shot 40.5 percent overall (and 37.4 percent from 3-point range).
 
THE 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.
 
WELCOME TO WESTWOOD
Freshmen big men Moses Brown (7-foot-1, Queens, N.Y.) and Kenneth Nwuba (6-foot-9, Lagos, Nigeria) were on campus the entire summer as they embarked upon their freshman seasons. Brown was a McDonald's All-American as a senior playing at Archbishop Molloy High School in New York City. Nwuba began playing basketball at the age of 14 in Lagos, Nigeria, before moving to the United States for high school.
 
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.
 
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.
 
HOME COOKIN'
UCLA went 14-2 at home last season and has won 31 of 34 games in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom since the start of the 2016-17 campaign. During UCLA's 2016-17 season, the Bruins went 16-1 at home. Last year, the team's only home losses came against No. 25 Cincinnati (12/16/17) and to Colorado (1/13/18). Since UCLA renovated Pauley Pavilion prior to the 2012-13 season, the Bruins have tallied an overall home record of 89-15 (logging an 85.6 winning percentage).