UCLA
Liberty
UCLA Returns Home to Face Liberty on Saturday
December 26, 2018 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES โ The Bruins will host Liberty this Saturday afternoon in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Game time is 3 p.m. (PT). This marks the first time in which these two schools have faced each other on the basketball court. Liberty has gone 10-4 this season after having compiled a 22-15 record last season (and a 9-9 record in the Big South Conference). Saturday's game will be the first of three straight home games for the Bruins, who will open Pac-12 play at home next week.
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GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom
Tipoff Time: 3:10 p.m. (PT)
Television: Pac-12 Network
TV Talent: J.B. Long (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. 136 / Ch. 197
SIRIUS App Channel: Ch. 959
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LEAGUE LEADER
Sophomore Jaylen Hands enters the weekend as the Pac-12's leader in total assists (89) and assists per game (7.4). THe 6-foot-3 guard from San Diego has averaged 11.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 7.4 assists through the team's first 12 games. Hands also ranks third in the Pac-12 in assist-turnover ratio (2.5-to-1). Hands has tallied at least nine assists in six of UCLA's last seven games. He had at least 10 assists in three consecutive games (versus Hawai'i, Notre Dame and Belmont).
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THE LAST TIME OUT
UCLA lost to No. 15 Ohio State 80-66 in the CBS Sports Classic on Saturday, Dec. 22, playing at the United Center in Chicago. The Bruins led Ohio State throughout the first half, before the Buckeyes secured a 33-30 cushion at halftime. UCLA never reduced Ohio State's lead to any fewer than four points in the game's final 10 minutes. Kris Wilkes finished with a team-leading 18 points for UCLA, while Jaylen Hands had 13 points and nine assists and Cody Riley totaled 10 points.
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LOOKING AHEAD
The Bruins will open Pac-12 play at home next week, facing Stanford on Thursday, Jan. 3, before taking on California on Saturday, Jan. 5. This will mark the second straight year in which UCLA will open its league schedule at home. Last season, the Bruins swept a pair of home games against Washington State (96-82) and Washington (74-53) prior to New Year's Day. In fact, this will be the first season since 2015-16 in which the Bruins will have opened their Pac-12 schedule after Dec. 31.
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SCORING IN DOUBLE FIGURES
Sophomore guard Kris Wilkes has scored in double figures in all 12 games this season. The 6-foot-8 guard from Indianapolis, Ind., has scored at least 20 points in four games this season. He tallied 21 points in a loss at Cincinnati (Dec. 19), registeredย 20 points in the team's loss to Belmont (Dec. 15) and had 22 points in a game against North Carolina in Las Vegas (Nov. 23). He scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a season-opening win against Purdue Fort Wayne (Nov. 6).
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AMONG PAC-12 PLAYERS
Kris Wilkes will enter the weekend as the fifth-leading scorer in the Pac-12 (17.8 ppg). Washington State's Robert Franks has averaged a league-leading 22.1 points per game (11 contests). Wilkes is one of seven players in the Pac-12 with at least four games of 20 or more points.
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CRASHING THE BOARDS
Through Wednesday, Dec. 26, UCLA ranked No. 2 in the Pac-12 in rebounding offense (42.2 rpg) and was No. 5 in the league in rebounding margin (+4.2). In addition, the Bruins ranked No. 12 in the nation, through Tuesday, Dec. 25, in total rebounds per game (42.2). Freshman Moses Brown (11.6 ppg, 8.8 rpg) ranks fifth in the league in rebounds per game, while redshirt freshman Jalen Hill (3.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg) ranks No. 13 in that category. Brown, a 7-foot-1 center from Queens, N.Y., ranks second in field goal percentage (66.7%) and third in blocks per game (2.6 bpg).
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STANDING TALL
UCLA's 17-person roster includes eight players who measure at least 6-foot-8. 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 redshirt junior Alex Olesinski and redshirt freshman Jalen Hill both stand at 6-feet-10, while freshmen Shareef O'Neal and Kenneth Nwuba, sophomore Chris Smith and redshirt freshman Cody Riley all stand at 6-foot-9. Sophomore guard Kris Wilkes rounds out the eight-person group at 6-foot-8.
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NEWS AND NOTES
- Kris Wilkes has scored in double figures in all 12 games for UCLA this season. He leads all current UCLA players in most career points (665), career field goals made (238), career three-pointers made (81) and career free throws made (108).
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- Kris Wilkes' game-winning shot against Notre Dame (Dec. 8) was UCLA's first near-buzzer-beater to win a game since Jan. 7, 2016, when Bryce Alford made a 3-pointer to put UCLA ahead of No. 7 Arizona, 87-84, with 1.8 seconds remaining.
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- Earlier this month, Jaylen Hands became the first UCLA player with multiple games of at least 10 assists in the
same season since Lonzo Ball finished his freshman year (2016-17) with seven games of at least 10 assists.
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- Prince Ali is the oldest player on UCLA's roster (currently a redshirt junior) and has played in 74 career games, the highest career total of any current Bruin. Ali leads all current UCLA players in career minutes played (1,399).
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- Prince Ali made a career-high five three-pointers (on six attempts), totaling a career-high 23 points, in the team's victory over Hawai'i (Nov. 28). Ali was a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range before the 16:00 mark in the first half that night.
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- Moses Brown became UCLA's first player with at least 19 points and 17 rebounds in his collegiate debut since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) tallied a then-school-record 56 points and grabbed 21 rebounds on Dec. 3, 1966.
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- Moses Brown had eight blocks in the team's win against Saint Francis U (Nov. 16). Since the school began to officially record blocks in 1978-79, only three other players at UCLA have recorded at least eight blocks in one game.
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- Jalen Hill tallied a season-best 20 rebounds in the team's victory over Presbyterian (Nov. 19). That marked the highest single-game rebound total by a Bruin since Kevin Love had 21 rebounds at Oregon State on Jan. 26, 2008.
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- UCLA has made a season-high 10 three-pointers in two games โ against North Carolina in Las Vegas (Nov. 23) and at home against Hawai'i (Nov. 28). The Bruins shot a season-best 50.0 percent in the win over Hawai'i (10-for-20).
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- Presbyterian attempted 45 three-pointers in UCLA's 80-65 victory (Nov. 19). That marked the highest total ever attempted against UCLA since the NCAA adopted the three-point line (prior to 1986-87). Presbyterian made 13 of 45 attempts.
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CBS SPORTS CLASSIC
The Bruins absorbed an 80-66 loss to No. 15 Ohio State last Saturday afternoon, playing in the CBS Sports Classic for the fifth consecutive season. UCLA trailed Ohio State at halftime, 33-30, as Kris Wilkes scored 13 of his team-leading 18 points in the first half. Over the five years of the CBS Sports Classic, the Bruins have compiled a 2-3 record with wins against Ohio State (Dec. 2016) and Kentucky (Dec. 2017).
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BRUINS AT HOME
UCLA went 14-2 at home last season and has won 36 of 40 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 Colorado (1/13/18). Since UCLA renovated Pauley Pavilion prior to the 2012-13 season, the Bruins have tallied an overall home record of 94-16 (posting an 85.5 winning percentage).
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STREAKING
UCLA has made at least one 3-pointer played in its last 634 games. That 3-point streak began after the Bruins went 0-for-14 from 3-point territory in a 78-63 loss at No. 2-ranked Stanford on Feb. 3, 2000 (Maples Pavilion). UCLA has made at least three 3-pointers in 181 of 186 games under sixth-year head coach Steve Alford. The Bruins made a school single-game-record 19 three-pointers (on 31 attempts) at Colorado on Jan. 12, 2017 (UCLA won that game, 104-89).
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MAKING AN IMPACT
Redshirt freshman Cody Riley has averaged 9.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, having played in each of UCLA's last nine contests. After missing the first three games of the season (jaw injury), Riley has shot 46.2 percent from the field and has connected on 3 of 6 attempts from 3-point range. The 6-foot-9 forward who starred at nearby Sierra Canyon High School (Chatsworth, Calif.), registered his first collegiate double-double at Cincinnati (11 points, 10 rebounds).
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