UCLA
Stanford
UCLA to Open Pac-12 Play Versus Stanford on Thursday
December 31, 2018 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – The Bruins will open their Pac-12 schedule against Stanford on Thursday. Last season, both schools split a pair of regular-season games before the Bruins secured an 88-77 win in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals. UCLA won the game in Pauley Pavilion (89-73) after Stanford won in double overtime (107-99) at Maples Pavilion. UCLA has compiled an all-time mark of 145-94 against Stanford. UCLA has won 10 of the last 14 meetings over the previous seven seasons.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom
Tipoff Time: 8:01 p.m. (PT)
Television: ESPN
TV Talent: Dave Pasch (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. 84 / Ch. 84
SIRIUS App Channel: Ch. 84
COACHING CHANGE
Murry Bartow will serve as UCLA's interim head coach, after Steve Alford was relieved of his head coaching duties on Dec. 31, 2018 (news release). Bartow, the son of former UCLA head coach Gene Bartow, arrived at UCLA in April 2018. He served as interim head coach at the University of South Florida in 2016-17 after having been a collegiate head coach for 18 seasons – 12 years at East Tennessee State (2003-04 through 2014-15) and six seasons at UAB (1996-97 through 2001-02).
SCORING IN DOUBLE FIGURES
Sophomore guard Kris Wilkes has scored in double figures in all 13 games this season. The 6-foot-8 guard from Indianapolis, Ind., has scored at least 20 points in four games. He tallied 21 points in a loss at Cincinnati (Dec. 19), registered 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).
AMONG PAC-12 PLAYERS
Through Dec. 31, Wilkes ranked No. 4 in the Pac-12 in scoring (17.5 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 Conference with at least four games of 20 or more points.
LEAGUE LEADER
Sophomore Jaylen Hands enters the weekend as the Pac-12's leader in total assists (91) and assists per game (7.0). The 6-foot-3 guard from San Diego has averaged 11.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 7.0 assists through the team's first 13 games. Hands also ranks fourth in the Pac-12 in assist-turnover ratio (2.3-to-1). Hands has tallied at least nine assists in six of UCLA's last eight games. He had at least 10 assists in three consecutive games (versus Hawai'i, Notre Dame and Belmont).
LOOKING AHEAD
The Bruins will conclude their homestand against California on Saturday, Jan. 5, in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. This marks the second consecutive 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.
CRASHING THE BOARDS
Through Sunday, Dec. 30, UCLA ranked No. 2 in the Pac-12 in rebounding offense (42.3 rpg) and was No. 4 in the league in rebounding margin (+5.2). In addition, the Bruins ranked No. 13 in the nation (through Dec. 30) in total rebounds per game (42.2). Freshman Moses Brown (11.5 ppg, 8.8 rpg) ranks fourth in the league in rebounds per game, while redshirt freshman Jalen Hill (2.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg) ranks No. 13 in that category. Brown, a 7-foot-1 center from Queens, N.Y., is currently tied for second in field goal percentage (66.7%) and ranks second in the league in blocks per game (2.5 bpg).
MULTIPLE DOUBLE-DOUBLES
UCLA has seen three players register double-doubles of the point-rebound variety this season (Moses Brown, Kris Wilkes and Cody Riley). In addition, Jalen Hill has recorded a team-high 20 rebounds (versus Presbyterian on Nov. 19). Brown has totaled a team-leading four double-doubles for UCLA.
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.
PAC-12 PLAY
UCLA went 11-7 in Pac-12 play last season, one year after having gone 15-3 in league action. Over the past five seasons (2013-14 through 2017-18), UCLA has compiled a Pac-12 record of 55-35. The Bruins have recorded double-digit victories in conference action in 12 of the last 14 years, with 15 wins in 2016-17, 16 wins in 2007-08 and 15 victories in 2006-07. The Bruins last won the Pac-12's regular-season title in 2013, going 13-5 in league games that year.
UPCOMING – UCLA vs. CALIFORNIA
Last season, UCLA went 2-0 against California. The Bruins won the game at Haas Pavilion (Berkeley, Calif.) by a 107-84 margin. Three weeks later, UCLA downed the Golden Bears 70-57 in Pauley Pavilion. UCLA has won its last three meetings against California and leads the all-time series versus the Golden Bears, 139-103. In fact, the Bruins have gone 6-3 versus California over the previous four seasons. UCLA has won its last five home games against California.
BRUINS AT HOME
UCLA went 14-2 at home last season and has won 37 of 42 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 94-17 (posting an 84.7 winning percentage).
THE ROAD AHEAD
Following this week's two games in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom (vs. Stanford, vs. California), the Bruins will hit the road next week to play at Oregon (Jan. 10) and at Oregon State (Jan. 13). Last season, UCLA split a pair of regular-season games against Oregon, with each team winning the game at its home venue. UCLA also went 1-1 in its two regular-season matchups with Oregon State, dropping the game in Corvallis before securing a victory at home in mid-February.
MAKING AN IMPACT
Redshirt freshman Cody Riley has averaged 8.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, having played in each of UCLA's last 10 contests. After missing the first three games of the season (jaw injury), Riley has shot 47.8 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).
