UCLA
USC
UCLA Set to Play at USC on Saturday Night
February 26, 2018 | Men's Basketball
UP NEXT FOR THE BRUINS
UCLA plays at USC on Saturday evening in the final regular-season contest for both teams. Game time at Galen Center is 7:15 p.m. (PT). The Bruins' game at USC will be nationally televised by ESPN. UCLA won its previous meeting against USC this season, securing an 82-79 win over the Trojans in Pauley Pavilion on Saturday, Feb. 3.
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GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Galen Center (10,258)
Tipoff Time: 7:20 p.m. (PT)
Television: ESPN
TV Talent: Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Bill Walton (analyst)
Radio (UCLA Sports Network from IMG): AM 570
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
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VERSUS THE TROJANS
The Bruins downed USC in Pauley Pavilion, 82-79, before a crowd of 12,837 on Saturday, Feb. 3. In that contest, UCLA trailed 69-60 before junior Aaron Holiday scored eight of the Bruins' next nine points as the Bruins tied the game, 69-69, with 4:53 remaining. Senior Thomas Welsh snapped a 77-77 tie with a three-pointer (to give UCLA an 80-77 lead), as he concluded the game by scoring the Bruins' last five points.
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SENIOR CLASS
UCLA's three seniors who have been with the program for four seasons (Thomas Welsh, G.G. Goloman, Alec Wulff) have helped the Bruins post a 6-4 record against USC. UCLA and USC have faced each other three times in each of the previous three years (two regular-season matchups, plus one game in the Pac-12 Tournament).
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UCLA AT GALEN CENTER
Since USC moved into the Galen Center prior to the 2006-07 school year, UCLA has compiled a 7-4 record in the building. The Trojans have defeated UCLA in the Galen Center the previous two seasons.
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LAST WEEK
Junior Aaron Holiday averaged 22.0 points, 6.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds in the Bruins' two road losses last week. Freshman Kris Wilkes averaged 14.0 points per game. Holiday scored 23 points and had seven assists in the Bruins' 84-78 loss at Utah on Thursday evening before adding 21 points in the team's 80-76 setback at Colorado on Sunday afternoon. In the loss at Colorado, UCLA rallied from a 50-40 deficit midway through the second half and claimed a 56-54 lead with 8:41 to play. From that point, the Buffaloes used a 17-1 scoring run to secure a 71-57 cushion with 4:49 remaining.
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THREE-POINTERS
UCLA shot 42.9 percent from 3-point range in its two games last week. The Bruins made 14 of 31 three-point attempts at Colorado's Coors Events Center on Sunday. Last season, UCLA made a single-game school record 19 three-pointers (on 31 attempts) in a win at Colorado. Holiday was 4-for-9 from 3-point range on Sunday afternoon.
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HOLIDAY'S HEROICS
Aaron Holiday ranks second among all Pac-12 players in scoring (19.6 ppg), through Monday, Feb. 26. Holiday has totaled at least 20 points in 16 games. He entered his junior season having scored at least 20 points in just three previous games (all as a sophomore in 2016-17). Among the league's leaders in multiple categories, Holiday currently ranks second in assists per game (5.8), fourth in three-point percentage (42.7%) and tied for first in free throw attempts (174).
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Since the Pac-12 began to consistently record assists in 1983-84, six players have registered at least 19 points and five assists per game (Holiday would become the seventh if his pace continues). In addition, no UCLA player has averaged at least 19 points per game through a full season since 1997-98 (J.R. Henderson, 19.0 ppg in 33 games).
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No UCLA guard has registered 19 or more points per game in one season since Reggie Miller averaged 22.3 points per game as a senior in 1986-87. Bill Walton (1973-74) is the only previous UCLA player to have ever logged at least 19.0 points and 5.0 assists per game in one season.
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Holiday has become just the third UCLA player in the last 20 seasons (1998-99 through 2017-18) to have scored at least 30 points in two or more games in a single season. Jordan Adams had a pair of 30+ point games as a sophomore in 2013-14. Bryce Alford had two games with at least 30 points as a senior in 2016-17.
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SENIOR CENTER
Thomas Welsh, a 7-foot center from Redondo Beach, Calif., has totaled 16 double-doubles in 29 games. That marks the Bruins' highest single-season double-doubles total since Kevin Love registered 23 as a freshman in 2007-08. Welsh, who had a career-high 17 rebounds in a recent Thursday night win versus Oregon State (Feb. 15), has become UCLA's only player to record at least 900 career rebounds and make more than 30 career three-pointers. He's made 37 of 95 three-point attempts after having attempted one (which he made) in three previous seasons (took place on March 4, 2017).
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NOTES ON THE BRUINS
Aaron Holiday ranks first among all Pac-12 players (in conference games only) in scoring, having averaged 21.0 points in the Bruins' 17 league games (through games played Feb. 26). In addition, Holiday has made 49 of 98 three-point attempts in Pac-12 action, converting at a 50.0% clip (the No. 1 percentage among all Pac-12 players).
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The Bruins have shot 50.0% or better in nine games (8-1 in those contests). UCLA shot a season-best 58.2% in the 107-84 win at California (Jan. 6). Three weeks ago, UCLA shot 51.6% (32-for-62) in a road win at No. 13 Arizona (Feb. 8). UCLA leads all Pac-12 programs (league games only) in three-point percentage (39.8 percent) and made threes (172).
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UCLA has shot 72.3 percent from the free throw line, through 29 games. The Bruins made just 67.2 percent (180/268) of their free throws through their first 11 games, but have since shot 75.7 percent (302/399) through their last 18 games. The Bruins made a season-best 92.0 percent (23-for-25) of their free throws in a home win over Stanford (Jan. 27).
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Aaron Holiday and Thomas Welsh both reached the heralded 1,000-career-point milestone in a Pac-12 victory against Washington State earlier this season (Dec. 29, 2017). In a 33-point, 11-rebound performance, Holiday crossed the 1,000-point marker in the first half of the game. Welsh reached the milestone in the second half of UCLA's victory that night.
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Aaron Holiday ranks No. 11 in the Pac-12 in free throw percentage (82.8%) and has made the second-largest free throw total (144) among Pac-12 players. Holiday (144/174) is just 22 free throws shy of cracking UCLA's single-season top-10 list for most free throws made (at the No. 10 spot is J.R. Henderson, who made 166 free throws in 1997-98).
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MOVIN' ON UP
Thomas Welsh ranks third on the school's all-time blocked shots list (142), having surpassed Charles O'Bannon (118) for the No. 3 slot earlier this season. 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 has totaled 16 double-doubles in 27 games for the Bruins this season. Please note, UCLA's official "blocked shot" statistic has only been tracked on a consistent basis since the 1978-79 season.
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