UCLA
Oregon State
UCLA Prepares to Play at Oregon State
January 11, 2019 | Men's Basketball
CORVALLIS, Ore. โ The Bruins will close their road trip at Oregon State on Sunday evening. Game time at Gill Coliseum is 7 p.m. Last season, UCLA split a pair of games against Oregon State during the regular season. The Bruins lost at Oregon State 69-63 on Jan. 18, 2018, before securing a 75-68 victory over the Beavers in Los Angeles on Feb. 15, 2018. UCLA has won five of its last seven games against Oregon State and is seeking its first win in Corvallis, Ore., since Dec. 30, 2016. The Bruins have won two of their last three games at Oregon State, including the 76-63 victory in December 2016.
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GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Gill Coliseum (Corvallis, Ore.)
Tipoff Time: 7:10 p.m. (PT)
Television: FS1
TV Talent: Aaron Goldsmith (play-by-play), Casey Jacobsen (analyst)
Radio (UCLA Sports Network): AM 570
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
XM Radio / SIRIUS App Channels: Ch. 381 / Ch. 972
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BRUINS IMPROVE TO 3-0
UCLA has had at least five players score in double figures in each of three Pac-12 wins over the previous two weeks (vs. Stanford, California and Oregon). Most recently, UCLA overcame a 17-point deficit in the final seven minutes at Oregon on Thursday night, outlasting the Ducks in overtime 87-84. Prince Ali scored a team-leading 22 points and nailed a key 3-pointer with five seconds to play, helping UCLA mount an incredible comeback. Down 74-65 with 51 seconds to play, UCLA outscored Oregon in the final 50 seconds of regulation by a 15-6 margin, forcing overtime with an 80-80 tie.
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HISTORIC COMEBACK AT OREGON
Trailing 74-65 with 58 seconds to play at Oregon (Jan. 10), UCLA used a 15-6 scoring run to tie the game, 80-80, by the end of regulation before securing an 87-84 overtime win. The Bruins trailed Oregon by as many as 17 points in the second half (65-48, at 6:53) and were down by 13 points (72-59) at the 2:31 mark. UCLA's comeback at Oregon marked the largest deficit overcome in the final minute of a Pac-12 game and tied the sixth-largest deficit overcome in the final minute in NCAA Division I history (according to ESPN Stats & Info).
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SCORING IN DOUBLE FIGURES
Sophomore guard Kris Wilkes has scored in double figures in all 16 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).
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ASSIST LEADER
Sophomore Jaylen Hands continues to lead all Pac-12 players in total assists (110) and assists per game (6.9). The 6-foot-3 guard from San Diego has averaged 11.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 6.9 assists through 16 games. Hands also ranks fifth in the Pac-12 in assist-turnover ratio (2.1-to-1). Hands has tallied at least nine assists in six of UCLA's last 11 games. He tallied at least 10 assists in three consecutive games last month (versus Hawai'i, Notre Dame and Belmont).
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CRASHING THE BOARDS
UCLA ranked No. 1 in the Pac-12 in rebounding offense (43.1 rpg), through Friday, Jan. 11, and was No. 3 in the league in rebounding margin (+6.2). The Bruins ranked No. 7 in the nation in total rebounds per game (43.1). Freshman Moses Brown (12.1 ppg, 9.0 rpg) ranks fourth in the league in rebounds per game and first among all Pac-12 players in offensive rebounds per game (4.0) and field goal percentage (67.7%). Brown also ranks No. 2 in the Pac-12 in blocked shots per game (2.3) and is No. 5 in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (4.0).
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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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COACHING CHANGE
Murry Bartow currently serves as UCLA's interim head coach, as Steve Alford was relieved of his head coaching duties on Dec. 31, 2018. 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 โ 12 years at East Tennessee State (2003-04 through 2014-15) and six seasons at UAB (1996-97 through 2001-02).
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VERSATILE PLAYER
Sophomore Chris Smith made his first collegiate start in UCLA's Pac-12-opening win against Stanford (Jan. 3). Smith, a 6-foot-9 guard who was born in Chicago, Ill., has averaged 8.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Against Stanford, he played a career-high 30 minutes. Two days later, he totaled a career-high-tying 15 points and registered five rebounds and three steals in UCLA's 98-83 win over California. Smith enters this Sunday's game at Oregon State having shot 45.0 percent the field in three Pac-12 games. He was 3-for-3 from the field in last Thursday's overtime win at Oregon.
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STREAKING
UCLA has made at least one 3-pointer played in its last 638 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 185 of 190 games since the start of the 2013-14 season. 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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ALI's LAST THREE GAMES
Redshirt junior Prince Ali has averaged a team-leading 15.7 points in the Bruins' three Pac-12 games. He has shot 60.0 percent from the field (15-for-25) and has shot 54.5 percent (6-for-11) from 3-point territory. Ali scored a team-leading 22 points in last Thursday night's overtime win at Oregon (Jan. 10), making 7 of 10 shots from the field and 4 of 7 attempts from 3-point range. Ali has scored at least 20 points in four career games (two times this season).
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