UCLA
Arizona
UCLA Prepares to Host Arizona on Saturday
January 25, 2019 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES โ The Bruins will face Arizona on Saturday evening (7 p.m.) in Pauley Pavilion. Last season, the two schools split a pair of games. UCLA won the only regular-season meeting, securing an 82-74 win at the McKale Center in Tucson on Feb. 8, 2018. Arizona downed UCLA in overtime, 78-67, in a semifinal contest at the Pac-12 Tournament. Neither UCLA nor Arizona has defeated each other at home since Arizona handed the Bruins an 81-75 defeat at the McKale Center on Feb. 12, 2016.
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GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom
Tipoff Time: 7:05 p.m. (PT)
Television: ESPN2
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
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THE LAST TIME OUT
Sophomores Kris Wilkes and Jaylen Hands each scored 15 points in an 84-73 loss to Arizona State in Pauley Pavilion on Thursday. The loss dropped UCLA's Pac-12 record to 3-3, with 12 games to play in the league schedule. Cody Riley finished with six points and a team-high 10 rebounds. The Bruins raced to an 11-0 lead just three minutes into the game before Arizona State rallied, cutting the Bruins' margin to 44-43 at halftime. ASU led by as many as 12 points in the second half.
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LOOKING AHEAD
UCLA will return to the road next week (at Washington State on Jan. 30, at Washington on Feb. 2). The Bruins have compiled an all-time record of 107-17 versus Washington State. UCLA last played in Pullman, Wash., on Feb. 1, 2017, notching a 95-79 win over the Cougars. Last year, the Bruins won their only matchup against Washington State (96-82), played in Pauley Pavilion on Dec. 29, 2017. Two days after that victory, UCLA downed Washington 74-53 on New Year's Eve.
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CRASHING THE BOARDS
UCLA led the Pac-12 and ranked No. 5, nationally, in total rebounds per game (42.8) through Thursday, Jan. 24. In addition, the Bruins ranked No. 4 in the Pac-12 and No. 44, nationally, in rebounding margin (+5.3). Freshman Moses Brown (11.1ppg, 8.6 rpg) will enter Saturday's game ranking No. 4 in the Pac-12 in total rebounds per game (8.6) and is second in field goal percentage (65.3%). Brown, a 7-foot-1 center, also ranks No. 3 in the conference in blocks per game (2.2).
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PAC-12 ACTION
The Bruins have lost their last three games after having opened their Pac-12 schedule with a 3-0 mark (that was UCLA's best start in league play since opening 5-0 in 2012-13). UCLA will enter this Saturday night's home game against Arizona with a 3-3 mark in Pac-12 play, resting three games behind Washington (6-0) in the Pac-12 standings. Including this Saturday's contest, the Bruins have six Pac-12 games to play at home and six remaining on the road.
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SCORING IN DOUBLE FIGURES
Sophomore guard Kris Wilkes has scored in double figures in all 19 games, becoming UCLA's first player to accomplish that feat since TJ Leaf scored in double figures in UCLA's first 21 games in 2016-17. Wilkes has averaged 16.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, scoring at least 20 points in five games this season (and in 11 career contests). Wilkes finished one rebound shy of a double-double (13 points, nine rebounds) in the team's 80-67 loss at USC last Saturday afternoon.
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ASSIST LEADER
Sophomore Jaylen Hands leads all Pac-12 players in total assists (119) and assists per game (6.3). The 6-foot-3 guard from San Diego has averaged 12.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists through 19 games. Hands ranks No. 4 in the Pac-12 in assist-turnover ratio (2-to-1), through games played Friday, Jan. 25. He has recorded at least nine assists in six games and tallied at least 10 assists in three straight games in December (versus Hawai'i, Notre Dame and Belmont).
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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
- UCLA has shot 47.2 percent from the field in 12 home games, going 9-3 in those contests ... in contrast, UCLA has shot 42.0 percent in seven games away from home (three neutral site games and four road contests).
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- Nine of the 11 UCLA players who have secured playing time over the past several weeks are either freshmen or sophomores ... six are freshmen (includes two redshirt freshmen), three are sophomores, and two are redshirt juniors.
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- The Bruins have posted a 9-3 record this year when leading at halftime ... those three losses were against North Carolina in Las Vegas (Nov. 23) and versus Belmont (Dec. 15) and Arizona State (Jan. 24) in Pauley Pavilion.
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- The Bruins have gone 1-6 when trailing at halftime, with the victory being a dramatic comeback win in overtime at Oregon on Thursday, Jan. 10 ... UCLA trailed by as many as nine points with less than one minute to go in the second half.
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- UCLA has made at least 15 free throws in eight games ... the team made a season-high 25 free throws (25-for-33) in a home win over LMU ... UCLA shot a season-high 76.2 percent from the line against Presbyterian on Nov. 19 (16-for-21).
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- Kris Wilkes has scored in double figures in all 19 games this season ... he leads all current UCLA players in most career points (774), career field goals made (279), career three-pointers made (94) and career free throws made (122).
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- Kris Wilkes is one of three Pac-12 players to have scored in double figures in every game played this year ... he is joined on that list by Oregon State's Tres Tinkle (17 games) and Oregon's Bol Bol (9 games).
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- Kris Wilkes has scored at least 20 points in five games this season, totaling a career-high 27 points in the season-opening victory at home against Purdue Fort Wayne ... Wilkes made 11 of 19 shots in the win over Purdue Fort Wayne (Nov. 6).
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- In Dec. 2018, 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 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) ... he was a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-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% from 3-point range against Hawai'i (10-for-20).
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- Presbyterian attempted 45 3-pointers in UCLA's 80-65 victory (Nov. 19) ... that marked the highest total attempted against UCLA since the NCAA adopted the 3-point line (prior to 1986-87) ... Presbyterian made 13 of 45 3-point attempts.
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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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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 previous five seasons (2013-14 through 2017-18), UCLA 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.
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STREAKING
UCLA has made at least one 3-pointer played in its last 641 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 188 of 193 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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FRESHMEN GUARDS
Freshmen David Singleton and Jules Bernard have played in all 19 games, appearing off the bench. Both players hail from the Los Angeles area. Bernard, a 6-foot-6 guard (Windward School in Los Angeles), has registered 5.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. Bernard has scored in double figures in two games. He scored a career-high 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a win over Saint Francis U (Nov. 16). Singleton, a 6-foot-4 guard (Bishop Montgomery High School in Torrance, Calif.) has averaged 4.5 points and 1.2 rebounds per game, shooting 45.7 percent from 3-point distance.
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