UCLA
California
Men's Basketball Prepares for Pac-12 Tournament
March 09, 2020 | Men's Basketball
LAS VEGAS – UCLA (19-12) will open its schedule at the Pac-12 Tournament on Thursday evening against California (14-18). Seeded No. 2 in this year's tournament, the Bruins will take on No. 10-seed California in the quarterfinal round. UCLA's game on Thursday will be at 6 p.m., televised by the Pac-12 Network. Fans can listen to the radio broadcast on AM 570.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
City: Las Vegas, Nevada
Venue: T-Mobile Arena
Venue Capacity: 18,000
Television: Pac-12 Network and FS1 (varies by game)
UCLA'S OPENING GAME
Date: Thursday, March 12
Game Time: 6:00 p.m. (PT)
TV Station: Pac-12 Network
TV Talent: Ted Robinson (play-by-play), Bill Walton (analyst), Lewis Johnson (sideline)
Radio (UCLA Sports Network): AM 570
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
XM Radio Channels: Ch. 386
SIRIUS & XM RADIO
The first rounds, quarterfinal games and semifinal contests of this season's Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas will be available on Sirius 136/XM 197 (also on SiriusXM app, channel 959). The championship game this Saturday will be on SiriusXM 84 (and also on SiriusXM app, channel 84). All tournament games wil also air on SiriusXM Pac-12 Radio (channel 373 on SiriusXM radios and on the SiriusXM app).
UCLA'S RADIO BROADCASTS
Fans can tune to AM 570 on Thursday evening to hear Bruins' broadcasters Josh Lewin and Tracy Murray call the action, live at T-Mobile Arena. Should UCLA advance in the tournament, the radio broadcasts will be on AM 1150 on Friday (8:30 p.m.) and Saturday (7:30 p.m.).
ABOUT THE BRUINS
- UCLA has gone 19-12 through the regular-season schedule, assembling a 12-6 Pac-12 record and a second-place finish (the Bruins' best finish in the league standings since finishing second in 2014). The Bruins have gone 11-3 after having opened their league schedule with a 1-3 mark in the first four games. UCLA has won seven of its last eight games.
- The Bruins went 5-4 in Pac-12 play on the road, accruing more Pac-12 road wins than any other team in the league. In fact, UCLA won three of its final four Pac-12 road games, including contests at No. 23 Arizona (Feb. 8), Utah (Feb. 20) and No. 18 Colorado (Feb. 22). Overall, UCLA posted a 13-4 record at home and went 6-8 in road and neutral site contests.
- In his first season at UCLA, Mick Cronin was named the Pac-12 Conference's Coach of the Year in the league's year-end awards announcement on Monday, March 8. Cronin became the first UCLA men's basketball coach to secure Coach of the Year acclaim since Ben Howland in 2006. Cronin was named UCLA's head coach on April 9, 2019.
- Junior Chris Smith was honored as the Pac-12's Most Improved Player of the Year, in addition to securing first-team All-Pac-12 honors. He has averaged a team-leading 13.1 points per game and is UCLA's second-leading rebounder (5.4 rpg). He became UCLA's first player to have won the league's Most Improved Player Award (since the award began in 2008-09).
- Sophomore forward Jalen Hill (9.0 ppg, team-leading 6.9 rpg, 1.1 bpg) was named an honorable mention selection to the Pac-12's All-Defensive Team on Monday, March 8. In addition, freshman guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. (8.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg) was named an honorable mention on the Pac-12's All-Freshman Team.
- UCLA is seeking its first appearance in the Pac-12 Tournament's title game since winning the crown in 2014. Since the tournament moved to Las Vegas in 2013, UCLA has twice advanced to the championship game (2013, lost to Oregon; 2014, defeated Arizona). Through those seven appearances, the Bruins have compiled a 9-6 record in the Pac-12 Tournament.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
The Bruins have secured a first-round bye with a second-place finish in the league's regular-season standings. UCLA will face No. 10-seed California (14-18) on Thursday at 6 p.m. UCLA has not faced California in the Pac-12 Tournament since 2010. That season, the Golden Bears defeated UCLA, 85-72, at Staples Center in a semifinal contest.
VERSUS 10-SEED CALIFORNIA
UCLA bounced back from its loss to Stanford with a 50-40 win over California on Sunday, Jan. 19. The Bruins led at halftime by a 22-21 margin and limited California to 30.4 percent shooting from the field (17-for-56) and 17.6 percent (3-for-17) from 3-point territory. Chris Smith scored a team-leading 17 points, connecting on 7 of 9 shots, in the win over California. Jalen Hill and Jaime Jaquez Jr. each totaled 11 points.
THE MOST RECENT GAME
UCLA absorbed a 54-52 loss at USC last Saturday afternoon. USC senior Jonah Mathews made a 3-pointer with just one second left on the clock, handing the Trojans a two-point victory. Cody Riley made a pair of free throws for UCLA with nine seconds to play in regulation, prior to Mathews' game-winning shot. That marked UCLA's first loss of the season in which the Bruins had limited the opposition to 70 points or fewer. In fact, UCLA has gone 18-1 this season when holding the opposition to 73 points or fewer. Riley scored a team-leading 13 points and Chris Smith had 12 points on Saturday.
COMEBACK KIDS
The Bruins have compiled a 6-9 record when trailing at halftime this season (and have gone 13-2 when ahead, and 0-1 when tied). UCLA has won five of its last seven games, a span that has included multiple second-half deficits. Through the last seven games, UCLA has trailed in the second half in five of those games (including 12-point second-half deficits against Washington State and Washington, two games that the Bruins won). The Bruins have trailed in the second half in six of their last seven games. The only one of those games in which UCLA didn't trail in the second half was the win at Utah (Feb. 20).
NARROW MARGINS
UCLA has gone 1-1 in both overtime contests this season (both against Washington State). The Bruins have posted a 6-2 mark in games decided by 1-4 points and have gone 8-3 in games decided by 1-9 points. Looking through the Bruins' 18-game Pac-12 schedule, 11 of those contests were decided by 10 or fewer points (UCLA went 9-2 in those 11 games). Six of UCLA's last seven games have been decided by 10 or fewer points.
FINAL TWO MINUTES
The lead has changed hands in the final two minutes in each of UCLA's last three games. The Bruins overcame a one-point deficit in the final two minutes against Arizona State (Feb. 27) before Jaime Jaquez Jr.'s buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Against Arizona two nights later, UCLA overcame a two-point deficit in the final two minutes. In the loss at USC, UCLA crawled back from a three-point deficit in the final two minutes (before USC's game-winning shot).
KEY NOTES ON UCLA
- UCLA has gone 18-1 this season when limiting the opposition to 73 points or fewer.
- Junior Chris Smith has averaged 14.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 18 regular-season Pac-12 games.
- Through the last 14 games (11-3 record), UCLA has limited its opposition to 64.7 points per game.
- UCLA led all Pac-12 teams in road wins (5) in Pac-12 action (the Bruins went 5-4 in nine league road games).
- Sophomore Jalen Hill has averaged a team-leading 6.9 rebounds per game, which ranks 10th in the Pac-12.
- UCLA has had 11 players, including freshmen, establish new career highs in points scored this season.
- The Bruins ranked first in the Pac-12 in rebounding margin (+5.65 rpg) and No. 30, nationally (through March 8).
- UCLA has out-rebounded the opposition in 24 of 31 games this year (currently averaging 36.6 rebounds per game).
- Freshman Tyger Campbell's 2.8 assist-turnover ratio led the Pac-12 and ranked No. 16, nationally, through March 8.
PAC-12 TOURNAMENT TITLES
UCLA has won the Pac-12 Tournament title four times (in 1987, 2006, 2008 and 2014). The league hosted a conference tournament in 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990 (when the conference had 10 teams). The tournament resumed on an annual basis in 2002 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The Bruins have advanced to the Pac-12 Tournament's title game six times (going 4-2 in those appearances). UCLA lost in the championship game in 1990 (to Arizona) and 2013 (to Oregon).
SEEKING 20 VICTORIES
Having compiled a 19-12 overall record, the Bruins stand just one win shy of the 20-win plateau. UCLA has won 20 or more games in 51 seasons. The Bruins have registered 20 or more victories 43 times in the last 53 years (that spans from 1967 through 2019). UCLA won at least 20 games in 17 consecutive seasons, from 1966-67 through 1982-83. In fact, UCLA had a seven-year stretch from 1966-67 through 1972-73 with a 205-5 overall record. UCLA has won at least 20 games in six of the previous nine seasons – a win this week would put that number at seven of the last 10 seasons.
UNDER HEAD COACH MICK CRONIN
Currently in his 17th season as a college basketball coach (his first year at UCLA), Coach Cronin has guided his teams to least 20 victories in each of the previous nine seasons, all at the University of Cincinnati. One more win this week would push that streak to 10 seasons. Including this season, his teams have compiled a 254-91 record in 10 years (spans from 2010-11 through 2019-20), equaling a winning percentage of 73.6.
GLANCING AT THE ROSTER
UCLA's roster features 14 student-athletes, including 12 players who were on the team last season. The Bruins have returned eight of 11 players who competed in the bulk of the team's games last season. That returning nucleus has included fifth-year seniors Prince Ali and Alex Olesinski, junior Chris Smith and sophomores Jalen Hill, Cody Riley, Jules Bernard, Kenneth Nwuba and David Singleton. The Bruins returned redshirt freshman Tyger Campbell and added incoming freshmen Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Camarillo, Calif.) and Jake Kyman (Aliso Viejo, Calif.), a pair of 6-foot-6 guards.
PLAYING WITH PRECISION
Freshman guard Tyger Campbell has averaged 11.7 points and 6.9 assists through the Bruins' past 10 games. Campbell was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week three weeks ago (the week of Feb. 17-23) after he had averaged 14.0 points and 7.5 assists in road wins at Utah and Colorado (Feb. 20 and 22). Through the Bruins' 31 regular-season contests, Campbell has scored in double figures in 13 games. He has scored at least 10 points in seven of the last 10 games.
NATIONAL LEADERBOARD
Tyger Campbell ranks No. 2, nationally, among freshmen in assist-turnover ratio (2.8) and also ranks No. 3 among all freshmen in assists per game (5.0), through Sunday, March 8. Arizona freshman Nico Mannion (5.4 apg) ranks second in that category, while Saint Louis' Yuri Collins is first among all freshmen (5.5 apg).
UCLA'S LEADING SCORER
Junior Chris Smith leads the team in scoring (13.1 ppg) and ranks second in rebounding (5.4 rpg). He has posted career-high percentages in field goals (45.8%), 3-pointers (34.1%) and free throws (84.0%). Smith has scored 406 points, surpassing his two-year total from his freshman and sophomore seasons (337 points, 66 games). He has scored in double figures in 21 of 31 games and has been the Bruins' leading scorer in 13 contests. His 30-point game against Colorado (Jan. 30) marked UCLA's best single-game point total since Kris Wilkes had 34 against Arizona last season (Jan. 26, 2019).
UCLA'S FREE THROW SHOOTING
The Bruins have shot 71.8 percent from the free throw line, No. 7 among all Pac-12 programs. UCLA's percentage is significantly higher than last year's mark of 63.3% (a jump by 8.5 percent). The Bruins have shot at least 70.0 percent from the line in four of the previous seven seasons. Chris Smith has led the way with his 84.0% free throw percentage (through all games). Freshman Jaime Jaquez Jr. led UCLA in Pac-12 action at the free throw line (84.6%, 44 of 52).
AN IMPRESSIVE FEAT
UCLA limited Arizona to a field goal percentage of 25.4 on Saturday, Feb. 8, marking UCLA's lowest opposing FG percentage by a Division I program since Dec. 3, 2014, when Cal State Fullerton shot 24.1% against UCLA (13-of-54). The Bruins had not held a Pac-12 opponent to that low of a percentage since Jan. 10, 1985, when Washington State made just 23.7% of its shots (14-of-59) in UCLA's 75-48 win. Since the start of the 1970-71 season (as far back as game-by-game field goal percentage records will reach), UCLA has never held an opponent on the road to a percentage lower than 27%.
