UCLA
Colorado
Men's Basketball Preps for Colorado on Saturday
February 26, 2021 | Men's Basketball
BOULDER, Colo. โ UCLA will close the regular-season with games at Colorado this Saturday night (Feb. 27), at Oregon next Wednesday (March 3), and at home versus USC next Saturday (March 6). The Bruins secured a 65-62 win over Colorado in Los Angeles earlier this season (Jan. 2, 2021). Looking at the all-time series against Colorado, UCLA has compiled a 14-6 record versus the Buffaloes. The Bruins have won the last three meetings (two last season, one in January of 2021).
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GAME INFORMATION
Venue: CU Events Center (Boulder, Colo.)
Game Time: 7 p.m. PT (8 p.m. MT)
Television: ESPN2
TV Talent: Dave Feldman (play-by-play), Corey Williams (analyst)
Radio (UCLA Sports Network): AM 570
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS / XM Radio Channel: Ch. 384
SIRIUSXM Internet Channel: Ch. 974
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ABOUT THE BRUINS
- UCLA has gone 13-3 in Pac-12 play, including an 8-0 mark in home games and a 5-3 record away from Pauley Pavilion.
- The Bruins won nine of their first 10 league games for the first time since 2007-08 (finished 16-2 that year).
- Head coach Mick Cronin picked up career victory No. 400 when the Bruins won, 80-79, last Saturday.
- Dating back to last season, UCLA has won 20 of its past 24 Pac-12 contests (and 28 of 36 overall games).
- Dating back to last January, the Bruins have won 18 consecutive home games (including the last 15 in Pac-12 play).
- UCLA ranks second among all Pac-12 teams in fewest turnovers per game (10.9), through Thursday, Feb. 25.
- Not including Chris Smith (injured), UCLA has five active players who have averaged at least 9.0 points per game.
- The Bruins have committed fewer fouls than the opposition in 19 of 22 total games.
- Nine players on the Bruins' 14-man roster have each scored at least 10 points in at least one career game with UCLA.
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INDIVIDUAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Tyger Campbell (10.9 ppg, 5.6 apg) ranks second in the Pac-12 (5.6) and third in assist-turnover ratio (3-to-1).
- Jaime Jaquez Jr. (33.8) and Tyger Campbell (33.7) rank No. 5 and No. 8, respectively, in the Pac-12 in minutes per game.
- Johnny Juzang has averaged 19.2 points and shot 44.6 percent from the field in UCLA's past five games.
- Jaime Jaquez Jr. has shot 61.1 percent from the field, averaging 11.1 points and 6.6 rebounds in the last five games.
- David Singleton ranks No. 3 in the Pac-12 in 3-point percentage (46.2%, 30-for-65), through Thursday, Feb. 25.
- Jaime Jaquez Jr. ranks No. 10 among Pac-12 players in offensive rebounds per game (1.9), through Thursday, Feb. 25.
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UCLA DEFEATS UTAH, 76-61
Jules Bernard totaled a team-high 19 points and Johnny Juzang had 18 points on Thursday night as the Bruins picked up a 76-61 win at Utah. UCLA extended its winning streak to four games, as four Bruins finished the game having scored in double figures. The Bruins made a season-high 11 three-pointers (19 attempts) and shot a season-best 57.9% from 3-point distance. Utah became the first opponent to not attempt any free throws in a game against UCLA since Delaware State on Nov. 19, 2005 (UCLA won the game, 56-37). The Bruins committed a season-low seven personal fouls.
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MORE ON THURSDAY'S GAME
The seven personal fouls committed by UCLA on Thursday at Utah marked the fewest by any Bruins' squad in a Pac-10/Pac-12 contest since committing five fouls in a win over Oregon State on March 5, 2009. UCLA's 11 made 3-pointers on Thursday were the most in a game by any Bruins' team since making 11 (on 30 attempts) in an overtime victory against USC in Pauley Pavilion on Feb. 28, 2019.
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PERFECT FROM THE FIELD
Cody Riley scored a team-high 17 points in UCLA's 80-79 victory against Arizona State last Saturday night (6-for-6 shooting, and 5-for-5 at the free throw line). He became UCLA's first player to make every shot attempts (minimum, five attempts) since March 10, 2017, when Thomas Welsh shot 5-for-5 in a Pac-12 Tournament semifinal against Arizona. Riley became UCLA's first player to be perfect from the field and free throw line (minimum, five attempts in each category) since Kevin Love in a 77-52 win against Western Illinois on Dec. 18, 2007 in Pauley Pavilion (Love was 5-for-5 in both categories).
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CLOSING TIME
Through two seasons under head coach Mick Cronin, UCLA has gone 17-4 in games decided by five points or fewer (and all contests that have finished in overtime, regardless of score margin). Last season, the Bruins went 7-3 in those narrow contests. This year, UCLA has gone 10-1. Through Coach Cronin's final three seasons at Cincinnati (2016-17 through 2018-19), his teams went 18-7 in those situations. From 2016-17 through the 2020-21 season, Coach Cronin's teams have gone 35-11 in such contests. Five of the Bruins' last six victories have been by five points or fewer.
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70 POINTS OR FEWER
This season, UCLA has compiled a 12-1 record when limiting the opposition to 70 or fewer points. Last season, UCLA went 18-1 when holding the opposition to 70 or fewer points (the lone loss was a 54-52 setback at USC in the final game of the regular season). Through his final three seasons as the head coach at Cincinnati (2016-17 through 2018-19), Coach Cronin's teams went 79-10 when limiting the opposition to 70 or fewer points. Over the past five seasons (2016-17 through 2020-21), his teams have gone 108-12 when holding the opponent to 70 or fewer points (through 157 total games).
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UCLA AND THE PAC-12
- UCLA opened Pac-12 play with eight straight victories (now 13-3 in league play). That marked the program's best start in conference play since 1982-83 when UCLA opened its Pac-10 slate with nine consecutive wins. That UCLA team finished 15-3 in the Pac-10 (frst place, with a 23-6 overall record). The most recent UCLA team to go undefeated in league play was the 1977-78 squad (14-0 in the Pac-10, under first-year head coach Gary Cunningham).
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- The Bruins are seeking to win the Pac-12's regular-season title for the first time since the 2012-13 season. That year, UCLA went 13-5 in the Pac-12 and finished as the runner-up in the Pac-12 Tournament (lost to Oregon). UCLA last played in the Pac-12 Tournament's title game in 2014 (UCLA won that game against Arizona, 75-71). The Bruins have won the conference tournament in 1987, 2006, 2008 and 2014. Last season's Pac-12 Tournament was canceled (COVID-19).
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- Entering this Saturday evening's game at Colorado, the Bruins have won 13 of 16 Pac-12 contests this season and 24 of their past 30 league games (starting with last year's home win over California on Jan. 19, 2020). Through that stretch of 30 Pac-12 games (since Jan. 19, 2020), the Bruins have gone 14-2 in contests that have been decided by five points or fewer, or ended in overtime (regardless of the game's final score margin).
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POST PRODUCTION
Cody Riley has averaged 10.9 points and 5.6 rebounds (21 games, 21 starts). He has totaled a team-high four double-doubles, including a 16-point, 10-rebound performance in a 57-52 win over Oregon State (Jan. 30). Riley has logged noticeable improvements in his shooting percentage (55.9%) and free throw percentage (65.8%). He has made 15 of 19 shots from the field in the final five minutes of all games (and made 19 of 24 free throws in those late-game situations).
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BIG MAC
Mac Etienne, a 6-foot-9 forward (New York, N.Y.), enrolled at UCLA in 2021 (winter quarter). He spent the past two seasons at Suffield Academy (Connecticut) before transferring to Brewster Academy (New Hampshire) for his senior year. Etienne was ranked as high as No. 31 in the Class of 2020 by 247Sports.com. While on the East Coast, he competed for the Nike PSA Cardinals AAU program and had been the top-ranked player in Connecticut (last season).
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ON POINT
Tyger Campbell has become UCLA's first point guard to start in that role for two consecutive seasons since Bryce Alford (sophomore in 2014-15, junior in 2015-16). In fact, UCLA has had eight different players serve as the primary "starting" point guard over the past 10 seasons (2011-12 through 2020-21). Campbell has averaged 10.9 points and 5.6 assists per game during his sophomore season. His assist-to-turnover ratio (3.0) ranks No. 3 among all Pac-12 players. Campbell registered a season-high 12 assists in the Bruins' Pac-12 opener against California on Dec. 6, 2020.
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STEADY IMPROVEMENT
Junior Jules Bernard, who grew up in Los Angeles, has averaged career highs with 9.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. He has shot 44.7 percent and 78.1 percent at the free throw line (50-for-64). He has posted his highest minutes-per-game average (26.7) while at UCLA. Bernard tallied 47 assists and 84 turnovers in his first two seasons but has logged 29 assists and 26 turnovers through the team's 22 games this year. He has scored in double figures in nine of 21 games.
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30-POINT CLUB
Sophomore Johnny Juzang scored a career-high 32 points in a 64-61 win at Washington (Feb. 13, 2021). He became UCLA's first player with at least 30 points in a game since Chris Smith (against Colorado, Jan. 30, 2020, in Pauley Pavilion). Juzang's 32-point effort at Washington marked the most points in a game by any UCLA player since Kris Wilkes had 34 points during his sophmore season in a home win over Arizona (Jan. 26, 2019). Aaron Holiday is UCLA's most recent player to have scored 30 points (or more) in multiple games in one season (2017-18, with four games of 30+ points).
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HOME COOKING
UCLA has won its last 18 home games, a streak that began with last year's 50-40 win over California on Jan. 19, 2020. The Bruins had dropped to 8-9 overall with a 74-59 loss to Stanford last season on Jan. 15. The Bruins' 18-game home winning streak marks the program's best such streak (at home) since securing 25 consecutive home victories from Feb. 2006 through Nov. 2007. Most recently, UCLA had a perfect home record in 2006-07, going 16-0 in Pauley Pavilion.
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THE BRUINS WHEN ...
Since the start of the 2016-17 season, the Bruins have gone 76-9 when leading at halftime (spanning 155 games). During that span, the UCLA has gone 23-38 when trailing at halftime (4-2 when tied at the break). UCLA's largest halftime deficit overcome in that stretch has been 16 points โ UCLA trailed at home against Oregon, 44-28, on Feb. 23, 2019, and outscored the Ducks in the second half (62-39) to win, 90-83. When the Bruins have built a 10-point lead (or larger) at any point in the game, UCLA has gone 82-9. When trailing by 10 or more points in a game, UCLA has gone 16-40.
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STREAKING
UCLA has made at least one 3-pointer played in its last 708 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 254 of 260 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 road game, 104-89.
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