UCLA
Utah
No. 7 Men's Basketball to Host Utah This Thursday
January 10, 2023 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – The Bruins will face Utah in the second game of a three-game homestand on Thursday night. Game time is set for 8 p.m. (PT). UCLA's contest against Utah will be televised by the Pac-12 Network.
UCLA has won its last five meetings against the Runnin' Utes. This season, UCLA has won 11 consecutive games, which is the program's longest winning streak since opening the 2016-17 season with 13 consecutive wins. UCLA defeated Utah in the only meeting between the two programs last season, with the Bruins securing a 63-58 win at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Jan. 20, 2022. Johnny Juzang scored a game-high 28 points for UCLA, connecting on 9 of 13 shots in that win.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom
Tipoff Time: 8:06 p.m. (PT)
Television: Pac-12 Network
TV Talent: Ted Robinson (play-by-play), Bill Walton (analyst)
Radio Broadcast (UCLA Sports Network): AM 570
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS XM, SIRIUS XM App Channels: Ch. 83, Ch. 83
PROGRAM'S BEST STARTS
This marks the second consecutive season in which UCLA has won 14 of its first 16 games. Last season's UCLA squad opened the regular season with 16 wins in 18 games, ultimately advancing to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16. The Bruins last opened a basketball season with 15 wins through 16 games in 2016-17 (starting that year 19-1, through 20 games).
LOW TURNOVERS
Led by point guard Tyger Campbell (13.3 ppg, 4.6 apg), UCLA has registered an assist-turnover ratio of 1.6-to-1, which ranks No. 8 in the nation (through Monday, Jan. 9). The Bruins have committed fewer turnovers than their opponent in all 16 games this season. Through Monday's contests, UCLA ranked No. 3 in the nation in turnover margin (+7.13 per game), the best turnover margin among any Pac-12 program (Arizona State was second in the Pac-12 at +1.6 per game).
KEY NOTES ABOUT UCLA
– UCLA has won 11 consecutive games since losing back-to-back games to No. 19 Illinois (79-70) and No. 5 Baylor (80-75) at T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas). Over the last 10 contests, UCLA has three players who are averaging at least 10 points per game (Jaime Jaquez Jr., Jaylen Clark and Tyger Campbell), with Jaquez Jr. having logged an average of 18.0 points and 6.7 rebounds during that 10-game span. David Singleton has shot 46.5% from 3-point range in UCLA's last 10 games.
– The Bruins have limited the opposition to 58.1 points per game during the 11-game winning streak (holding the opposition to 28.4% from 3-point range). Looking at recent lengthy winning streaks, UCLA had one 10-game streak late during the 2016-17 season and had opened the 2016-17 campaign with 13 consecutive wins (UCLA finished that year 31-5). The Bruins won 14 straight games in February and March of 2008 (culminating in a third consecutive Final Four appearance).
– Two weeks ago, the Bruins notched their first "road sweep" of Washington State and Washington since the 2016-17 season. The Bruins have now opened Pac-12 play with five straight wins (two home games, three road contests). Overall this season, UCLA has gone 4-0 in true road games (Stanford, Maryland, Washington State and Washington) and are 5-2 in seven games played away from home. The Bruins will play their next two games at home (vversus Utah and Colorado).
– Featuring a balanced scoring arsenal, UCLA currently has four players who have averaged at least 10 points per game. Jaime Jaquez Jr. (16.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg) leads that group and ranks No. 3 in scoring in the Pac-12. Jaylen Clark (14.2 ppg), Tyger Campbell (13.3 ppg) and David Singleton (10.7 ppg) round out that group of four Bruins. In addition, freshmen Amari Bailey (9.5 ppg) and Adem Bona (8.0 ppg) have each averaged at least eight points per game this season.
– The Bruins ranked No. 4 in the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings (KenPom.com), through games played on Monday. UCLA has compiled the No. 11-ranked offensive efficiency and are No. 6 in the defensive efficiency category (one of four schools to rank among the top 15 in both categories). Ranked No. 7 in the AP poll, and No. 6 in the USA Today Sports Coaches poll, UCLA has been ranked in each of the last 29 AP polls (since the start of the 2021-22 season).
UCLA'S ROSTER CONSTRUCTION
The Bruins returned five of their primary 11 contributors from last year's team. UCLA went 27-8 overall last season, advancing to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16. Key returners include seniors Tyger Campbell, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kenneth Nwuba and David Singleton and junior Jaylen Clark. Each of those student-athletes played in at least 20 games in 2021-22. All five competed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament (the First Four to the Final Four). UCLA also has returned two redshirt freshmen in forward Mac Etienne and guard Will McClendon, who both missed last season with knee injuries (torn ACL).
ROAD WARRIORS
The Bruins have gone 5-2 in seven total road and neutral site contests this season. In addition to a 74-49 double-digit win at Washington on New Year's Day (Sunday, Jan. 1), the Bruins also notched an 87-60 victory at Maryland on Dec. 14. Other substantial road wins, as of late, included a 67-56 win at Marquette in Dec. 2021 (UCLA led at halftime, 35-21) and at Oregon State in March of 2022 (UCLA won that game, 94-55). Against Stanford (Dec. 1, 2022), the Bruins raced to a 17-0 lead and won that game, 80-66. Against Maryland, UCLA led 39-11 with 3:30 to play before halftime.
– Last season, UCLA went 13-7 in road/neutral site games. Since the start of the Bruins' 2021-22 season, UCLA has compiled an 18-9 record in 27 games played away from home.
ELITE COMPANY
Senior Jaime Jaquez Jr. has been named as one of 25 top players in the nation to the midseason watch list for the Wooden Award. He entered the week ranking No. 3 in the Pac-12 in scoring (16.9 ppg). He currently ranks No. 28 on the Bruins' all-time scoring list and stands just 10 rebounds shy of cracking UCLA's top 25 list in career rebounds. Only 10 former UCLA players currently rank among the top 25 in both career scoring and rebounding (Jaquez Jr. could soon become the 11th UCLA player in that notable stat category). Jaquez Jr. has averaged 12.5 points and 5.7 rebounds in 113 career games.
TOP POINT GUARD
Senior Tyger Campbell opened the season on the the watch list for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award, having been named one of five finalists last season. He has registered 13.3 points and 4.6 assists per game in all 16 contests for the Bruins this season. Campbell currently leads all Pac-12 players in assist-turnover ratio (2.74). He has become one of eight UCLA players to have logged at least 1,000 career points and 500 career assists in the Bruins' uniform (the assist stat has been regularly tracked at UCLA since the start of the 1973-74 season).
BRUINS DEFEAT KENTUCKY, 63-53
UCLA took down No. 13-ranked Kentucky, 63-53, before a crowd of 20,261 at Madison Square Garden in New York as part of this season's CBS Sports Classic on Saturday, Dec. 17. Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and four steals in the win. Kentucky finished that game with its lowest shooting percentage (32.8%) of the season and a season-high 18 turnovers. The Bruins had last faced Kentucky in the CBS Sports Classic in New Orleans in Dec. of 2017 (winning that game, 83-75). UCLA has won four of its last five matchups against Kentucky over the past seven seasons (since Dec. 2015).
JAYLEN THE SPARK PLUG
Junior Jaylen Clark has been a key contributor for the Bruins this season. He has averaged 14.2 points and a team-best 6.8 rebounds per game (15 contests). Clark entered the week as the Pac-12 leader in steals (39, 2.6 spg) and had totaled 28 assists. Last season, Clark had a five-game stretch as a sophomore (Feb. 2022) where he had averaged 14.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 2.4 steals (UCLA went 4-1 in those five contests).
Several of Jaylen Clark's most productive performances:
PRECISION FROM 3-POINT RANGE
Fifth-year senior guard David Singleton has averaged a career-best 10.7 points per game (16 contests). He ranks second among all Pac-12 players in 3-point shooting percentage (49.3%), having connected on 37 of his 75 long-range attempts. In addition, Singleton's career 3-point percentage (44.9%) currently ranks No. 2 among all UCLA players in program history. The 6-foot-4 guard from Los Angeles has made 7 of 18 attempts from 3-point range (38.8%) in UCLA's last three games. He has now made at least 37 attempts from 3-point distance in each of his five seasons on the court at UCLA.
HIGH-LEVEL FRESHMEN
Freshman guard Amari Bailey (9.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg) and freshman forward Adem Bona (8.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg) have played significant roles for the Bruins this season. Bailey has twice totaled 19 points in a game (most recently, at Stanford on Dec. 1). Both players have already been honored twice as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week. Most recently, Bona earned that award after UCLA's 60-58 win over USC last Thursday and after a two-game swing through the state of Washington. Over the Bruins' last three games, Bona has averaged 11.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
THREE-POINT STREAK
UCLA has made at least one 3-pointer in its last 769 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 312 of 321 games since the start of the 2013-14 season. The Bruins made a school single-game-record 19 three-pointers, on 31 attempts, in a 104-89 win at Colorado on Jan. 12, 2017. UCLA's previous 3-point record was set earlier that season, as the Bruins made 18 of 30 attempts in the regular-season opener against Pacific (Nov. 11, 2016).
HISTORY & TRADITION
The 2022-23 school year marks the 104th season in which UCLA has fielded a men's basketball team (first season was 1919-20). In addition, this is the 57th season in which the Bruins have called Pauley Pavilion their home. The arena opened at the start of the 1965-66 season, and UCLA spent the next 46 seasons playing home games in Pauley Pavilion. The arena was closed for an 18-month renovation during the 2011-12 school year, re-opening in Nov. 2012. In all, the Bruins have won a nation-leading 11 NCAA Championships and have advanced to the NCAA Final Four 19 times.
HOME GAMES, PAC-12 CONTESTS
– The Bruins went 14-1 at home last season, winning their final eight games in Pauley Pavilion. UCLA will enter this Thursday's matchup against Utah having won their last 17 home contests. Last season, the Bruins' only loss at home was an 84-81 overtime setback against Oregon (on Thursday, Jan. 13). Since taking over as UCLA's head coach (fall of 2019), Mick Cronin has led the Bruins to a 47-6 record in all games played in Pauley Pavilion.
– With the COVID-19 pandemic prompting teams to close their arenas to fans, none of UCLA's home games in 2020-21 were played in front of a crowd. Likewise, three of UCLA's games in January of 2022 were played before no fans (arena was limited to players' family members only). Including a seven-game home win streak to close the 2019-20 home schedule, UCLA has won its last 28 home contests with fans in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
– Since the start of the 2020-21 season, UCLA has compiled a 33-11 mark in the Pac-12 (13-6 in 2020-21, and 15-5 last season). The Bruins have won 26 of their last 28 home games in Pac-12 action (the Bruins lost to USC in March of 2021 and to Oregon in overtime last season on Jan. 13, 2022). The Bruins won their final seven home Pac-12 games in 2019-20, during Coach Cronin's first season as UCLA's head coach.
– UCLA has gone 9-0 in eight home contests this season (during the regular season). The Bruins have eight home Pac-12 games remaining on the schedule, including Thursday evening's contest against Utah (Jan. 12, at 8 p.m., PT). This season, the Bruins will not play Oregon State in Pauley Pavilion (and won't travel to play at California). UCLA opened its Pac-12 schedule in early December with wins at Stanford (80-66) and at home versus Oregon (65-56).
THE BRUINS WHEN ...
Since the start of the 2017-18 season, the Bruins have gone 91-17 when leading at halftime (through 180 games). During that span, UCLA has gone 26-41 when trailing at halftime (3-2 when tied at the break). UCLA's largest halftime deficit overcome in that stretch has been 16 points – 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 95-12. When trailing by 10 or more points in a game, UCLA has gone 18-42.
WELCOME TO WESTWOOD
UCLA has added six freshmen to the roster with guards Dylan Andrews, Amari Bailey, Abramo Canka and Jack Seidler and forwards Adem Bona and Evan Manjikian. Bailey (6-foot-5 guard) and Bona (6-foot-10 forward) were both honored as McDonald's All-America selections in the spring of 2022. Bailey was recently listed as a preseason honorable mention All-Pac-12 Conference selection (along with junior Jaylen Clark). Andrews (6-foot-2 guard) spent his first three years of high school at nearby Windward School (Los Angeles) before excelling as a senior at Compass Prep in Arizona. Bona averaged 15.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game last season as a senior at Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.).
