UCLA
Oregon State
Men's Basketball to Open Pac-12 Play at Oregon State
December 26, 2023 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – UCLA opens its Pac-12 schedule with games at Oregon State on Thursday night and at Oregon on Saturday afternoon. Thursday night's game against Oregon State at Gill Coliseum will begin at 7 p.m. (PT). Last season, UCLA won the lone matchup against Oregon State, 62-47, at OSU's Gill Coliseum. Amari Bailey scored a team-high 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting in the win at Oregon State last season. The Bruins shot 50 percent from the field in that win and limited the host Beavers to 35.6 percent shooting (16-for-45). UCLA has won five of its last six contests against Oregon State.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Gill Coliseum
Capacity: 9,301
Game Time: 7:00 p.m. (PT)
Television: Pac-12 Network
TV Talent: Ted Robinson (play-by-play), Don MacLean (analyst)
Radio Broadcast (UCLA Sports Network): AM 570
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS XM: SiriusXM 382 and on the SXM App
NOTES ON THE BRUINS
– The Bruins have compiled an all-time record of 102-40 against Oregon State, in a series that first began back in 1925. As of late, UCLA has won seven of the last 10 games against Oregon State, over the past six seasons (since 2017-18). Oregon State will play at UCLA on Thursday, Feb. 1, later this season.
– UCLA has lost four consecutive games for the first time since late in the 2020-21 season. The Bruins dropped four straight games heading into the 2021 NCAA Tournament (No. 11 seed, First Four matchup) before winning five consecutive contests to advance to that season's NCAA Final Four in Indianapolis.
THE LAST TIME OUT
UCLA lost to Maryland, 69-60, in the Bruins' final regular-season nonconference game last Friday evening in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. That marked the first time in which UCLA had lost back-to-back home games since January of 2020, when the Bruins lost to USC (1-11-20) and to Stanford (1-15-20). Maryland's Jahmir Young registered a career-high 37 points in the game against UCLA last week. Sebastian Mack totaled a team-leading 17 points and was 6-for-7 at the free throw stripe. Dylan Andrews finished with 11 points and three assists in the loss to Maryland.
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Bruins' freshman guard Sebastian Mack has been honored as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the second time this season. Previously (Monday, Nov. 27), Mack had been named the league's freshman of the week after a strong showing in three consecutive games at the Allstate Maui Invitational in Honolulu. In two home contests last week, Mack averaged 22.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game. He shot 45.8 percent from the field (11-for-24) and 42.9 percent from beyond the 3-point arc (3-for-7). In addition, Mack was 19-for-23 at the free throw line in two games (82.6 percent).
BRUINS' YOUTH MOVEMENT
– UCLA's 15-man roster includes seven true freshmen, one redshirt freshman (Jack Seidler), three true sophomores and one redshirt sophomore (Will McClendon). In all, the Bruins have 12 players in their first or second seasons on the court. In addition, the Bruins have four true freshmen who will not turn 19 years old until 2024 (Jan Vide, Aday Mara, Ilane Fibleuil and Brandon Williams). The Bruins' program added eight new faces in the summer – seven true freshmen and one transfer, junior Lazar Stefanovic (from Belgrade, Serbia, transferring from the University of Utah).
– The Bruins are believed to have one of the top-10-youngest teams in Division I basketball this season (by age). UCLA's average age at the start of the season was approximately 20 years and one month. UCLA freshman Brandon Williams is believed to be the third-youngest Division I player this season.
SCORING DEFENSE
Through games played on Monday, Dec. 25, the Bruins ranked No. 14 in the country and first in the Pac-12 in fewest points allowed per game (62.0 ppg, through 11 games). UCLA's field goal percentage defense ranked No. 26, nationally, and No. 2 in the Pac-12 (38.7%, 225-for-581). Under fifth-year UCLA head coach Mick Cronin, the Bruins' scoring defense ranked No. 41 in the nation in 2021-22 (at 64.5 ppg) and No. 7 in the country last season (at 60.7 ppg). UCLA has allowed fewer than 70 points in 40 of their last 48 games, going 34-6 in those 40 contests (since the start of the 2022-23 season).
BREAKING DOWN THE NUMBERS
The Bruins have surrendered an average of 69.5 points through their six losses this season. UCLA has lost by an average margin of 5.8 points per game, having shot 37.5 percent from the field in those six contests. Freshman guard Sebastian Mack has averaged a team-leading 17.5 points in the six losses, getting to the free throw line 54 total times in those games (averaging 9.0 free throw attempts in the Bruins' losses). Through games played Monday, Dec. 25, the six teams who have defeated UCLA have compiled an overall record of 55-19 (compiling a 74.3 winning percentage).
CONFERENCE OPENERS
UCLA opened Pac-12 play with six consecutive wins last season. In fact, the Bruins have won each of their last six Pac-12 opening contests (2017-18 season through 2022-23 season). Oregon defeated UCLA on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Dillon Brooks to open Pac-12 play in 2016-17 (Oregon won that game, 89-87, at Matthew Knight Arena on Dec. 28, 2016). The Bruins lost their Pac-12 opening game in 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17.
DIALED IN FROM LONG DISTANCE
Sophomore Will McClendon was tied at the No. 8 spot among Pac-12 players in 3-point field goal percentage (41.4%), through games played on Monday, Dec. 25. McClendon, who missed the 2021-22 season recovering from a torn ACL in his right knee, has made 12 of 29 attempts from 3-point distance, through all 11 contests this season. McClendon has connected on 7 of 14 attempts from long distance in the team's last four games (since Thursday, Nov. 30 against UC Riverside). McClendon has averaged 4.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in nearly 21 minutes per contest this year.
BLOCKED SHOTS LEADERBOARD
Sophomore Adem Bona (12.1 ppg) has totaled 72 blocks through 44 contests at UCLA. He stands just 22 blocks shy of entering the Bruins' career top-10 leaderboard in that category. Tony Parker (2013-16) registered 94 blocks in his four-year career (10th place), and Ed O'Bannon (1992-95) finished with 95 blocks en route to leading UCLA to the 1995 NCAA Championship (ninth place on that list). Jelani McCoy (1996-98) set the program's career record with 188 blocks during his three-year collegiate career. Bona tallied a season-high four blocks in the season opener against Saint Francis (Nov. 6).
DYLAN IN YEAR TWO
Sophomore Dylan Andrews (11.5 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 3.7 apg) has established himself as one of the Bruins' best playmakers, midway into his sophomore season. Andrews played a backup role as a freshman last season, primarily behind then-starting guard Tyger Campbell on the team's depth chart. Through 10 games this season, Andrews has nearly eclipsed most of his offensive totals from last year while playing more than three times as many minutes per game (currently averaging 33.1 minutes per game). Andrews has logged 3.7 assists per game and tallied an assist-turnover ratio of 1.9-to-1.
MORE ON SEBASTIAN MACK
Freshman Sebastian Mack has averaged 15.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals in all 11 games. The 6-foot-3 guard from Chicago has twice secured Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors, this season. Mack totaled 25 points in a 71-69 loss to No. 4 Marquette (Nov. 20) in the Bruins' first game of the Allstate Maui Invitational, shooting a perfect 13-for-13 at the free throw line. That 13-for-13 effort marked UCLA's first perfect free throw display by a freshman (at least 10 attempts), since Jordan Adams was 16-for-16 off the bench in UCLA's 80-79 win over UC Irvine on Nov. 13, 2012.
NOTES ON PAULEY PAVILION
– This marks the 58th basketball season in which UCLA has played in Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins' arena opened in time for the 1965-66 basketball season. The first game in Pauley Pavilion took place on Dec. 3, 1965, as No. 1 UCLA took down Ohio State, 92-66. The Bruins spent 47 consecutive seasons in Pauley Pavilion before the venue was closed for an 18-month renovation. UCLA hosted 18 home games during the 2011-12 season at two venues in Southern California (14 games at the Los Angeles Sports Arena and four games at the Honda Center in Anaheim).
– UCLA's home game winning streak was snapped at 29 games by CSUN on Tuesday, Dec. 19 (CSUN defeated UCLA, 76-72). Prior to the game versus CSUN, UCLA had not lost at home since Jan. 13, 2022 (an 84-81 overtime loss to Oregon). The Bruins' 29-game streak at home had been the longest active streak in the nation. Since taking over as the Bruins' head coach in April of 2019, Mick Cronin has led UCLA to a 59-8 record in 67 home games.
– Last season, the Bruins went 17-0 at home. Two seasons ago (2021-22), the Bruins compiled a 14-1 record in 15 home games. UCLA won its final eight home games in 2021-22, all 17 last year, and their first four of the 2022-23 home schedule. Before last season, UCLA's program had not gone undefeated at home since the 2006-07 campaign (going 16-0 in Pauley Pavilion). UCLA's 1995 NCAA title-winning team compiled a 15-0 home record.
– The Bruins' 29-game home winning streak had marked the longest such streak at UCLA since registering a program-record 98-game home winning streak in the 1970s. The Bruins won 98 straight home games from Dec. 4, 1970, through Feb. 19, 1976. UCLA had a 25-game winning streak in 2006 and 2007 and won 23 consecutive games from Feb. 1994 through Jan. 1996 (includes one game that California later forfeited).
– With the COVID-19 pandemic prompting teams to close arenas to fans, none of UCLA's home games in 2020-21 were played in front of a crowd. Likewise, three home games in January of 2022 were played before no fans (arena was limited to players' family members only). Prior to the loss to CSUN, UCLA had won its previous 40 home contests with fans present in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. UCLA had lost to Stanford on Jan. 15, 2020, by a 74-59 tally.
RECENT HISTORY
– UCLA has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of the past three seasons. The Bruins earned their 19th NCAA Final Four appearance in 2021, securing a No. 11-seed in the 68-team field and advancing from the "First Four" to the Final Four. In 2022 and 2023, UCLA won its first and second-round matchups before losing in the Sweet 16. In all, UCLA's program has advanced to the NCAA Tournament 52 times and has won a nation-leading 11 NCAA championships.
– Mick Cronin is midway through his fifth year as the Bruins' head coach (The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach). Now in his 21st season as a college head coach, Coach Cronin has guided UCLA's program to an 104-42 overall record. He has led the Bruins to a combined 58-19 record in Pac-12 play in four seasons. UCLA's 31 victories last season were the most by any Bruins' squad since UCLA went 31-5 during the 2016-17 season.
LEADING THE WAY
– Bruins' head coach Mick Cronin has guided the program to an 104-42 overall record (now in his fifth season at UCLA).
– This marks the 21st season as a college head coach for Coach Cronin (also at Murray State and Cincinnati).
– Coach Cronin was named as one of 10 semifinalists for last season's Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year Award.
– Coach Cronin has led his teams to at least 20 wins in 14 of his 20 previous seasons as a college head coach.
– Coach Cronin's teams have averaged 25.7 victories per season over the last 13 years (2010-11 through 2022-23).
– Coach Cronin has twice led his teams to 31 victories (last season at UCLA, and in 2017-18 at Cincinnati).
ON THE EAST COAST
UCLA's game in Philadelphia against Villanova (Saturday, Dec. 9) marked the third consecutive season in which the Bruins traveled to the East Coast. In March 2022, No. 4-seed UCLA saw its season conclude with a 73-67 loss to No. 8-seed North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament (Sweet 16, Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center). Last season, the Bruins won a pair of games at Maryland (87-60, on Dec. 14) and against Kentucky in New York City in the annual CBS Sports Classic (63-53, on Dec. 17). Prior to those trips, UCLA had not played on the East Coast since facing North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic in Brooklyn (Barclays Center) on Dec. 19, 2015. UCLA also faced Ohio State this season in Atlanta (Saturday, Dec. 16).
STANDING TALL
UCLA's 15-man roster this season includes five players who stand at least 6-foot-9-inches tall. Freshman center Aday Mara, from Zaragoza, Spain, stands at 7 feet and 3 inches. During the Bruins' 2018-19 season, then-freshman Moses Brown measured at 7-foot-1 (Brown now plays for the Portland Trail Blazers). Mara becomes the Bruins' tallest player since the late Mike Lanier (7-foot-7, 310 pounds) competed as a reserve center for the Bruins in 1991-92 and 1992-93. Adem Bona, Kenneth Nwuba and Devin Williams are all 6-foot-10, while Berke Buyuktuncel is 6-foot-9.
THREE-POINT STREAK SNAPPED
The Bruins went 0-for-6 from beyond the 3-point arc in a 78-58 win versus Long Island University on Wednesday, Nov. 15. That ended UCLA's streak of 792 consecutive games with at least one made 3-point field goal. The Bruins' 3-point streak began after going 0-for-14 from 3-point distance in a home loss to No. 2-ranked Stanford (78-63) on Feb. 3, 2000. The Bruins' single-game 3-point record stands at 19 made 3-pointers (going 19-for-31) in an 104-89 win at Colorado on Jan. 12, 2017. Last season, UCLA made a team-high 11 triples in a home win against Norfolk State (Nov. 14, 2022).
BRUINS IN PAC-12 PLAY
Over the previous three basketball seasons, UCLA totaled a 46-13 mark in Pac-12 games. Last year, UCLA went 18-2 in Pac-12 play to capture the league's regular-season title for the first time since 2013 (under then-head coach Ben Howland). UCLA went 15-5 in the Pac-12 in 2021-22 and 13-6 in 2020-21. The Bruins have won 34 of their last 36 Pac-12 home games, with the two losses taking place against USC in March of 2021 and against Oregon in overtime in Jan. of 2022.
