UCLA
Colorado
No. 4 UCLA Men's Basketball Plays at Colorado on Sunday
February 24, 2023 | Men's Basketball
BOULDER, Colo. โ No. 4 UCLA (24-4, 15-2 Pac-12) will play at Colorado (15-14, 7-11) this Sunday afternoon in a Pac-12 contest at the CU Events Center. The Bruins have won their last seven games and 21 of their last 23 contests, heading into Sunday's game. UCLA has gone 7-2 in Pac-12 road games this season, heading into what will be the Bruins' final road game of the regular season. UCLA defeated Colorado in Pauley Pavilion, 68-54, in a Pac-12 game earlier this season (Jan. 14, 2023). This Sunday's game will be nationally televised on CBS.
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GAME INFORMATION
Venue: CU Events Center (Boulder, Colo.)
Capacity: 11,064
Tipoff Time: 1:10 p.m. (PT) / 2:10 p.m. (MT)
Television: CBS
TV Talent: Spero Dedes (play-by-play), Bill Raftery (analyst)
Radio Broadcast (UCLA Sports Network): AM 1150
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS XM, SIRIUS XM App Channels: Ch. 83, Ch. 83
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ABOUT THE BRUINS
โ UCLA has won at least 20 games for the third consecutive season and for the eighth time in the last 12 seasons.
โ The Bruins have gone 15-2 in Pac-12 play and are two games ahead of Arizona (13-4) in the conference standings.
โ UCLA's 15-2 start through 17 Pac-12 games marks the program's best conference start since the 2007-08 season.
โ Jaime Jaquez Jr. has averaged 23.5 points and 9.3 rebounds and shot 50.8 percent in UCLA's last four games.
โ The Bruins have averaged 72.2 points and limited the opposition to 57.6 points in the team's last five games.
โ Sporting a 24-4 record, UCLA has recorded its best start through 28 games since the 2016-17 season (was 25-3).
โ The Bruins are looking to finish February with an undefeated record for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
โ UCLA has won 23 consecutive home games, marking the nation's longest active home winning streak.
โ UCLA has limited the opposition to fewer than 70 points in 24 of 28 total contests this season.
โ UCLA ranks No. 7, nationally, and No. 1 in the Pac-12 in fewest points allowed per game (59.8).
โ The Bruins have committed fewer turnovers than their opponent in 27 of 28 games this season.
โ UCLA has posted a 13-1 record this season when committing fewer than 10 turnovers in a game.
โ UCLA has gone 15-0 in home contests this season and has posted a 9-4 record in road and neutral site games.
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PAC-12 STANDINGS
The Bruins (15-2 in the Pac-12) have a two-game lead over Arizona (13-4 in the Pac-12) in the conference standings, heading into Saturday. Arizona faces Arizona State on Saturday afternoon before heading to face USC and UCLA next week. UCLA can secure, at the minimum, a share of the Pac-12 title with a win on Sunday at Colorado. The Bruins can clinch the league's regular-season title in outright fashion with one more win and a loss by Arizona. UCLA has not won the Pac-12 regular-season crown since 2013.
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THE LAST TIME OUT
โ Jaime Jaquez Jr. totaled 23 points, eight rebounds and three assists (no turnovers) in a 78-71 win at Utah on Thursday.
โ Tyger Campbell had 18 points and five assists and shot 3-for-4 from beyond the 3-point arc in the victory at Utah.
โ UCLA led by 16 points in the final 11 minutes on Thursday and withstood a late 14-1 scoring run by the Runnin' Utes.
โ The Bruins have won seven consecutive games and have won 21 of their last 23 contests.
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AGAINST THE BUFFALOES
โ UCLA outscored Colorado, 33-10, in the final 10-plus minutes in the Bruins' 68-54 win on Saturday, Jan. 14.
โ Jaime Jaquez Jr. totaled 23 points, 13 rebounds, five blocks and four steals in the win last month against Colorado.
โ The Bruins have won six of their last seven meetings against Colorado and lead the all-time series, 17-7.
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ALL-AMERICA CANDIDATE
โ Senior Jaime Jaquez Jr. (17.0 ppg, 8.1 rpg) is one of five Pac-12 players to rank among the league's top 10 leaders in both scoring and rebounding ... Jaquez Jr. has scored at least 10 points in 25 of the UCLA's 28 games.
โ Jaquez Jr. has scored at least 20 points in the last four games (and in 10 games this season) ... Jaquez Jr. has totaled six double-doubles this season ... he has averaged 17.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 13 road & neutral site games.
โ Jaquez Jr. ranks No. 19 on UCLA's career scoring list and No. 17 in total rebounds ... he has become the 10th UCLA player in the school's history to rank among the top 20 leaders in both scoring and rebounding.
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RUNNING THE POINT
Led by point guard Tyger Campbell (12.4 ppg, 4.8 apg), the Bruins have registered an assist-turnover ratio of 1.46-to-1, which ranked No. 17 in the nation through Thursday, Feb. 23. Campbell's assist-turnover ratio (2.68) ranks No. 33 in the nation and No. 2 in the Pac-12. The Bruins have committed fewer turnovers than their opponent in 27 of 28 games this season. Through Thursday's contests, UCLA ranked No. 1 in the nation in turnover margin (+6.1 per game). Among Pac-12 programs, Arizona State had compiled the league's second-best turnover margin (+2.46, through 28 contests).
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PROGRAM'S BEST STARTS
UCLA's 24-4 start through 28 games stands as one of the program's best starts to a college basketball season over the past 40 years. The Bruins opened their 2016-17 campaign with 25 wins in 28 games and concluded the regular-season schedule with a 28-3 record (heading into the Pac-12 Tournament). The Bruins also went 25-3 to open the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons, a pair of campaigns that ended with trips to the NCAA Final Four. UCLA's 14-game winning streak earlier this season marked the Bruins' longest such streak since winning 14 in a row near the end of the 2007-08 season.
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20-WIN PLATEAU
UCLA has won at least 20 games in 54 seasons, having notched win No. 20 at Oregon State on Thursday, Feb. 9. The Bruins' program has won at least 20 contests in 46 of the past 57 seasons (1967 through 2023). UCLA won at least 20 games in 17 consecutive seasons from 1966-67 through 1982-83. The Bruins have registered at least 20 victories in each of the last three seasons (22 in 2020-21, 27 last season and 20 this season). UCLA has not won 20 games in three consecutive seasons since the 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 campaigns.
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โ Coach Cronin has been named as one of 15 head coaches to the late season watch list for the Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year Award. In his 20th year as a head coach, Cronin has guided his teams to at least 20 victories in 14 seasons (includes at least 20 wins in 12 of the past 13 seasons).
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GLANCING AT THE METRICS
UCLA has been ranked No. 2 in the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings (KenPom.com), trailing No. 1 Alabama. Through Thursday's games (Feb. 23), the Bruins had the No. 22-ranked adjusted offensive efficiency rating and the No. 2-ranked adjusted defensive efficiency ranking. Ranked No. 4 in this week's AP poll and No. 3 in the USA Today Sports Coaches poll, UCLA has been ranked in each of the last 35 AP polls (since the start of the 2021-22 season).
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ELITE COMPANY
Senior Jaime Jaquez Jr. has been named as one of 20 players in the nation to the John R. Wooden Award late season watch list. He ranks No.ย 4 in the conference in scoring (17.0 ppg) and rebounding (8.1 rpg). On the Bruins' all-time lists, he ranks No. 19 in scoring and No. 17 in total rebounds. He's one of just 10 UCLA players to rank among the school's top 20 scoring and rebounding lists. Jaquez Jr. has totaled six double-doubles this season (and 15 in his UCLA career).
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JAQUEZ JR. AND DAVID GREENWOOD
Since the NCAA (and UCLA) began to record the "block" and "steal" statistic at the start of the 1978-79 season, the only UCLA players to tally at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and three steals in one game have been Jaime Jaquez Jr. and David Greenwood. Jaquez Jr. had 23 points, 13 rebounds, five blocks and four steals in a home victory against Colorado on Saturday, Jan. 14. Greenwood is UCLA's only other player on record, to have come close to that. He registered 22 points, 18 rebounds, four blocks and three steals in UCLA's 85-83 home win versus Arizona State on Feb. 15, 1979.
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TOP POINT GUARD
Senior Tyger Campbell has been listed as one of 10 players to the midseason watch list for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award. Campbell (12.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 4.8 apg) was one of the award's five finalists last season. The 5-foot-11 guard from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, ranks No. 2 in the Pac-12 in assist-turnover ratio (2.7) and No. 4 in assists per game (4.8). 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 statistic has been regularly tracked at UCLA since the start of the 1973-74 season.
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OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS
Not only do the Bruins rank No. 1 among all Pac-12 schools in offensive rebounds per game (11.8), but UCLA also leads the conference in having taken far more shots than shot attempts against (net difference of 222 more attempts). No other Pac-12 program has taken at least 100 more shots than they have attempted. Through Thursday, Feb. 23, the Bruins ranked No. 46, nationally, in offensive rebounds per game (11.8 o-rpg). The Bruins have taken more shot attempts than their opponent in each of the past three seasons (2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22, all under Coach Cronin).
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ROAD WARRIORS
The Bruins have gone 9-4 in 12 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. Against Maryland, UCLA led 39-11 with 3:30 remaining before halftime. Last season, the Bruins had substantial road victories with a 67-56 win at Marquette in Dec. 2021 (UCLA led at halftime, 35-21) and at Oregon State in March 2022 (UCLA won, 94-55). Playing at Stanford earlier this season (Dec. 1, 2022), UCLA raced to a 17-0 lead and won the game, 80-66.
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โ Last season, UCLA went 13-7 in road/neutral site games. Since the start of the Bruins' 2021-22 season, UCLA has compiled a 22-11 record in 33 games played away from home.
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JAYLEN THE SPARK PLUG
Junior Jaylen Clark has registered career-high averages across the board during his junior season โ 13.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg and a Pac-12-best 71 steals (averaging 2.6 steals per game). The 6-foot-5 guard from Riverside, Calif., was named as one of 15 players to the Naismith Men's Defensive Player of the Year watch list late January. Clark scored a season-high 24 points in a win against Denver (Dec. 10, 2022). Clark has registered at least three steals in 16 of 27 games played. He toatled a career-best seven steals against Sacramento State in the Bruins' season-opening win on Nov. 7, 2022.
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PRECISION FROM 3-POINT RANGE
Fifth-year senior guard David Singleton has averaged career highs this season in scoring (9.5 ppg) and rebounding (3.0 rpg). He currently ranks No. 1 in the Pac-12 in 3-point shooting percentage (43.5%, connecting on 57 of 131 attempts). His career 3-point percentage (43.8%) ranks No. 4 among all UCLA players in program history. Singleton ranked No. 2 in the Pac-12 last season in 3-point shooting percentage (45.1%) and as a true freshman in 2018-19 (46.7%). He has now made at least 34 attempts from 3-point distance in each of his five seasons on the court at UCLA.
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THREE-POINT STREAK
UCLA has made at least one 3-pointer in its last 781 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 324 of 333 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).
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POSTSEASON SUCCESS
UCLA has compiled a 7-2 NCAA Tournament record over the past two seasons. The Bruins went 5-1 in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, advancing from the First Four to the Final Four. There was no NCAA Tournament in March of 2020 (COVID-19). UCLA is one of six teams to have advanced to the Sweet 16 or farther in 2021 and 2022 (other five schools are Arkansas, Gonzaga, Houston, Michigan and Villanova). No school advanced to the Final Four in both 2021 and 2022. Only Arkansas and Houston moved on to the Elite Eight in 2021 and 2022. Gonzaga, Houston and Michigan are the only programs to have advanced to the Sweet 16 or farther in 2019, 2021 and 2022.
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AFTER 126 GAMES
Bruins' head coach Mick Cronin has tied the school record for most victories through his first 126 contests as UCLA's head basketball coach. Cronin, along with Jim Harrick and Caddy Works, has gone 92-34 through 126 games, now in his fourth year as UCLA's head coach.
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