UCLA
Colorado
Men's Basketball Prepares for Pac-12 Tournament
March 07, 2023 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES โ The Pac-12 Champion Bruins (27-4) will compete against No. 9-seed Colorado (17-15) in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 Tournament this Thursday afternoon. UCLA's game will begin at 12 p.m. (PT) and will be televised by the Pac-12 Network. Fans in the Los Angeles area will be able to listen to the Bruins' radio broadcast on AM 570.
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No. 9-seed Colorado defeated No. 9-seed Washington on Wednesday afternoon in a first-round matchup at T-Mobile Arena. The winner of that game has moved on to face No. 1-seed UCLA on Thursday.
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GAME INFORMATION
Date: Thursday, March 9
Venue: T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas)
Tipoff Time: 12:10 p.m. (PT)
Television: Pac-12 Network
TV Talent: Roxy Bernstein (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, SIRIUS XM App Channels: Channels TBD
UCLA'S MEDIA AVAILABILITY
Bruins' head coach Mick Cronin met with the media prior to UCLA's practice on Tuesday morning in the Mo Ostin Basketball Center before the team flew to Las Vegas. In addition, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Adem Bona and Tyger Campbell spoke to the media. The Bruins' morning media session took place after the Pac-12 announced its annual end-of-year awards.
VIDEOS: Coach Cronin | J. Jaquez Jr., A. Bona, T. Campbell
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ABOUT THE BRUINS
โ The Bruins have won the Pac-12 regular-season title for the first time since 2013 (UCLA's 32nd conference title).
โ The Bruins have won 10 consecutive games and 24 of their last 26 games since a November trip to Las Vegas.
โ UCLA has won 27 games for the second consecutive season (the Bruins went 27-8 last year).
โ The Bruins have tied the conference record for most victories in league play (18).
โ UCLA notched its first undefeated home record (17-0) since the 2006-07 season (the Bruins went 16-0 at home).
โ At 27-4, UCLA recorded its best regular-season record since 2016-17 (went 28-3 during the regular season).
โ UCLA finished February with an undefeated record (8-0) for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
โ UCLA has won 25 consecutive home games, marking the nation's longest active home winning streak.
โ UCLA has limited the opposition to fewer than 70 points in 26 of 31 total contests this season.
โ UCLA ranks No. 6, nationally, and No. 1 in the Pac-12 in fewest points allowed per game (60.1).
โ The Bruins have gone 17-0 in home contests and have registered a 10-4 record in road and neutral site games.
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THE LAST TIME OUT
โ Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 22 points and Tyger Campbell scored 21 points in UCLA's 83-72 win over Arizona on Saturday.
โ The Bruins overcame an early 13-2 deficit against Arizona and finished the year with a perfect 17-0 home record.
โ All five seniors who were honored in the "Senior Night" ceremony started for the Bruins against Arizona.
โ Jaime Jaquez Jr. (22 points, 10 rebounds) recorded his team-leading seventh double-double of the season.
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PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (17.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 2.4 apg) has become the seventh UCLA player to earn the conference's Player of the Year Award (eighth total award). He has become UCLA's first player to be named the league's Player of the Year since Kevin Love in 2008. He is the first UCLA senior to win the conference's Player of the Year Award since Ed O'Bannon in 1995. One of 15 candidates for this season's John R. Wooden Award, Jaquez Jr. has secured All-Pac-12 honors for the third straight season (was a second-team selection in 2021 and first-team selection in 2022 and 2023).
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YEAR-END PAC-12 AWARDS
In addition to Jaime Jaquez Jr. being named the league's Player of the Year, Bruins' junior guard Jaylen Clark (13.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg) has been named as the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, and forward Adem Bona (7.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg) has been honored as the league's Freshman of the Year. Mick Cronin has earned his second John R. Wooden Pac-12 Coach of the Year Award (2019-20), becoming the Bruins' first head coach to have received that award multiple times.
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โ Jaylen Clark has been named to the league's All-Defensive Team for the second straight season, becoming UCLA's second player to earn the Defensive Player of the Year Award. Russell Westbrook was honored as the Pac-12's Defensive Player of the Year in 2008, the first year of that Pac-12 award.
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โ Jaylen Clark and Adem Bona were selected to the five-person Pac-12 All-Defensive Team (Clark, for the second straight year). Between last season (three selections) and this season (Clark and Bona), UCLA's team has accounted for five of the 10 selections on the league's past two All-Defensive Teams.
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โ Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tyger Campbell have been recognized on the league's 10-person All-Pac-12 first team (Jaquez Jr. for the second straight season, and Campbell for the third straight year). Jaylen Clark was named to the five-person All-Pac-12 second team, while Adem Bona secured honorable mention status.
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โ Jaquez Jr. and Campbell have become UCLA's first players to secure All-Pac-12 acclaim in three consecutive seasons since Darren Collison in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Campbell has been honored as a first-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
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โ Adem Bona (7.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and Amari Bailey (9.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg) have been named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team, along with USC's Tre White, Oregon State's Jordan Pope and Washington's Keyon Menifield.
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PAC-12 TOURNAMENT HISTORY
UCLA has won the conference tournament four times (1987, 2006, 2008 and 2014). The Pac-12 (or Pac-10) has hosted a conference tournament every season since 2002 (and from 1987 through 1990). The Bruins last won the tournament title in 2014 with a 75-71 win over No. 1-seed Arizona. UCLA had advanced to the title contest the year prior (2013) but lost to Oregon in the championship game. The 2013 tournament was the last time UCLA had entered as the No. 1 seed.
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Last season, UCLA advanced to the semifinal round for the first time since 2018 (UCLA lost to Arizona in the championship, 84-76). The Pac-12 moved the league tournament to Las Vegas in 2013, one year after Utah and Colorado joined the league. Since the tournament moved to Las Vegas, the Bruins have gone 11-8 with three trips to the championship game.
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STRONG RECORDS
The Bruins' 27-4 regular-season record stands as one of the program's best regular-season resumes in a college basketball season over the past 40 years. UCLA went 28-3 through 31 games during the 2016-17 regular season (UCLA finished in third place that year). The Bruins concluded the regular season with a 26-5 record in 2006-07 and a 31-3 mark in 2007-08. Both of those teams advanced to the NCAA Final Four, losing in the semifinal round. Last year's UCLA team went 23-6 during its regular-season schedule, as several games were canceled (or postponed) due to the COVID-19 virus.
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GLANCING AT THE METRICS
โ UCLA has been ranked No. 2 in the Pomeroy College Basketball Rankings (KenPom.com), trailing No. 1 Houston.
โ Through Sunday's games, the Bruins were No. 24 in adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 2 in defensive efficiency.
โ The Bruins have been ranked No. 2 in the top 25 AP and USA Today Sports coaches polls this week (Monday, March 6).
โ UCLA has now been ranked in each of the last 37 AP polls (since the start of the 2021-22 season).
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REACHING THE 20-WIN PLATEAU
โ The Bruins have won at least 20 games in 54 seasons, having notched win No. 20 at Oregon State (on Feb. 9).
โ UCLA's program has won at least 20 contests in 46 of the past 57 seasons (1967 through 2023).
โ The Bruins won at least 20 games in 17 consecutive seasons from 1966-67 through 1982-83.
โ UCLA has won 20 (or more) games in three consecutive seasons for the first time since 2013, 2014 and 2015.
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LEADING THE WAY
โ Bruins' head coach Mick Cronin has guided the program to a 95-34 overall record through the four seasons.
โ Coach Cronin is among 15 head coaches on the watch list for the Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year Award.
โ Coach Cronin has led his teams to at least 20 wins in 14 of his 20 total seasons as a college basketball head coach.
โ Coach Cronin's teams have averaged 25.4 victories per season over the last 13 years (2010-11 through 2022-23).
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RUNNING THE POINT
โ Tyger Campbell ranks No. 1 among all Pac-12 players in assist-turnover ratio (2.7) and No. 4 in assists per game (4.7).
โ Campbell enters the Pac-12 Tournament having averaged 12.9 points, 4.7 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game.
โ Campbell's assist-turnover ratio (2.7-to-1) ranks No. 31 in the nation, through games played on Sunday, March 5.
โ UCLA has committed fewer turnovers than its opposition in 29 of 31 total games.
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HOME COOKIN'
โ UCLA has compiled the nation's longest winning streak (25 games, dating back to Jan. 2022).
โ The Bruins went 17-0 at home this season, the team's first perfect home record since going 16-0 in 2006-07.
โ n all, UCLA has had an undefeated record in Pauley Pavilion in 11 different seasons.
โ The Bruins last had a winning streak of 25 games back in 2006-08 (streak ended at 25 in 2008).
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OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS
โ UCLA ranks No. 1 among all Pac-12 programs in most offensive rebounds per game (11.97 o-rpg).
โ The Bruins lead the Pac-12 in more shots taken than shot attempt against (net difference of 244 shot attempts).
โ Through Sunday, March 5, the Bruins ranked No. 38 in the nation in most offensive rebounds per game.
โ UCLA's 20 offensive rebounds last Thursday (vs. ASU) were the most since totaling 24 against North Florida (11/17/21).
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THREE-POINT STREAK
โ The Bruins have made at least one 3-pointer in their last 784 consecutive games.
โ The 3-point streak began after UCLA went 0-for-14 from 3-point range in a 78-63 loss at No. 2 Stanford (2/3/00).
โ UCLA's single-game 3-point record stands at 19 (19-for-31) in a 104-89 win at Colorado on Jan. 12, 2017.
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NOTES ON PAULEY PAVILION
This marked the 57th basketball season in which UCLA played in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. The Bruins' home arena opened in time for the 1965-66 season. The first game in Pauley Pavilion took place on Dec. 3, 1965, as the No. 1-ranked Bruins defeated Ohio State, 92-66. UCLA spent 47 consecutive seasons in Pauley Pavilion before the venue was closed for an 18-month renovation. The Bruins played 18 home games in 2011-12 at two venues in Southern California (14 games at the Los Angeles Sports Arena and four games at the Honda Center in Anaheim).
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โ UCLA went 17-0 at home this season and went 14-1 in 15 home games last year. The Bruins won their final eight home games last season and have strung together a streak of 25 consecutive home victories. UCLA has won its last 25 home games, which is the longest home winning streak in the nation. UCLA's only loss at home last season was an overtime defeat (84-81) to Oregon on Jan. 13, 2022. Since taking over as the Bruins' head coach in 2019, Mick Cronin has led the Bruins to a 55-6 record in 61 home games.
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โ 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 36 home contests with fans in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
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โ Through 17 home games this season, the Bruins averaged 77.8 points per home contest and limited the opposition to 57.5 points per game. UCLA won its 17 home contests by an average margin of 20.3 points per game. UCLA's most narrow victory in those 14 contests took place against USC โ the Bruins won, 60-58, on Thursday, Jan. 5. The Bruins largest margin of victory at home this season occurred against Pepperdine โ UCLA won, 100-53, on Wednesday, Nov. 23. Only five of the Bruins' 17 home wins were by nine or fewer points (vs. Oregon, Stanford, USC, Washington and Arizona).
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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 all, the men's basketball program has won a nation-leading 11 NCAA Championships and has advanced to the NCAA Final Four 19 times. As an athletics department, UCLA has won 120 team NCAA titles. That total ranks second in the nation behind Stanford (131). Most recently, the UCLA women's soccer team captured its second NCAA title by defeating North Carolina, 3-2, in double overtime in the 2022 NCAA Championship (played at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.).
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UCLA IN PAC-12 PLAY
Since the start of the 2020-21 season, UCLA has compiled a 46-13 mark in the Pac-12 (13-6 in 2020-21, 15-5 last season and 18-2 this year). The Bruins have won 34 of their last 36 home games in Pac-12 action. UCLA dropped a game at home to USC in March of 2021 and in overtime against Oregon last season on Jan. 13, 2022. The Bruins won their final seven home Pac-12 games in 2019-20, during Coach Cronin's first year as UCLA's head coach.
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THE BRUINS WHEN ...
Since the start of the 2017-18 season, the Bruins have gone 99-18 when leading at halftime (through 195 games). During that span, UCLA has gone 30-43 when trailing at halftime (3-2 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 107-13. When trailing by 10 or more points in a game, UCLA has gone 20-44.
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LIMITING THE TURNOVERS
Through games played on Sunday, March 5, UCLA ranked No. 25 in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (10.5). UCLA has committed nine or fewer turnovers in 15 of 31 games this season. Last year, UCLA concluded the season ranked No. 2 in fewest turnovers per game (8.9), while Wisconsin ranked No. 1 in that category (8.7). UCLA committed just one turnover in the 75-68 win at home against USC last season (March 5, 2022), the fewest turnovers by a Pac-12 team in one game (on record). UCLA has consistently recorded assist and turnover stats since the start of the 1973-74 season.
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UCLA senior Tyger Campbell ranked No. 31 in the nation and No. 1 in the Pac-12 in assist-turnover ratio (2.7) through games played on Sunday, March 5. Last season, Campbell concluded the year as the Pac-12 leader in assist-turnover ratio (3.2) and ranked No. 6 in that category, nationally.
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The Bruins have committed fewer turnovers than the opposition in 29 of their 31 games. Through games played on Sunday, March 5, UCLA ranked No. 2 in the nation in turnover margin (+5.7), well ahead of the second-best turnover margin in the Pac-12 (Arizona State, at +2.5 per game in 31 total contests).
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"THE HUNGRY DOG GETS THE BONE"
Under head coach Mick Cronin, UCLA has established a team competition to see which player can accumulate the most deflections (a defensive stat, compiling how often a player can get their hands on the ball). At the conclusion of the season, the UCLA player who has tallied the most deflections will be awarded with a large dog bone as the award. As a freshman (2020) and sophomore (2021), Jaime Jaquez Jr. was award the Hungry Dog Award for the most deflections. Last season, then-senior Myles Johnson was honored with the Bruins' Hungry Dog Award.
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