UCLA
Colorado
UCLA Looks Ahead to Hosting Colorado on Thursday
February 13, 2024 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – UCLA will play five of its seven remaining regular-season games at home, starting with this Thursday's showdown against Colorado in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Game time is set for 6 p.m. (PT). This will mark the only meeting during the regular season between the Bruins and Colorado. UCLA has registered an all-time record of 19-7 against the Buffaloes, having gone 3-0 in three meetings last season. The Bruins have gone 15-6 against Colorado since the Buffaloes joined the Pac-12 Conference prior to the 2011-12 school year.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion
Capacity: 13,800
Tipoff Time: 6:05 p.m. (PT)
Television: ESPN
TV Talent: Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Cory Alexander (analyst)
Radio Broadcast (UCLA Sports Network): AM 570
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS XM: SiriusXM 373 and on the SXM App
TRENDS AND NOTES
– UCLA has won five consecutive games (season-best) and has won seven of eight games since opening 6-10.
– Over those past eight contests, UCLA has surrendered 64.3 points per game and 30.6 percent from 3-point range.
– The Bruins have averaged a plus-7.2 rebounding margin in their 13 victories (and a negative-2.1 margin in 11 losses).
– UCLA has won its last five meetings against Colorado and eight of the last nine matchups with the Buffaloes.
– Lazar Stefanovic (11.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 24 games) has scored in double figures in each of UCLA's last eight games.
– The Bruins have ranked first in the Pac-12 in scoring defense (64.0 ppg) and 3-point field goal defense (32.0%).
– UCLA and Washington State (5-3 on the road, Pac-12 play) are the only schools with at least five Pac-12 road wins.
– UCLA, Arizona and Washington State entered the week tied for the longest winning streak (five) among Pac-12 teams.
– One week ago, sophomore Dylan Andrews was honored as Pac-12 Player of the Week for the first time in his career.
– The Bruins have gone 3-1 in games decided by three or fewer points this season.
LAST WEEK, UP NORTH
Lazar Stefanovic averaged 11.0 points and 10.0 rebounds, and Adem Bona logged 14.5 points per game in two wins last week (at Stanford and California). The Bruins led at halftime in each game. UCLA registered its third consecutive win at Stanford's Maples Pavilion on Wednesday evening, as Sebastian Mack scored a game-high 21 points. Three days later, UCLA opened up a 35-24 halftime lead at California, only for the Golden Bears to race back and secure a 57-56 lead in the game's final minute. Dylan Andrews made a mid-range jump shot with 24 seconds to play gave UCLA the lead for good.
LAZAR, THE LAST EIGHT GAMES
Lazar Stefanovic has averaged 11.0 points per game in 24 games, but he has averaged 14.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists in the last eight games. Stefanovic has shot 44.3 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from 3-point distance in the past eight contests. He ranks second among all Pac-12 players in free throw percentage (88.2%) and has made 31 of 33 free throws in UCLA's last eight contests (93.9%). He has totaled his first two collegiate double-doubles in the Bruins' last three games, including a 12-point and 13-rebound effort in the Bruins' 61-60 win at California on Saturday.
MINUTES PER GAME
Dylan Andrews ranked No. 4 and Lazar Stefanovic ranked No. 5 in the Pac-12 in minutes per game, through games played on Monday, Feb. 12. Andrews has logged a team-leading 34.7 minutes per game in his second season in the program. Stefanovic enters this Thursday's game having averaged 34.6 minutes per game.
65 OR FEWER POINTS
The Bruins have held their opposition to 65 points or fewer in 14 of 24 contests this season, posting an 11-3 record in those games. UCLA has surrendered a Pac-12-leading 64.0 points per game this season (65.8 ppg, in 13 Pac-12 games). Last season, the Bruins limited the opposition to 65 points or fewer in 27 of their 37 total games, compiling a 25-2 record in those contests. UCLA has allowed 50 points or fewer in four games this season – versus Saint Francis, Lafayette and Chaminade in non-conference games in November, and at crosstown rival USC on Saturday, Jan. 27.
SCORING DEFENSE
Through games played on Monday, Feb. 12, the Bruins ranked No. 16 in the country and first in the Pac-12 in fewest points allowed per game (64.0 ppg, through 24 games). UCLA's field goal percentage defense ranked No. 48, nationally, and second in the Pac-12 (41.1%). Under fifth-year head coach Mick Cronin, UCLA's 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). The Bruins have allowed fewer than 70 points in 47 of their last 58 games, going 40-7 in those 47 contests since the start of the 2022-23 season.
DEFENSIVE PRESENCE
Sophomore Adem Bona, standing at 6-foot-10 and 245 pounds, has averaged 12.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.1 steals in all 24 games. Last week, Bona was the only Pac-12 player named to the 15-man watch list for this year's Naismith Men's Defensive Player of the Year award, which was won by Jaylen Clark last season.
Bona ranks No. 2 among all Pac-12 players in blocks per game (1.9), No. 3 in field goal percentage (59.0%) and No. 7 in offensive rebounds per game (2.2). He has totaled 31 of his team-leading 46 blocked shots through UCLA's last 13 games. He moved into the No. 6 spot on UCLA's all-time blocks list, 14 blocks behind Lorenzo Mata (No. 5, with 117 career blocks). Jelani McCoy (1996-98) established the program's career record with 188 blocks during his three-year collegiate career.
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 three true freshmen who will not turn 19 years old until later this year (Aday Mara, Ilane Fibleuil and Brandon Williams). The Bruins' program added eight new faces last summer, including seven true freshmen and one transfer, junior Lazar Stefanovic (from Belgrade, Serbia, who transferred to UCLA from the University of Utah).
FROM LONG DISTANCE
Sophomore Will McClendon has shot a team-leading 40.3 percent from 3-point distance (25-for-62) through 24 games. The 6-foot-3 guard from Las Vegas, Nev., has averaged 4.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists this season. McClendon missed UCLA's 2021-22 season recovering from a torn ACL (right knee). In total, 67.0 percent of McClendon's scoring this year has come from beyond the 3-point arc. After opening the year 5 of 15 from 3-point range (33.3%) through six games, he has shot 42.6 percent from long distance in UCLA's past 18 games (20-for-47).
3-POINTERS, AS A TEAM
UCLA has shot 32.4 percent from 3-point range. The 2019-20 team shot 32.3 percent, the lowest single-season 3-point percentage by any UCLA team (NCAA adopted the 3-point arc in 1986-87). UCLA is averaging 5.25 made threes per game, the lowest per-game average since 2011-12 (5.12 per game). In addition, the 16.2 attempts per game are the fewest since 2012-13 (14.7 per game). Last season, UCLA averaged 6.1 made threes per game and took 17.6 attempts per game.
UCLA'S LEADING SCORER
Sebastian Mack has averaged a team-leading 13.3 points per game, along with 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. The 6-foot-3 freshman guard from Chicago, Ill., has twice secured Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors. He ranked third among all Pac-12 players in most free throws made (103-for-143), through Monday, Feb. 12. In addition, Mack ranked No. 7 in the Pac-12 in steals per game (1.6 spg). He has scored in double figures in 15 games during his freshman season and recorded a team-leading 21 points in an 82-74 win at Stanford on Wednesday, Feb. 7.
NOTES ON PAULEY PAVILION
This marks the 58th season in which UCLA has played in Pauley Pavilion. The arena opened in time for the 1965-66 basketball campaign. The first game in Pauley Pavilion took place on Dec. 3, 1965, as No. 1 UCLA took down Ohio State (92-66). UCLA spent 47 seasons in Pauley before the venue was closed for an 18-month renovation. UCLA hosted 18 home games in 2011-12 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena (14 games) and the Honda Center in Anaheim (four games).
CSUN snapped UCLA's 29-home-game winning streak earlier this season (CSUN won, 76-72, on Dec. 19, 2023). Prior to that loss, UCLA had not lost at home since Jan. 13, 2022 (an 84-81 overtime loss to Oregon). UCLA's 29-game home streak had been the longest active streak in the country. Since taking over as UCLA's head coach prior to the 2019-20 season, Mick Cronin has guided the Bruins to a 62-10 record in 72 home games (86.1% win percentage).
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).
RECENT HISTORY
The Bruins have advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of the past three seasons. UCLA secured its 19th NCAA Final Four appearance in 2021, earning a No. 11-seed in the 68-team field and advancing from the First Four to the Final Four. Along the way, the Bruins registered victories over Michigan State, BYU, Abilene Christian, Alabama and Michigan. 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.
LEADING THE WAY
– Head coach Mick Cronin has guided the program to an overall mark of 112-47 (midway through his fifth year at UCLA).
– Over the past three seasons, Coach Cronin has led UCLA to a 9-3 record in three NCAA Tournament appearances.
– Coach Cronin earned Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors in 2020 (his first year at UCLA) and 2023 (his fourth year).
– 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).
HOME CONTESTS
The Bruins have gone 7-4 in 11 home contests this season, shooting 42.8 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. Sebastian Mack has averaged 14.1 points and 3.1 rebounds in 11 home contests. Adem Bona has shot 65.1 percent from the field at home, with averages of 13.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. UCLA has limited the opposition to 40.4 percent shooting from the field in 11 home games (and 31.2 percent from beyond the 3-point line). In addition, the Bruins are averaging 67.6 points per game at home, while limiting the opposition to 61.3 points per contest.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES ON UCLA
– UCLA's bench has outscored the opposition's bench in 14 of 24 games this season (UCLA has gone 10-4 in those 14 contests) ... the Bruins' bench combined for 22 points in a 68-66 victory at Arizona State on Wednesday, Jan. 17.
– The Bruins have outrebounded the opposition in 16 of 24 games (10-6 record in those 16 contests) ... UCLA recorded a season-high 55 rebounds (including 17 offensive boards) in a win over Chaminade in Honolulu on Tuesday, Nov. 21.
– Since the start of the 2020-21 season, the Bruins have gone 54-18 in Pac-12 play ... last season, the Bruins went 18-2 in the Pac-12, earning their first regular-season conference title since 2013 (under then-head coach Ben Howland).
– The Bruins have won 37 of their last 41 home Pac-12 contests, with the losses taking place against USC (March 2021), Oregon in overtime (Jan. 2022), Stanford (Jan. 2023) and California (Jan. 2023).
STANDING TALL
UCLA's 15-man roster 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.
