UCLA
Washington
Men's Basketball to Play at Washington on Thursday Night
February 27, 2024 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – The Bruins return to the road this week, playing at Washington on Thursday night (7:30 p.m.) and at Washington State this Saturday (4 p.m.). UCLA has gone 6-7 in 13 road and neutral-site games this season, including a 5-4 mark in true road contests. The Bruins secured a 73-61 win over Washington in Pauley Pavilion earlier this season (Jan. 14), as Adem Bona scored a team-leading 22 points and Lazar Stefanovic had 15 points that evening. UCLA has won its last eight consecutive games against Washington, including the last four meetings against the Huskies at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Alaska Airlines Arena
Capacity: 9,268
Tipoff Time: 7:40 p.m. (PT)
Television: FS1
TV Talent: Dan Hellie (play-by-play), Casey Jacobsen (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
IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
UCLA has compiled an all-time record of 108-43 against Washington and 114-19 versus Washington State. Last season, the Bruins swept the two-game road trip to Seattle and Pullman, winning at Washington on New Year's Day (74-49) before notching a narrow 67-66 win at Washington State, two days later. That marked UCLA's first sweep at Washington and Washington State since Feb. 2017. Heading into this week, Washington State is the only Pac-12 opponent which the Bruins have yet to play this season (UCLA and Washington State will only meet once during the regular season).
TRENDS AND NOTES
– UCLA has won eight of its last 11 games, after having opened with a 6-10 record earlier this season.
– Over the past five games, Adem Bona and Sebastian Mack have each averaged a team-best 12.8 points per game.
– UCLA continues to lead all Pac-12 programs in scoring defense, surrendering an average of 64.0 points per game.
– The Bruins rank second in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage defense (41.6%, which ranks No. 61 in the nation).
– The Bruins have averaged a plus-6.7 rebounding margin in their 14 victories (and a negative-1.3 margin in 13 losses).
– UCLA has shot better from 3-point range on the road (33.1%) compared to 29.8% in 14 home contests.
– In the Bruins' last 10 games, Brandon Williams has made 40.0 percent of his 3-point attempts (6-for-15).
– The Pac-12 leaders in total road wins include Oregon and Washington State with six, and UCLA and Arizona with five.
– The Bruins have shot 44.7 percent (overall) and 37.4 percent from 3-point range in 14 victories this season.
– UCLA has posted a 3-2 record in games decided by three or fewer points this season.
EFFICIENT EFFORTS
Lazar Stefanovic (11.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg) and Adem Bona (12.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg) are two of 19 players in the Pac-12 who have averaged at least 10.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Stefanovic entered the week ranking No. 10 among all Pac-12 players in rebounding (6.1 rpg). Stefanovic, who spent his first two seasons at Utah, has totaled 165 rebounds this season after having registered 185 boards through his first two collegiate seasons (185 rebounds in 63 games, 2.9 rpg at Utah). Of those 19 players in the 10-ppg and 5-rpg list, Bona is one of six to be averaging at least one block per game.
MINUTES PER GAME
Lazar Stefanovic ranked No. 3 and Dylan Andrews ranked No. 4 in the Pac-12 in minutes per game, through games played on Monday, Feb. 26. Stefanovic has logged a team-leading and career-best 34.9 minutes per game this year. Andrews has averaged 34.8 minutes per game in his sophomore season.
65 OR FEWER POINTS
The Bruins have held their opposition to 65 points or fewer in 16 of 27 contests this season, posting a 12-4 record in those games. UCLA has surrendered a Pac-12-leading 64.0 points per game this season (64.6 ppg, in 16 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. 26, the Bruins ranked No. 16 in the country and first in the Pac-12 in fewest points allowed per game (64.0 ppg, through 27 games). UCLA's field goal percentage defense ranked No. 60, nationally, and second in the Pac-12 (41.6%). 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 49 of their last 61 games, going 41-8 in those 49 contests since the start of the 2022-23 season.
DEFENSIVE PRESENCE
Sophomore Adem Bona, standing at 6-foot-10 and 245 pounds, has averaged 12.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.85 blocks and 1.2 assists per game in all 27 contests. Three weeks ago, 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 (1.85), No. 3 in field goal percentage (59.3%) and No. 9 in offensive rebounds per game (2.1). He has totaled 35 of his team-leading 50 blocked shots through UCLA's last 16 games.
"LEAP DAY"
– Thursday evening's game at Washington, falling on Feb. 29, will mark the Bruins' first game on "Leap Day" since the 2019-20 season. Then competing as a junior, Chris Smith scored a team-leading 17 points (5-of-15 FGs) as UCLA defeated Arizona, 69-64, in the Bruins' most recent Leap Day contest (Feb. 29, 2020). Smith had 17 points, Cody Riley had 11 points, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished with 11 points as UCLA had overcome a 57-51 deficit with 9:30 to play in the second half. That game marked UCLA's final home contest of the 2019-20 season, Mick Cronin's first year as the Bruins' head coach.
– Prior to the Bruins' game on Feb. 29, 2020, UCLA had not played on Leap Day since Feb. 29, 1996 (UCLA defeated Oregon State on the road, 68-66). Other Leap Day games have taken place in 1964 and 1952. UCLA's game-by-game records do not have dates prior to the 1945-46 basketball season.
– Freshman Ilane Fibleuil measured with the team's highest max vertical in the annual agility tests (last September), reaching 39 inches. Following Fibleuil in the max vertical measurements were sophomore Adem Bona (38 inches), junior Lazar Stefanovic (36.5 inches) and redshirt junior Logan Cremonesi (36 inches).
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).
3-POINTERS, AS A TEAM
UCLA has shot 31.5 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 5.15 made threes per game, the lowest per-game average since 2012-13 (4.9 per game). In addition, the 16.33 attempts per game are the fewest since 2013-14 (16.30 per game). Last season, UCLA averaged 6.1 made threes per game and took 17.6 attempts per game.
MOST THREES, PER GAME
UCLA's 2016-17 team made an average of 9.8 threes per contest, the highest such per-game average in program history. The Bruins made 40.6 percent of their 3-point attempts that season and took an average of 24.2 threes per game. UCLA's 2017-18 squad attempted a school-record 24.6 threes per game.
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 63-11 record in 73 home games (85.1% 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.
HOME CONTESTS
The Bruins have gone 8-6 in 14 home contests this season, shooting 42.0 percent from the field and 29.8 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. Sebastian Mack has averaged 13.6 points and 3.1 rebounds in 14 home contests. Adem Bona has shot 64.4 percent from the field at home, with averages of 12.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. UCLA has limited the opposition to 41.5 percent shooting from the field in 14 home games (and 32.6 percent from beyond the 3-point line). In addition, the Bruins are averaging 66.6 points per game at home, while limiting the opposition to 61.9 points per contest.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES ON UCLA
– UCLA's bench has outscored the opposition's bench in 17 of 27 games this season (UCLA has gone 11-6 in those 17 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 18 of 27 games (10-8 record in those 18 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 55-20 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).
– Lazar Stefanovic, who ranks second in the Pac-12 this season in free throw percentage (87.8%, 72-of-82), has made 39 of 41 free throw attempts in 13 games played on the road or at neutral sites (39-of-41, 95.1%).
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.
REPRESENTING MULTIPLE COUNTRIES
UCLA's roster includes student-athletes who grew up in seven different countries, including the United States. The Bruins' nation-by-nation breakdown includes eight players from the United States, two from Nigeria (Adem Bona, Kenneth Nwuba), one from France (Ilane Fibleuil), one from Spain (Aday Mara), one from Turkey (Berke Buyuktuncel), one from Slovenia (Jan Vide) and one from Serbia (Lazar Stefanovic). Bona grew up in Nigeria before moving to Turkey at the age of 13.
INTERNATIONAL, BY SCHOOL
UCLA is one of just five programs this year to have at least seven countries represented on the roster. Arizona, Hawaii and Portland have eight nations represented, while Sacramento State also has seven.
ROAD WARRIORS
Since the start of the 2022-23 season, the Bruins have gone 20-13 in games played away from home (14-6 last season and 6-7 this year). Through 13 road and neutral-site contests this year, Sebastian Mack (12.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and Lazar Stefanovic (12.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg) have been UCLA's top scorers away from home. Since the start of UCLA's 2021-22 season, the Bruins have gone 33-20 in 53 total games played away from home.
VETERAN GUARD
Junior Lazar Stefanovic has averaged 11.1 points and a team-best 6.1 rebounds in all 27 games. Stefanovic transferred to UCLA last summer, having spent his first two collegiate seasons at Utah (8.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg in 63 career games at Utah). As a sophomore last season, he averaged 10.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 32 contests. Through the last 10 games, he has averaged 13.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists while shooting 35.8 percent from 3-point distance (19-for-53).
LIMITING THE TURNOVERS
The Bruins ranked No. 4 in the Pac-12 in turnovers per game (11.2), through Monday, Feb. 26. Last season, UCLA finished the year ranked No. 15 (nationally) in fewest turnovers per game (10.0), committing nine or fewer in 21 of 37 contests. In 2021-22, the Bruins ranked No. 2 in fewest turnovers per game (8.9). In 2021-22, the Bruins committed one turnover in the 75-68 home victory versus USC (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.
