UCLA
California
Men's Basketball to Play at California on Saturday
February 09, 2024 | Men's Basketball
BERKELEY, Calif. โ UCLA will play just three of its remaining eight regular-season contests away from home, including Saturday's matchup at California (2:30 p.m.). California snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Bruins last month, defeating UCLA in Pauley Pavilion, 66-57, on Saturday, Jan. 6. The Golden Bears registered their first win in UCLA's Pauley Pavilion since Feb. 6, 2010. This Saturday's game will mark UCLA's first contest at California since during the 2021-22 season (UCLA won at Haas Pavilion, 60-52, on Jan. 8, 2022). The Bruins have recorded an all-time record of 146-104 against California.
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GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Haas Pavilion
Capacity: 11,877
Tipoff Time: 2:37 p.m. (PT)
Television: FOX
TV Talent: Brandon Gaudin (play-by-play), Casey Jacobsen (analyst)
Radio Broadcast (UCLA Sports Network): AM 1150
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS XM: SiriusXM 389 and on the SXM App
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WEDNESDAY'S WIN AT STANFORD
The Bruins notched their sixth win in their last seven games with an 82-74 triumph at Stanford. UCLA led at halftime, 35-33, and outscored the Cardinal by a 33-24 margin over the game's final 11:30. Five Bruins scored in double figures, led by Sebastian Mack (21 points), as UCLA tallied its largest single-game point total of the season (82). In addition, UCLA's 11 made 3-pointers (on 25 attempts, at 44.0%) marked the team's most made threes in a game since Nov. 15, 2022 (last season), when the Bruins connected on a season-high 11 triples against Norfolk State (11-for-25, in Pauley Pavilion).
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UCLA's 11 three-pointers on Wednesday marked the program's most made threes in a game at Maples Pavilion since making 12 of 23 attempts on March 4, 2000, in a 94-93 OT win at No. 1-ranked Stanford. Six UCLA players scored in double figures in the win at Maples Pavilion in 2000 (JaRon Rush had 19 points off the bench).
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LATE GAME LEADS
The Bruins have outscored their opponents by a 48-31 margin in the game's final six minutes in the last three games. UCLA outscored Stanford (19-15), Oregon (13-7) and Oregon State (16-9) in the last six minutes of the contest. The Bruins enter the weekend in a tie for fourth place in the Pac-12 standings with Colorado (at 7-5).
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PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Dylan Andrews was honored as the Pac-12 Player of the Week on Monday for the first time in his career. Andrews, a 6-foot-2 sophomore from Gardena, Calif., averaged 19.5 points and 5.0 assists in the Bruins' two victories last week. He shot 5-for-6 from beyond the 3-point arc and was a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line. He has averaged 18.0 points and 4.5 assists in the Bruins' last four games (all wins), shooting 45.6 percent from the field (26-for-57) and 50.0 percent from beyond the 3-point arc (9-for-18). Andrews has scored at least 20 points in three games for UCLA this season.
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LAZAR, THE LAST SEVEN GAMES
Lazar Stefanovic has averaged 11.0 points per game in 23 contests, but he has averaged 15.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals in the team's last seven games. Stefanovic has shot 44.3 percent from the field and 45.7 percent from 3-point distance in the past seven contests. He ranks second among all Pac-12 players in free throw percentage (87.9%) and has made 29 of 31 free throws in UCLA's last six contests (93.5%). He registered his first collegiate double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds) last Saturday night in the Bruins' 71-63 win against Oregon in Pauley Pavilion.
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65 OR FEWER POINTS
The Bruins have held their opposition to 65 points or fewer in 13 of 23 contests this season, posting a 10-3 record in those games. UCLA has surrendered a Pac-12-leading 64.2 points per game this season (66.3 points per game in 12 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 โ versus Saint Francis, Lafayette and Chaminade in non-conference games in November, and at crosstown rival USC on Saturday, Jan. 27.
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SCORING DEFENSE
Through games played on Wednesday, Feb. 7, the Bruins ranked No. 18 in the country and first in the Pac-12 in fewest points allowed per game (64.2 ppg, through 23 games). UCLA's field goal percentage defense ranked No. 52, 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.
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DEFENSIVE PRESENCE
Sophomore Adem Bona, standing at 6-foot-10 and 245 pounds, has averaged 12.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.1 steals in all 23 games. Earlier this 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 (60.0%) and No. 7 in offensive rebounds per game (2.3). He has totaled 28 of his team-leading 43 blocked shots through UCLA's last 12 games.
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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).
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FROM LONG DISTANCE
Sophomore Will McClendon has shot a team-leading 41.7 percent from 3-point distance (25-for-60) through 23 games. The 6-foot-3 guard from Las Vegas, Nev., has averaged 4.9 points, 3.3 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 44.4 percent from long distance in UCLA's past 17 games (20-for-45).
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3-POINTERS, AS A TEAM
UCLA has shot 32.5 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 5.26 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.
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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.
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UCLA'S LEADING SCORER
Sebastian Mack has averaged a team-leading 13.5 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 second among all Pac-12 players in most free throws made (102-for-138), through Wednesday, Feb. 7. In addition, Mack ranked No. 8 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.
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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.
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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.
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MISCELLANEOUS NOTES ON UCLA
โ UCLA's bench has outscored the opposition's bench in 13 of 23 games this season (UCLA has gone 9-4 in those 13 contests) ... the Bruins' bench combined for 22 points in a 68-66 victory at Arizona State on Wednesday, Jan. 17.
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โ The Bruins have outrebounded the opposition in 15 of 23 games (9-6 record in those 15 contests) ... UCLA recorded a season-high 55 rebounds (including 17 offensive boards) in a win over Chaminade in Honolulu on Tuesday, Nov. 21.
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โ Prior to this season, UCLA had registered a 46-13 record in Pac-12 play the previous three years ... last year, UCLA went 18-2 in Pac-12 play, earning its first regular-season conference title since 2013 (under then-head coach Ben Howland).
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โ 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).
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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.
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ROAD WARRIORS
Since the start of the 2022-23 season, the Bruins have gone 19-12 in games played away from home (14-6 last season and 5-6 this year). Through 11 road and neutral-site contests this year, Sebastian Mack (12.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and Lazar Stefanovic (12.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg) have been UCLA's top scorers away from home. Since the start of UCLA's 2021-22 season, the Bruins have gone 32-19 in 51 total games played away from home.
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