UCLA
South Dakota
UCLA to Face South Dakota on Tuesday
December 17, 2017 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – The Bruins (7-3) have just two non-conference games remaining before they open Pac-12 play at home against Washington State on Thursday, Dec. 29. UCLA will host South Dakota (11-3) this Tuesday evening (6 p.m., PT) before playing No. 8 Kentucky (9-1) in New Orleans, La., on Saturday, Dec. 23, in the fourth annual CBS Sports Classic. The Bruins have never faced South Dakota on the hardwood.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion (13,800)
Tipoff Time: 6:02 p.m. (PT)
Television: Pac-12 Network
TV Talent: Alex Faust (play-by-play), Steve Lavin (analyst)
Radio (UCLA Sports Network from IMG): AM 570
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS/XM Channels: Ch. 81/Ch. 81
SIRIUS App. Channel: Ch. 81
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PURCHASE TICKETS
Fans can purchase tickets to this Tuesday evening's game against South Dakota by clicking here. To purchase a Bruin Fast Pass, click here to reserve your spot in Pauley Pavilion for only $99. Fans can also secure seats for any of the remaining UCLA home games by calling (310) 206-5991 or visiting uclabruins.com/tickets. Click here to download the men's basketball schedule directly to your calendar.
LAST TIME OUT
UCLA dropped a 77-63 decision to No. 25 Cincinnati in Pauley Pavilion last Saturday. The Bruins' loss came one week after UCLA fell at Michigan in overtime, 78-69, on Saturday, Dec. 9. This marks just the second time in the last two seasons in which the Bruins have dropped back-to-back contests (last season, UCLA lost to Arizona and at USC on Jan. 21 and Jan. 25 before winning its next 10 consecutive games). In the loss to Cincinnati on Saturday, Aaron Holiday scored a team-high 17 points, Jaylen Hands added 14 points and Kris Wilkes finished with 12 points.
BACK-AND-FORTH
Cincinnati's win on Saturday helped the Bearcats secure a 3-2 record in the all-time series against UCLA. The Bruins had won the most recent meeting, a 79-67 decision on March 19, 2017, in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament (in Sacramento, Calif.). UCLA will play at Cincinnati, in the Bearcats' newly-renovated Fifth Third Arena, on Dec. 19, 2018, in the return game of the two-year home-and-home series.
NEARING 1,000
Senior center Thomas Welsh and junior guard Aaron Holiday are nearing the 1,000-career-point plateau. Welsh will enter Tuesday's game in Pauley Pavilion having totaled 957 career points (needing 43 more to reach 1,000 points). Holiday has totaled 948 points and stands 52 points shy of tying the 1,000-point mark. UCLA's program has 54 former players who have scored at least 1,000 career points while wearing the Bruins' uniform. Early last season, Isaac Hamilton became the 54th Bruin to have reached the illustrious 1,000 career-point plateau (vs. Portland on Nov. 24 in Fullerton, Calif.).
MAKING THEIR MARK
Aaron Holiday (948 career points, 339 career assists) is close to becoming the 13th UCLA player on record to have recorded at least 1,000 points and 300 assists in his UCLA career. Thomas Welsh (957 career points, 783 career rebounds) is on pace to become UCLA's 12th player with at least 1,000 points and 800 rebounds. The most recent UCLA player to reach the 1,000-point/800-rebound benchmark was Dan Gadzuric in 2001-02.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Five of the Bruins' eight primary rotation players did not see action on the court for UCLA last season. Prince Ali and Alex Olesinski (redshirt sophomores) played as true freshmen in 2015-16 but took redshirt years in 2016-17. True freshmen Jaylen Hands, Chris Smith and Kris Wilkes have each played vital roles midway through the 2017-18 campaign. Wilkes enters the week as UCLA's third-leading scorer (12.3 ppg) and second-leading rebounder (6.2 rpg). Hands (12.0 ppg) and Wilkes (12.3 ppg) both rank among the Pac-12 Conference's top 30 scoring leaders, through games played Dec. 16.
HE'S OUR PRINCE
Prince Ali enters Tuesday's game against South Dakota having averaged 10.4 points per game while shooting 51.5 percent from the field (35-of-68). In addition, the former resident of The Bronx, N.Y., ranked fifth in the Pac-12 in three-point field goal percentage (48.3%) through Saturday, Dec. 16. Ali spent his four years of high school in Florida, attending The Sagemont School in Weston, Fla., for his final two years. During his junior season at Sagemont, Ali was teammates with then-senior Gyorgy "G.G." Goloman (2013-14). Ali missed last season recovering from a torn meniscus (left knee).
DOWN THE ROAD
UCLA will face Kentucky on Saturday for the fifth time in four seasons. Kentucky defeated UCLA in the first-ever CBS Sports Classic, 83-44, in Chicago on Dec. 20, 2014. The two schools played at each other's home venues in Dec. 3, 2015 (Pauley Pavilion) and Dec. 3, 2016 (Rupp Arena), with UCLA winning both games. In each of those three meetings, Kentucky entered the game with the nation's No. 1 ranking and an undefeated record. The Wildcats ended UCLA's season in 2016-17, handing the Bruins an 86-75 loss in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 (March 24, 2017, in Memphis, Tenn.).
AWAY FROM HOME
Including the Bruins' overtime loss at Michigan on Dec. 9, UCLA has gone 17-6 through its previous 23 games away from Pauley Pavilion (since the start of the 2016-17 season). Last year, UCLA posted an 8-2 road record and a 7-2 mark in neutral-site games. Key road wins last season came at No. 4 Arizona and No. 1 Kentucky.
ABOUT THE COYOTES
Under the leadership of fourth-year head coach Craig Smith, the Coyotes (pronounced ki-YOTES) have gone 11-3 this season, including Sunday night's victory at San Jose State (76-62). Last season, South Dakota went 22-12 overall and posted a 12-4 record to win the Summit League's regular-season title. Junior guard Matt Mooney has been the Coyotes' leading scorer, averaging 17.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Junior forward Tyler Hagedorn (pronounced HAY-guh-dorn) is South Dakota's only other player currently averaging at least 10.0 points per game (14.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg in 14 games).
EYEING THE KENTUCKY WILDCATS
Ranked No. 8 in last week's AP poll (No. 5 in the USA Today coaches' poll), Kentucky most recently defeated Virginia Tech, 93-86, at Rupp Arena on Saturday, Dec. 16. Kentucky will enter Saturday's matchup with UCLA in New Orleans, La., sporting a 9-1 overall record. The Wilcats' only loss came at the hands of No. 4 Kansas (L, 65-61) at Chicago's United Center in the "Champions Classic." Four Kentucky players are currently averaging in double figures (scoring), with freshman Kevin Knox leading the way (15.8 ppg and 5.7 rpg). Redshirt freshman Hamidou Diallo is second on the team in scoring (15.2 ppg).
NOT THAT FAMILIAR
While this Saturday's game will the fifth matchup in four seasons between UCLA and Kentucky, both teams have had significant roster turnover since last season. Wenyen Gabriel is Kentucky's only player to have competed in either game against UCLA last season (Gabriel averaged 11.5 minutes between both games). Three of UCLA's players played in either matchup with Kentucky last year (Thomas Welsh, Aaron Holiday and G.G. Goloman).
MOVIN' ON UP
Thomas Welsh ranks third on the school's all-time blocked shots list (127), having surpassed Charles O'Bannon (118) for the No. 3 slot earlier this season. The top two spots on UCLA's career blocks list are occupied by Jelani McCoy (188) and Dan Gadzuric (184). McCoy played at UCLA from 1995-98, while Gadzuric starred for the Bruins from 1999-2002. Welsh currently ranks No. 9 on the school's all-time field goal percentage list (55.4 percent overall). Please note, UCLA's official "blocked shot" statistic has only been tracked on a consistent basis since the 1978-79 season.
