UCLA
Kentucky
UCLA to Face No. 7 Kentucky in New Orleans
December 20, 2017 | Men's Basketball
NEW ORLEANS – UCLA will face Kentucky on Saturday for the fifth time in four seasons (the two schools have gone 2-2 against each of the in the past four years). Kentucky defeated UCLA in the first-ever CBS Sports Classic, 83-44, in Chicago on Dec. 20, 2014. These two programs 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 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 Sweet 16 (March 24, 2017, in Memphis, Tenn.).
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Smoothie King Center (17,791)
Game Time: 1 p.m. PT (3 p.m. CT)
Television: CBS
TV Talent: Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Bill Raftery (analyst), Allie LaForce (sideline)
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
DOWNLOAD THE UCLA APP
Be sure to download the UCLA Bruins Mobile App to your device, free of charge (download here). The official app of UCLA Athletics allows fans to receive in-game stats and live updates during events. Fans can also sign up to receive push notifications about gameday promotions, game times, live scoring and more. Fans can shop for UCLA gear with one click in addition to getting breaking news from UCLA Athletics. When searching iTunes or Google Play, use the term "UCLA Bruins" for more direct access.
PURCHASE TICKETS
Fans can purchase tickets to next week's home games against Washington State (Dec. 29) and Washington (Dec. 31) 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.
BRUINS IMPROVE TO 8-3
Thomas Welsh registered 19 points and 11 rebounds in UCLA's 85-82 win over South Dakota on Tuesday night in Pauley Pavilion. UCLA pushed its second half lead to 24 points (78-54) with 5:01 to play, before the visiting Coyotes (pronounced ki-YOTES) used a 28-6 run to trim the Bruins' advantage to 84-82 with 2.3 seconds to play. Leading 85-82, Welsh tipped South Dakota's inbounds pass with 1.5 seconds remaining and the Coyotes were unable to attempt a last-second shot. UCLA, which had five players score in double figures, trailed South Dakota at halftime by a 36-33 margin.
LAST SATURDAY
UCLA dropped a 77-63 decision to No. 25 Cincinnati in Pauley Pavilion on Saturday, Dec. 16. The Bruins' loss came one week after UCLA fell at Michigan in overtime, 78-69, on Saturday, Dec. 9. That marked 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 last Saturday, Aaron Holiday scored a team-high 17 points, Jaylen Hands added 14 points and Kris Wilkes finished with 12 points.
NEARING 1,000
Senior center Thomas Welsh and junior guard Aaron Holiday are nearing the 1,000-career-point plateau. Welsh will enter Saturday's game in New Orleans having totaled 976 career points (needing 24 more to reach 1,000 points). Holiday has totaled 963 points and stands 37 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 MARKS
Aaron Holiday (963 career points, 344 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 (976 career points, 794 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. Hands will enter the weekend as UCLA's third-leading scorer (12.0 ppg), while Wilkes has registered 11.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Smith scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting in Tuesday night's win against South Dakota.
HE'S OUR PRINCE
Prince Ali enters Saturday's game against Kentucky having averaged 10.1 points per game while shooting 48.7 percent from the field (38-of-78). In addition, the former resident of The Bronx, N.Y., ranked sixth in the Pac-12 in three-point field goal percentage (46.7%) through Tuesday, Dec. 19. 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).
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
Kentucky will enter this Saturday's matchup with a 9-1 record, having most recently defeated Virginia Tech in Rupp Arena, 93-86, on Saturday, Dec. 16. Ranked No. 7 in this week's AP poll (and No. 6 in the USA Today coaches' poll), Kentucky currently has four players who are scoring in double figures. Freshman Kevin Knox has led the way (15.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg) and redshirt freshman Hamidou Diallo has registered 15.2 ppg (the second-best scoring average on the team). Kentucky's only loss this season came to then-No. 4 Kansas (65-61) at Chicago's United Center in the Champions Classic on Nov. 14.
NOT THAT FAMILIAR
While Saturday's game will be the fifth matchup in four seasons between UCLA and Kentucky, both teams have had significant roster turnover since last March. Wenyen Gabriel is UK'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 student-athletes played in both games versus Kentucky last year (Thomas Welsh, Aaron Holiday and G.G. Goloman).
BRUINS TO OPEN PAC-12 PLAY
Following a brief holiday break, UCLA will return to action in Pauley Pavilion against Washington State (Dec. 29) and Washington (Dec. 31) to open their Pac-12 Conference schedule. Last season, UCLA went 4-0 against both Washington State and Washington, winning those four contests by an average of 24.5 points per game. Next week's home games will mark the first time in which the Bruins have opened the conference schedule in Pauley Pavilion since the 2013-14 season. UCLA's game against Washington State on Friday, Dec. 29, will begin at 8 p.m. PT (televised on ESPN2).
CENTURY MARK
Steve Alford has become the sixth head coach in Westwood to have logged at least 100 career wins as UCLA's head coach. Now with 104 wins at UCLA, Alford secured win No. 100 against Wisconsin on Nov. 21. He led UCLA to 31 victories last season and has joined a list of 100-plus-win UCLA head coaches that features Caddy Works (1921-1939), John Wooden (1948-1975), Jim Harrick (1988-1996), Steve Lavin (1996-2003) and Ben Howland (2003-2013). Alford has compiled a 103-48 record in just over four seasons as the program's head coach (68.2 win percentage in games with UCLA).
MOVIN' ON UP
Thomas Welsh ranks third on the school's all-time blocked shots list (130), 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 (55.3 percent overall). Please note, UCLA's official "blocked shot" statistic has only been tracked on a consistent basis since the 1978-79 season.
