UCLA
California
UCLA Returns to Action at Cal on Saturday
January 05, 2018 | Men's Basketball
BERKELEY, Calif. – UCLA (11-4, 2-1 Pac-12) will close its road trip to the Bay Area on Saturday afternoon, taking on California (7-8, 1-1) in the Bruins' fourth Pac-12 contest of the season. Game time at Haas Pavilion is 3:30 p.m. (PT). The Bruins' game in Berkeley, Calif., will be televised by the Pac-12 Network.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Haas Pavilion (11,877)
Game Time: 3:30 p.m. (PT)
Television: Pac-12 Network
TV Talent: Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play), Don MacLean (analyst)
Radio (UCLA Sports Network from IMG): AM 1150
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
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 UCLA's upcoming home games 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.
UP NEXT
UCLA has won four of its last six games against California. Last season, the two schools faced each other once, with the Bruins earning an 81-71 victory in Pauley Pavilion (Jan. 5, 2017). In four previous seasons under head coach Steve Alford, UCLA has compiled a 4-3 record against the Golden Bears. The Bruins have not played California at Haas Pavilion since Feb. 25, 2016, when UCLA absorbed a 75-63 loss. On Thursday evening, California lost to USC at Haas Pavilion, 80-62.
BRUINS AGAINST CAL
UCLA has compiled a 137-103 all-time record against California. In last season's 81-71 win against California in Pauley Pavilion, Bryce Alford scored a game-high 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting while TJ Leaf registered 18 points and 11 rebounds. UCLA has won its last five games against California in Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins lost to Cal in a home game at the L.A. Sports Arena on Feb. 11, 2012 and dropped a 72-58 decision to the Golden Bears in Pauley on Feb. 6, 2010. UCLA and California have gone 6-6 against each other in the last 12 meetings.
DOUBLE OVERTIME LOSS
Junior guard Aaron Holiday scored a team-leading 31 points after having scored just two first-half points, as UCLA dropped a 107-99 decision in double overtime at Stanford on Thursday night. Holiday nailed a game-tying three-pointer as the buzzer expired at the end of the first overtime at Stanford. He made 10 of 21 shots in the loss, hitting 3 of 7 attempts from three-point range. UCLA led Stanford at halftime, 41-36, and pushed its lead to as many as 13 points in the second half with just over nine minutes to play. Stanford nailed a three-pointer with five seconds left in regulation, tying the game 85-85.
HOLIDAY AGAINST WASHINGTON STATE
Aaron Holiday (33 pts, 11 rbs) became UCLA's first player to record at least 33 points and 11 rebounds in a game since Feb. 26, 1995. Ed O'Bannon registered team highs of 37 points and 13 rebounds in UCLA's 100-77 win over Duke in that contest in Pauley Pavilion, connecting on 14 of 22 shots from the field.
LAST WEEK
UCLA opened Pac-12 play at home with victories against Washington State (96-82) and Washington (74-53) on Dec. 29 and Dec. 31, respectively. Aaron Holiday registered career highs in the victory against Washington State (33 points, 11 rebounds) and finished the two-game homestand having averaged 23.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. Holiday connected on 6-of-9 shots from three-point range and made 11 of 12 free throws. Kris Wilkes averaged 17.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, while Thomas Welsh registered 9.5 points and 13.0 rebounds per game.
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. Freshmen Jaylen Hands, Chris Smith and Kris Wilkes have played vital roles midway through the Bruins' 2017-18 campaign. Wilkes (13.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg) and Hands (11.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg) are UCLA's second and fourth-leading scorers, respectively. Smith has twice scored in double figures, most recently totaling 10 points in the Bruins' win over South Dakota (Dec. 19).
1,000 POINT CLUB
Aaron Holiday and Thomas Welsh each reached the heralded 1,000-career-point milestone in a win versus Washington State (Dec. 29). With a 23-point first half, Holiday became the 55th player in program history to have scored 1,000 or more points wearing a UCLA uniform. In the second half of the game, Welsh became the 56th player to achieve that milestone. Holiday's 23 points in the first half against WSU marked the largest first-half point total by a Bruin since Jan. 18, 2017, when Isaac Hamilton erupted for 25 first-half points versus Arizona State (Hamilton finished with 33 total points).
MAKING THEIR MARK
Aaron Holiday (1,061 career points, 364 career assists) has become the 13th UCLA player on record to have recorded at least 1,000 points and 300 assists in his UCLA career. Thomas Welsh (1,016 career points, 841 career rebounds) has become UCLA's 12th player with at least 1,000 points and 800 rebounds. The most recent UCLA player to have reached the 1,000-point/800-rebound benchmark was Dan Gadzuric in 2001-02.
UCLA'S PRINCE
Prince Ali enters this Saturday's game at California having averaged 10.3 points per game. Ali has shot 47.5 percent from three-point range for the Bruins (19-of-40). The former resident of The Bronx, N.Y., ranked seventh in the Pac-12 Conference in three-point percentage (through Jan. 1). Ali has connected on at least one three-pointer in 10 of the Bruins' 15 games. He 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, Ali was teammates with then-senior Gyorgy "G.G." Goloman (2013-14).
LAST SUNDAY EVENING
In Sunday's 74-53 victory over Washington, the Bruins limited the visiting Huskies to 7.4 percent shooting (2-for-27) from three-point range. That was the lowest three-point percentage against any UCLA team since Jan. 5, 2013, when Stanford went 0-for-13 from downtown (UCLA won, 68-60). In addition, UCLA held Washington to 27.9 percent shooting overall (19-of-68), the lowest field goal percentage in a game by any UCLA opponent since Dec. 3, 2014, when Cal State Fullerton shot 24.1 percent (13-of-54) in Pauley Pavilion. Washington made just six of 35 shots (17.1%) in the second half last Sunday.
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 107 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 107-49 record in just over four seasons as the program's head coach (68.6 win percentage in games with UCLA).
MOVIN' ON UP
Thomas Welsh ranks third on the school's all-time blocked shots list (132), 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 has totaled nine double-doubles in 15 games for the Bruins this season. Please note, UCLA's official "blocked shot" statistic has only been tracked on a consistent basis since the 1978-79 season.
