UCLA
Bellarmine
No. 19 UCLA Prepares to Face Bellarmine on Sunday
November 25, 2022 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – No. 19-ranked UCLA (4-2) will take on Bellarmine (2-4) this Sunday afternoon in a non-conference game in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Game time is 4 p.m. (PT). The two schools faced off last season in UCLA's first of two games in Las Vegas, playing in the Good Sam Empire Classic at T-Mobile Arena (UCLA won, 75-62). This Sunday's contest will be televised televised by the Pac-12 Network, with Gary Apple and Don MacLean calling the action, courtside in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. UCLA's game will also be available in the Los Angeles area on either AM 570 or AM 1150.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom
Game Time: 4:10 p.m. (PT)
Television: Pac-12 Network
TV Talent: Gary Apple (play-by-play), Don MacLean (analyst)
Radio Broadcast (UCLA Sports Network): AM 570 or AM 1150
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS XM, SIRIUS XM App Channels: Ch. 84, Ch. 84
UCLA's complete schedule (2022-23): https://ucla.in/3Cc9T62
KEY NOTES ABOUT UCLA
– The Bruins have opened the season with a 4-2 mark. Most recently, UCLA reached the 100-point mark for the third time in four seasons with a 100-53 win over Pepperdine (Wednesday, Nov. 23). Last week, the Bruins absorbed consecutive losses to No. 19 Illinois (79-70) and No. 5 Baylor (80-75) in Las Vegas at the Continental Tire Main Event, hosted at T-Mobile Arena. UCLA hosts Bellarmine this Sunday afternoon before playing Stanford (on the road) and Oregon (at home) next week.
– UCLA had not faced "top 25" ranked opponents in back-to-back games since the 2021 NCAA Tournament, when the Bruins faced No. 5 Alabama (88-78 OT win), No. 4 Michigan (51-49 win) and No. 1 Gonzaga (93-90 OT loss). UCLA lost in back-to-back games just once last season and never lost three consecutive contests. The Bruins lost 76-66 at Arizona on a Thursday evening (Feb. 3) before dropping an 87-84 decision in triple overtime at Arizona State two nights later (Feb. 5).
– UCLA's program has returned five of the main 11 contributors from last year. UCLA went 27-8 overall last season, advancing to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16. Key players back include seniors Tyger Campbell, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kenneth Nwuba and David Singleton and junior Jaylen Clark. Each of those student-athletes played in at least 20 games in 2021-22. All five competed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament (the "First Four" to the Final Four). UCLA also has returned one pair of redshirt freshmen in Mac Etienne and Will McClendon, who both missed last season with knee injuries (torn ACL).
– The Bruins' 100-53 win against Pepperdine (47-point margin) marked UCLA's largest win margin since defeating Wyoming, 113-62, in Pauley Pavilion on Dec. 23, 2008. Last season, the Bruins' largest margin of victory took place at Oregon State (94-55, by 39 points) in their third-to-final game of the regular season. Six UCLA players scored in double figures in last Wednesday night's victory against Pepperdine (Amari Bailey scored a team-leading 19 points).
AGAINST BELLARMINE
This Sunday's showdown against Bellarmine will mark just the second time in which UCLA has faced the Knights on the hardwood. Last year, UCLA outlasted Bellarmine (75-62) in a game played at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, as part of the Good Sam Empire Classic (the Bruins played against Bellarmine, one night before facing then-No. 1-ranked Gonzaga). UCLA led at halftime, 36-25, and outscored Bellarmine by just two points (39-37) in the second half. Then-freshman Peyton Watson scored a season-high 19 points, connecting on 9 of 12 shots from the field, against the Knights.
FAMILIAR COACHES
Bruins' head coach Mick Cronin and Bellarmine head coach Scott Davenport both served on the Louisville men's basketball coaching staff during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons (Coach Cronin was Rick Pitino's associate head coach during those seasons). Coach Cronin took the head coaching position at Murray State University (in Kentucky) after his two seasons on staff at Louisville.
CLARK CONTINUES TO IMPRESS
Junior Jaylen Clark has totaled a team-high 46 rebounds (7.7 rpg) and 16 steals through the first six games. He tallied seven steals in the team's season-opening win against Sacramento State, marking the largest single-game steals total for any UCLA player since Jordan Adams had eight in a win against Sacramento State during his sophomore season (game played in Pauley Pavilion on Nov. 18, 2013). UCLA's single-game record of 11 steals was set by Tyus Edney in a home win over George Mason on Dec. 22, 1994 (the same season in which UCLA won the 1995 NCAA Championship).
SHOWING IMPROVEMENT
Clark averaged 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds in 29 games last year. He shot 50.6 percent and was 7-for-27 from 3-point range (25.9%). Through UCLA's first six games this season, he leads the team in scoring (15.7 ppg) and rebounding (7.7 ppg), having shot 65.5 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from 3-point range.
ASSISTS AND TURNOVERS
The Bruins have compiled an assist-turnover ratio of 1.56-to-1, through six games. The Bruins' opposition has recorded 71 assists and 100 turnovers (an assist-turnover ratio of 0.71-to-1). Tyger Campbell has registered 24 assists and 11 turnovers, while David Singleton has committed just two turnovers through 162 minutes (averaging 27.0 minutes per game). Freshman guard Dylan Andrews has six assists and just one turnover in limited action off the bench (11.9 mpg). Nearly three weeks into the season, UCLA ranks first among all Pac-12 programs in assist-turnover ratio (1.56).
HISTORY & TRADITION
The 2022-23 school year marks the 104th season in which UCLA has fielded a men's basketball team (first season was 1919-20). In addition, this is the 57th season in which the Bruins have called Pauley Pavilion their home. The arena opened at the start of the 1965-66 season, and UCLA spent the next 46 seasons playing home games in Pauley Pavilion. The arena was closed for an 18-month renovation during the 2011-12 school year, re-opening in Nov. 2012. In all, the Bruins have won a nation-leading 11 NCAA Championships and have advanced to the NCAA Final Four 19 times.
WOODEN AWARD, PRESEASON LIST
Seniors Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez Jr. have been named to the 50-person watch list for this season's John R. Wooden Award, which annually honors the nation's top men's and women's college basketball players. The UCLA men's basketball program has seen past standout players Marques Johnson (1977) and Ed O'Bannon (1995) win the Wooden Award. In fact, Marques Johnson won the Wooden Award in 1977, in the award's first-ever season.
1,000 POINT CLUB
Tyger Campbell became the 60th UCLA player to have scored at least 1,000 career points (in a Bruins' uniform) in the first half of UCLA's win over Long Beach State on Friday, Nov. 11. He currently ranks No. 53 on the school's all-time scoring list (1,059 points). Campbell entered the contest against Long Beach State having scored 996 career points. He crossed the 1,000 point threshold on a 3-point basket in the first six minutes of the first half. Campbell and Jaquez Jr. (1,233 career points) are the only current UCLA players to have reached that 1,000-career-point milestone. Looking at UCLA's veteran student-athletes, David Singleton ranks third (among current players) with 674 career points through 133 career games.
1,000 POINTS, 500 ASSISTS
Tyger Campbell could become one of eight UCLA players to have logged at least 1,000 career points and 500 assists in the Bruins' uniform (the assist statistic has been routinely tracked since the 1973-74 season). Seven former UCLA players have accomplished that 1,000-point and 500-assist milestone. Campbell will enter this Sunday afternoon's game versus Bellarmine having totaled 1,070 career points and 493 assists.
WELCOME TO WESTWOOD
UCLA has added six freshmen to the roster with guards Dylan Andrews, Amari Bailey, Abramo Canka and Jack Seidler and forwards Adem Bona and Evan Manjikian. Bailey (6-foot-5 guard) and Bona (6-foot-10 forward) were both honored as McDonald's All-America selections in the spring of 2022. Bailey was recently listed as a preseason honorable mention All-Pac-12 Conference selection (along with junior Jaylen Clark). Andrews (6-foot-2 guard) spent his first three years of high school at nearby Windward School (Los Angeles) before excelling as a senior at Compass Prep in Arizona. Bona averaged 15.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game last season as a senior at Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.).
THREE-POINT STREAK
UCLA has made at least one 3-pointer played in its last 759 games. That 3-point streak began after the Bruins went 0-for-14 from 3-point territory in a 78-63 loss at No. 2-ranked Stanford on Feb. 3, 2000 (Maples Pavilion). UCLA has made at least three 3-pointers in 303 of 311 games since the start of the 2013-14 season. The Bruins made a school single-game-record 19 three-pointers, on 31 attempts, in a 104-89 win at Colorado on Jan. 12, 2017. UCLA's previous 3-point record was set earlier that season, as the Bruins made 18 of 30 attempts in the regular-season opener against Pacific (Nov. 11, 2016). UCLA has made 17 or more 3-point field goals in four games (19 once, 18 once and 17 twice).
NOTES ABOUT DAVID
Fifth-year senior David Singleton ranks No. 2 on UCLA's all-time list for 3-point shooting percentage and No. 5 on the Pac-12 Conference's career list in the same category. Singleton has shot 44.7 percent from beyond the 3-point arc, sinking 163 of 365 career 3-point attempts. He has made 17 of 32 attempts this season.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL'S POSITIONAL AWARDS
UCLA has four student-athletes who have been named to the position-by-position award watch lists, as announced in October by tne Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Senior Tyger Campbell is among 20 candidates for the Bob Cousy Award (point guard of the year), as Campbell was one of five finalists last season. Freshman Amari Bailey has been named to the 20-person watch list for the Jerry West Award (shooting guard of the year). Senior Jaime Jaquez Jr. has been listed to the 20-person watch list for this year's Julius Erving Award (small forward of the year). Jaquez Jr. was one of five finalists for that award last season. Freshman Adem Bona is among 20 candidates for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award (center of the year). Those lists will be reduced to five finalists in February 2023.
