UCLA
Washington State
No. 11 UCLA to Play at Washington State on Friday
December 27, 2022 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – UCLA returns to action at Washington State on Friday evening (8 p.m., PT), resuming the bulk of the Pac-12 schedule. Ranked No. 11 in the AP Poll this week (and No. 8 in the USA Today Coaches Poll), the Bruins have not played at Washington State since Feb. 11, 2021 – UCLA lost that game, 81-73. Last season, UCLA won two games against Washington State – a 76-56 decision in Pauley Pavilion and a 75-65 contest in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinal round in Las Vegas. The Bruins will continue the upcoming road trip at Washington on Sunday, Jan. 1.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Beasley Coliseum (Pullman, Wash.)
Tipoff Time: 8:06 p.m. (PT)
Television: Pac-12 Network
TV Talent: Ted Robinson (play-by-play), Bill Walton (analyst)
Radio Broadcast (UCLA Sports Network): AM 570
Radio Talent: Nick Koop (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS XM, SIRIUS XM App Channels: Ch. 83, Ch. 83
SCHEDULE NOTES
UCLA will play at Washington State this Friday and at Washington on Sunday (at 4 p.m., PT), before returning home to host USC in a crosstown matchup on Thursday, Jan. 5. UCLA's game against USC will begin at 6:30 p.m. (PT) in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. The following week, UCLA will host Utah on Thursday, Jan. 12 and Colorado on Saturday, Jan. 14. The game time for UCLA's home contest versus Colorado has not been determined (the game will take place at 12 p.m. or 5 p.m., PT). UCLA's game time against Colorado (national TV: FOX) is contingent upon NFL postseason games that will be broadcast that Saturday on FOX. The Bruins' game time should be determined by Sunday, Jan. 8.
KEY NOTES ABOUT UCLA
– UCLA has won eight consecutive games, limiting the opposition to 58.3 points per game over that winning streak. The Bruins have gone 11-2 overall, having dropped back-to-back games in Las Vegas against No. 19 Illinois (79-70) and No. 5 Baylor (80-75) the weekend prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. UCLA has gone 3-2 away from home this season.
– Most recently, the Bruins closed their non-conference schedule with an 81-54 win against UC Davis in Pauley Pavilion (on Wednesday, Dec. 21). That win took place four days after the Bruins returned home from a trip to the East Coast, where they notched victories at No. 20 Maryland (87-60) and against No. 13 Kentucky (63-53) in New York City.
– UCLA had not tallied consecutive wins over top-25 ranked teams (AP poll) during the regular season since Nov. 2006, when the Bruins downed (20) Kentucky and (19) Georgia Tech (Nov. 20-21, 2006) at the Maui Invitational. UCLA logged back-to-back wins over top-25 ranked squads in the 2021 NCAA Tournament (No. 5 Alabama, No. 4 Michigan).
– UCLA's eight-game winning streak marks the longest such streak for the Bruins under fourth-year head coach Mick Cronin. The Bruins won 10 consecutive games late in the 2016-17 season (Feb. 1 through March 9, 2017) and also had one 13-game winning streak to open that basketball season (Nov. 11 through Dec. 21, 2016).
– In the win against Kentucky in New York (at Madison Square Garden) on Saturday, Dec. 17, UCLA limited Kentucky to just 53 points. That marked the lowest point total for any Kentucky team since losing at No. 7 Tennessee, 71-52, on March 2, 2019. With the victory in New York, the Bruins evened their all-time record against Kentucky to 8-8.
– Through the last five games, Jaylen Clark has averaged 18.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.2 steals per contest. Both Clark and Jaime Jaquez Jr. has shot 54.8 percent from the field (in five games), making 34 of 62 shots. Jaquez Jr. has averaged 15.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 2.2 assists in the Bruins' past five games.
– Through games played on Monday, Dec. 26, the Bruins ranked No. 2 in the Pac-12 in scoring (80.3 ppg) and No. 1 in scoring defense (61.5 points allowed per game). UCLA has led all Pac-12 teams in scoring margin (+18.8 ppg, ranks No. 8 in the nation) and in turnover margin (+7.6 per game, ranks No. 3 in the nation).
– UCLA has limited the opposition to 61.5 points per game, which ranked No. 34 nationally, through Monday, Dec. 26. In four seasons under coach Mick Cronin, the Bruins have gone 58-2 when limiting the opposition to 65 points or fewer. This season, UCLA has posted a perfect 9-0 record when holding the opponent to 65 points or fewer.
– The Bruins ranked No. 4, nationally, in the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings (KenPom.com), through games played Monday, Dec. 26. UCLA has compiled the No. 4-ranked offensive efficiency and are No. 11 in the defensive efficiency category (one of three teams among the top 15 in both categories). Ranked No. 11 in the AP poll, and No. 8 in the USA Today Sports Coaches poll, the Bruins have been ranked in each of the last 27 AP polls (since the start of the 2021-22 season).
WHO IS BACK FOR THE BRUINS?
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 two redshirt freshmen in forward Mac Etienne and guard Will McClendon, who both missed last season with knee injuries (torn ACL).
– Seven Bruins have scored at least 10 points in a game this season. Jaime Jaquez Jr. has scored at least 10 points in every game. Jaquez Jr., Campbell and Clark have scored at least 20 points in a game this season.
– Senior David Singleton ranks second on UCLA's all-time 3-point percentage list (45.1%) in 140 career contests. Through Monday, Dec. 26, he ranked No. 1 in the league in 3-point shooting percentage (52.6%).
– UCLA's assist-turnover ratio (1.58) ranks No. 8, nationally, and leads all Pac-12 teams. Tyger Campbell has totaled 56 assists and 23 turnovers (2.43 ratio), while Dylan Andrews has 17 assists and four turnovers.
– The Bruins have committed fewer turnovers than the opposition in all 13 games this season (going 11-2 overall). Last season, UCLA committed fewer turnovers than the opponent in 28 of 35 games.
ROAD WARRIORS
In addition to UCLA's 87-60 victory at Maryland on Wednesday, Dec. 14, the Bruins have also assembled substantial road victory margins in the past 12 months at Marquette (last December, led at halftime 35-21 and won, 67-56) and at Oregon State (last February, led at halftime 43-28 and won, 94-55). Earlier this month, the Bruins raced to a 17-0 lead in a Pac-12 game against Stanford (UCLA won, 80-66). Against Maryland on Dec. 14, UCLA led 39-11 with 3:30 to play before halftime.
– Last season, UCLA went 13-7 in road/neutral site games. In 2020-21, the Bruins went 11-9 in contests played away from home. This season, UCLA has gone 3-2 in five road/neutral site contests.
BRUINS DEFEAT KENTUCKY, 63-53
UCLA took down No. 13-ranked Kentucky, 63-53, before a crowd of 20,261 at Madison Square Garden in New York as part of this season's CBS Sports Classic on Saturday, Dec. 17. Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and four steals in the win. Kentucky finished that game with its lowest shooting percentage (32.8%) of the season and a season-high 18 turnovers. The Bruins had last faced Kentucky in the CBS Sports Classic in New Orleans in Dec. of 2017 (winning that game, 83-75). UCLA has won four of its last five matchups against Kentucky over the past seven seasons (since Dec. 2015).
JAQUEZ JR. AND CAMPBELL
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.
– Last season, Campbell secured first-team All-Pac-12 acclaim for the second consecutive year. He became the first UCLA player to earn first-team all-conference honors in back-to-back years since Arron Afflalo (2006 and 2007). This season, he has averaged 13.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and a team-leading 4.3 assists in 13 games.
– Jaquez Jr. was inserted into the starting lineup during the Maui Invitational (as a freshman in Nov. 2019) and has been a mainstay in the lineup since that week. He has played in 110 career games, having averaged 30.7 minutes per contest. He has logged career averages of 12.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.
– Jaquez Jr. (1,364 points) and Campbell (1,155 points) have both crossed the 1,000-career point threshold. Jaquez Jr. accomplished that historic feat last season, and Campbell reached that milestone in the second game of this season. Jaquez Jr. currently ranks No. 33 on the all-time list and Campbell ranks No. 48.
– Campbell has become one of eight UCLA players to have logged at least 1,000 career points and 500 assists in the Bruins' uniform (of note, the assist stat has been tracked at UCLA since the start of the 1973-74 season). Campbell currently ranks No. 7 on the Bruins' career assists list (525 total assists).
JAYLEN THE SPARK PLUG
Junior Jaylen Clark has been a key contributor for the Bruins this season. He has averaged 15.7 points and a team-best 6.7 rebounds per game (12 contests). Clark had entered the week as the Pac-12 leader in steals (32) and had totaled 24 assists. Last season, Clark had a five-game stretch as a sophomore (Feb. 2022) where he had averaged 14.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 2.4 steals (UCLA went 4-1 in those five contests).
PRECISION FROM 3-POINT RANGE
Fifth-year senior guard David Singleton has averaged a career-best 10.1 points per game (13 contests). He leads all Pac-12 players in 3-point shooting percentage (52.6%), having connected on 30 of his 57 long-range attempts. In addition, Singleton's career 3-point percentage (45.1%) currently ranks No. 2 among all UCLA players in program history. The 6-foot-4 guard from Los Angeles had made 10 of 14 attempts from 3-point range (71.4%) in UCLA's last four games. He has now made at least 30 attempts from 3-point distance in each of his five seasons on the court at UCLA.
GETTING FAMILIAR WITH AMARI
Freshman guard Amari Bailey has averaged 9.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 13 games. He has twice totaled 19 points (vs. Pepperdine, and at Stanford). Bailey had 19 points and six rebounds in the Bruins' 80-66 win at Stanford on Thursday, Dec. 1. He totaled 15 of his 19 points in the first half as the Bruins secured a 50-29 cushion at halftime at Maples Pavilion. He was honored as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week in back-to-back weeks (Nov. 28, Dec. 5).
THREE-POINT STREAK
UCLA has made at least one 3-pointer in its last 766 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 309 of 318 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).
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.
HOME GAMES, PAC-12 CONTESTS
– The Bruins went 14-1 at home last season, winning their final eight games in Pauley Pavilion. UCLA will enter next week's game versus USC having won their last 16 home contests. Last season, the Bruins' only loss at home was an 84-81 overtime setback against Oregon (on Thursday, Jan. 13). Since taking over as UCLA's head coach (fall of 2019), Mick Cronin has led the Bruins to a 46-6 record in all games played in Pauley Pavilion.
– With the COVID-19 pandemic prompting teams to close their arenas to fans, none of UCLA's home games in 2020-21 were played in front of a crowd. Likewise, three of UCLA's games in January of 2022 were played before no fans (arena was limited to players' family members only). Including a seven-game home win streak to close the 2019-20 home schedule, UCLA has won its last 27 home contests with fans in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
– Since the start of the 2020-21 season, UCLA has compiled a 30-11 mark in the Pac-12 (13-6 in 2020-21, and 15-5 last season). The Bruins have won 25 of their last 27 home games in Pac-12 action (the Bruins lost to USC in March of 2021 and to Oregon in overtime last season on Jan. 13, 2022). The Bruins won their final seven home Pac-12 games in 2019-20, during Coach Cronin's first season as UCLA's head coach.
– UCLA has gone 8-0 in eight home contests this season (during the regular season). The Bruins have nine home Pac-12 games remaining on the schedule, including next Thursday evening's contest against USC (Thursday, Jan. 5, at 6:30 p.m., PT). This season, the Bruins will not play Oregon State in Pauley Pavilion (and won't travel to play at California). UCLA opened its Pac-12 schedule in early December with wins at Stanford (80-66) and at home versus Oregon (65-56).
THE BRUINS WHEN ...
Since the start of the 2017-18 season, the Bruins have gone 89-17 when leading at halftime (through 177 games). During that span, UCLA has gone 25-41 when trailing at halftime (3-2 when tied at the break). UCLA's largest halftime deficit overcome in that stretch has been 16 points – UCLA trailed at home against Oregon, 44-28, on Feb. 23, 2019, and outscored the Ducks in the second half (62-39) to win, 90-83. When the Bruins have built a 10-point lead (or larger) at any point in the game, UCLA has gone 93-12. When trailing by 10 or more points in a game, UCLA has gone 17-42.
LIMITING THE TURNOVERS
Through games played on Monday, Dec. 26, the Bruins ranked No. 8 (nationally) in fewest turnovers per game (10.1). UCLA has committed nine or fewer turnovers in eight of 13 games this season. Last year, UCLA concluded the season ranked No. 2 in fewest turnovers per game (8.9), while Wisconsin ranked No. 1 in that category (8.7). UCLA committed just one turnover in the 75-68 win over USC last season (March 5, 2022), the fewest turnovers by a Pac-12 team in one game (on record). UCLA has consistently recorded assist and turnover stats since the start of the 1973-74 season.
– UCLA's Tyger Campbell ranked No. 67 in the nation, and No. 2 in the Pac-12, in assist-turnover ratio (2.43) through games played on Monday, Dec. 26. Last season, Campbell concluded the year ranking No. 1 in the Pac-12 and No. 6, nationally, in assist-turnover ratio (3.2).
– The Bruins have committed fewer turnovers than the opposition in all 13 games. Through games played Monday, Dec. 26, UCLA ranked No. 3 in the nation in turnover margin (+7.6), well ahead of the second-best turnover margin in the Pac-12 (Arizona State, at +1.46 per game).
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.).
