UCLA
California
Men's Basketball Hosts California on Saturday Night
January 04, 2024 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – UCLA hosts California this Saturday evening at 7 p.m. (PT) in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. The Bruins squared off against California just once last season, with UCLA securing a 78-43 win over the Golden Bears in Pauley Pavilion (Feb. 18, 2023). The Bruins have won 11 straight games against California, a winning streak that began with an 81-71 victory in Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 5, 2017. The Bruins have won their last 11 contests against California in Pauley Pavilion, in a streak dating back to 2011 (the Golden Bears defeated UCLA at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in 2012, while Pauley Pavilion was undergoing an 18-month renovation).
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom
Capacity: 13,800
Tipoff Time: 7:06 p.m. (PT)
Television: Pac-12 Network
TV Talent: J.B. Long (play-by-play), Don MacLean (analyst)
Radio Broadcast (UCLA Sports Network): AM 570
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS XM: SiriusXM 84 and on the SXM App
TICKET INFORMATION
Information about UCLA's ticket packages, plus single-game ticket sales, can be accessed online. Fans can call (310) 206-5991 or email tickets@athletics.ucla.edu for more information about tickets to UCLA men's basketball games. Additional information about season parking permits can be accessed here.
ENTRY TO PAULEY PAVILION, CLEAR BAG POLICY
Since the 2016-17 season, the UCLA Athletics Department has used a "clear bag policy" that limits the size and type of bags that may be brought into the arena (additional details and FAQ here). This is part of an effort to provide a safer environment for the public and to significantly expedite fan entry into Pauley Pavilion. Limiting the size and type of bags carried into the venue will assist in maintaining a safe and secure environment, as well as decreasing the time to enter the venue. The UCLA Athletics Department encourages fans not to bring any bags, but this policy is in place to help balance fan needs with the needs for improved safety and convenience.
UCLA VERSUS CALIFORNIA
The Bruins have compiled an all-time record of 146-103 against California in a series that began in 1921. UCLA has faced California three times over the past two seasons, with the most recent two games having occurred in Pauley Pavilion (Jan. 27, 2022 and Feb. 18, 2023). The Bruins will face California up north at Haas Pavilion (Berkeley, Calif.) on the afternoon of Saturday, Feb. 10 (game time that day is 2:30 p.m., PT).
RECENT RESULTS
UCLA enters this Saturday night's home game with a 6-8 overall mark, the first time in which the Bruins have been two games below .500 since closing the 2015-16 campaign with a 15-17 overall record. UCLA lost to Stanford, 59-53, in Pac-12 play on Wednesday evening, as freshman guard Sebastian Mack scored a team-high 14 points in that game. The Bruins have dropped three consecutive home games for the first time since Dec. 2019 and Jan. 2020 (versus Cal State Fullerton, USC and Stanford).
MOVING INTO JANUARY
UCLA's schedule has moved into Pac-12 play, with 17 regular-season contests remaining. The Bruins will play six more games this month and eight contests in February before closing the regular-season schedule with a trio of contests in early March. UCLA's January schedule will include a stretch of four road contests in five games – at Utah on Thursday, Jan. 11, before returning home for a Sunday contest against Washington (Jan. 14), and three straight road games at Arizona State (Jan. 17), at Arizona (Jan. 20) and at USC (Jan. 27). Five of UCLA's final seven games this season will be played at home.
GLANCING AT NEXT WEEK
The Bruins will play at Utah on Thursday, Jan. 11, before returning home for a Sunday tilt against Washington (Sunday, Jan. 14). UCLA has won seven consecutive games against Utah, with that winning streak having started on Feb. 2, 2020. Under fifth-year head coach Mick Cronin, the Bruins have gone 7-0 against the Runnin' Utes. Last season, UCLA won games against Utah in Los Angeles (Jan. 12, 2023) and in Salt Lake City (Feb. 23, 2023). As for Washington, the Bruins have won their last eight consecutive games against the Huskies, including a pair of wins in Pac-12 play last season.
UNDER 60 POINTS
UCLA's 59-53 loss to Stanford on Wednesday marked the third time since the 2019-20 season in which the Bruins lost a game when holding the opposition to under 60 points. Last season, Arizona defeated the Bruins at the McKale Center, 58-52, on Jan. 21, 2023. UCLA dropped a 54-52 decision at USC in both teams' regular-season finale on March 7, 2020, at the Galen Center, in what ended up being the final game that season due to the COVID-19 shutdown. Prior to those games, the Bruins had not lost when limiting the opposition to under 60 points since Feb. 21, 2015, at Arizona (UCLA lost that game by a 57-47 margin).
BRUINS' YOUTH MOVEMENT
UCLA's 15-man roster includes seven true freshmen, one redshirt freshman (Jack Seidler), three true sophomores and one redshirt sophomore (Will McClendon). In all, the Bruins have 12 players in their first or second seasons on the court. In addition, the Bruins have four true freshmen who will not turn 19 years old until later this year (Jan Vide, Aday Mara, Ilane Fibleuil and Brandon Williams). The Bruins' program added eight new faces in the summer – seven true freshmen and one transfer, junior Lazar Stefanovic (from Belgrade, Serbia, transferring from the University of Utah).
– The Bruins are believed to have one of the top-10-youngest teams in Division I basketball this season (by age). UCLA's average age at the start of the season was approximately 20 years and one month. UCLA freshman Brandon Williams is believed to be the third-youngest Division I player this season.
SCORING DEFENSE
Through games played on Wednesday, Jan. 3, the Bruins ranked No. 13 in the country and first in the Pac-12 in fewest points allowed per game (61.9 ppg, through 14 games). UCLA's field goal percentage defense ranked No. 32, nationally, and No. 2 in the Pac-12 (39.0%). Under fifth-year UCLA head coach Mick Cronin, the Bruins' scoring defense ranked No. 41 in the nation in 2021-22 (at 64.5 ppg) and No. 7 in the country last season (at 60.7 ppg). UCLA has allowed fewer than 70 points in 42 of their last 50 games, going 35-7 in those 42 contests (since the start of the 2022-23 season).
TRENDS AND PERCENTAGES
Over the Bruins' last three games (all in Pac-12 play), sophomore Adem Bona has averaged 13.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game. He has played at least 32 minutes in each of those three Pac-12 contests. Through the team's last five games, Bona has made 20 of 35 shots (57.1%). Freshman Burke Buyuktuncel has averaged 10.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in three Pac-12 contests, shooting 64.7 percent from the field (11-for-17) and 3-for-5 from beyond the 3-point arc in those games. Buyuktuncel has scored in double figures in UCLA's last two contests.
LAST WEEK
The Bruins split a pair of Pac-12 road games at Oregon State (Thursday night, 69-62 win) and at Oregon (Saturday afternoon, 64-59 loss). UCLA has held the opposition to fewer than 70 points in 12 of 14 games. The Bruins have compiled a 6-3 record when holding the opponent to 65 points or fewer and have gone 0-5 when allowing more than 65 points. In last week's two road games, sophomore Adem Bona averaged 14.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game. Bona shot 57.1 percent from the field (12-for-21), while Berke Buyuktuncel shot 70.0 percent in both games (7-for-10).
FROM LONG DISTANCE
Sophomore Will McClendon ranked No. 8 among Pac-12 players in 3-point field goal percentage (41.7%), through games played on Wednesday, Jan. 3. McClendon, who missed the 2021-22 season recovering from a torn ACL in his right knee, has made 15 of 36 attempts from 3-point distance, through all 14 games. He has made 10 of 21 attempts from 3-point range in UCLA's last seven games (since a win over UC Riverside on Thursday, Nov. 30). McClendon scored 10 points in the Bruins' win at Oregon State on Thursday, Dec. 30, and has averaged 4.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game this season.
BLOCKED SHOTS LEADERBOARD
Sophomore Adem Bona (124 ppg, 7.1 rpg) has totaled 84 blocks in 47 career games (1.8 per game). He stands 10 blocks shy of entering UCLA's career blocks top-10 leaderboard. Tony Parker (2013-16) registered 94 blocks during his four-year career (10th place), and Ed O'Bannon (1992-95) finished with 95 blocks en route to leading UCLA to the 1995 NCAA Championship (ninth on that list). Jelani McCoy (1996-98) set the program's career record with 188 blocks during his three-year collegiate career. Bona tallied a season-high five blocks in a loss at Oregon on Saturday, Dec. 30.
MORE ON SEBASTIAN MACK
Freshman Sebastian Mack has averaged a team-leading 13.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 14 games. The 6-foot-3 guard from Chicago has twice secured Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors this season. He ranks second among all Pac-12 players in most free throws made (66-for-85) and has twice made at least 13 free throws in a game. He was 13-for-13 in a loss to No. 4 Marquette (25 points on Nov. 20). Mack's 13-for-13 effort marked UCLA's first perfect free throw display by a freshman (at least 10 attempts), since Jordan Adams (16/16) in an 80-79 win over UC Irvine on Nov. 13, 2012.
– Sebastian Mack has made 13 free throws in two different games this season. Mack has become UCLA's first player since Arron Afflalo (in 2005-06) to have made at least 12 free throws in two or more games. Afflalo was 12-for-12 against Arizona State (1/7/2006) and went 13-for-16 against Arizona (2/4/2006).
NOTES ON PAULEY PAVILION
This marks the 58th basketball season in which UCLA has played in Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins' arena opened in time for the 1965-66 basketball season. The first game in Pauley Pavilion took place on Dec. 3, 1965, as No. 1 UCLA took down Ohio State, 92-66. The Bruins spent 47 consecutive seasons in Pauley Pavilion before the venue was closed for an 18-month renovation. UCLA hosted 18 home games during the 2011-12 season at two venues in Southern California (14 games at the Los Angeles Sports Arena and four games at the Honda Center in Anaheim).
– UCLA's home game winning streak was snapped at 29 games by CSUN on Tuesday, Dec. 19 (CSUN defeated UCLA, 76-72). Prior to the game versus CSUN, the Bruins had not lost at home since Jan. 13, 2022 (an 84-81 overtime loss to Oregon). UCLA's 29-game streak at home had been the longest active streak in the nation. Since taking over as the Bruins' head coach in April of 2019, Mick Cronin has led UCLA to a 59-9 record in 68 home games.
– Last season, the Bruins went 17-0 at home. Two seasons ago (2021-22), the Bruins compiled a 14-1 record in 15 home games. UCLA won its final eight home games in 2021-22, all 17 last year, and their first four of the 2022-23 home schedule. Before last season, UCLA's program had not gone undefeated at home since the 2006-07 campaign (going 16-0 in Pauley Pavilion). UCLA's 1995 NCAA title-winning team compiled a 15-0 home record.
– The Bruins' 29-game home winning streak had marked the longest such streak at UCLA since registering a program-record 98-game home winning streak in the 1970s. The Bruins won 98 straight home games from Dec. 4, 1970, through Feb. 19, 1976. UCLA had a 25-game winning streak in 2006 and 2007 and won 23 consecutive games from Feb. 1994 through Jan. 1996 (includes one game that California later forfeited).
RECENT HISTORY
– UCLA has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of the past three seasons. The Bruins earned their 19th NCAA Final Four appearance in 2021, securing a No. 11-seed in the 68-team field and advancing from the "First Four" to the Final Four. In 2022 and 2023, UCLA won its first and second-round matchups before losing in the Sweet 16. In all, UCLA's program has advanced to the NCAA Tournament 52 times and has won a nation-leading 11 NCAA championships.
– Mick Cronin is midway through his fifth year as the Bruins' head coach (The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach). Now in his 21st season as a college head coach, Coach Cronin has guided UCLA's program to an 105-44 overall record. He has led the Bruins to a combined 59-21 record in Pac-12 play (now in his fifth season). UCLA's 31 victories last season were the most by any Bruins' squad since UCLA posted a 31-5 record in 2016-17.
LEADING THE WAY
– Bruins' head coach Mick Cronin has guided the program to an 105-44 overall record (now in his fifth season at UCLA).
– This marks the 21st season as a college head coach for Coach Cronin (also at Murray State and Cincinnati).
– Over the past three seasons, Coach Cronin has guided UCLA to a 9-3 record in three NCAA Tournament appearances.
– Coach Cronin has earned Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors in 2020 and 2023.
– Coach Cronin was named as one of 10 semifinalists for last season's Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year Award.
– Coach Cronin has led his teams to at least 20 wins in 14 of his 20 previous seasons as a college head coach.
– Coach Cronin's teams have averaged 25.7 victories per season over the last 13 years (2010-11 through 2022-23).
– Coach Cronin has twice led his teams to 31 victories (last season at UCLA, and in 2017-18 at Cincinnati).
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES ON UCLA
– UCLA's bench has outscored the opposition's bench in nine of 14 games this season (UCLA has gone 5-4 in those nine contests) ... the Bruins' bench combined for 21 points in a 69-62 victory at Oregon State on Thursday, Dec. 30.
– The Bruins have played games along the East Coast in three consecutive seasons (at Philadelphia, to face Villanova earlier this year) ... at Maryland and in New York City last season, and in Philadelphia for the NCAA Tournament in March 2022.
– The Bruins have outrebounded the opposition in 11 of 14 games (5-6 record in those 11 contests) ... UCLA recorded a season-high 55 rebounds (including 17 offensive boards) in a win over Chaminade in Honolulu on Tuesday, Nov. 21.
– Prior to this season, UCLA had registered a 46-13 record in Pac-12 play the previous three years ... last year, UCLA went 18-2 in Pac-12 play, seucring its first regular-season conference title since 2013 (under then-head coach Ben Howland).
– The Bruins have won 34 of their last 37 home Pac-12 contests, with the losses taking place against USC (March 2021), Oregon in overtime (Jan. 2022) and Stanford (Jan. 2023).
– Maryland's Jahmir Young registered 37 points against UCLA on Dec. 22, becoming the first player to score at least 37 points in a game against UCLA since De'Aaron Fox totaled 39 for Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament (March 24, 2017).
STANDING TALL
UCLA's 15-man roster this season includes five players who stand at least 6-foot-9-inches tall. Freshman center Aday Mara, from Zaragoza, Spain, stands at 7 feet and 3 inches. During the Bruins' 2018-19 season, then-freshman Moses Brown measured at 7-foot-1 (Brown now plays for the Portland Trail Blazers). Mara becomes the Bruins' tallest player since the late Mike Lanier (7-foot-7, 310 pounds) competed as a reserve center for the Bruins in 1991-92 and 1992-93. Adem Bona, Kenneth Nwuba and Devin Williams are all 6-foot-10, while Berke Buyuktuncel is 6-foot-9.
