UCLA Men's Basketball to Host Utah on Sunday

LOS ANGELES – The Bruins will play four of their final six regular-season contests at home, starting with Sunday's showdown against Utah. UCLA has compiled an all-time record of 17-11 versus Utah, including a 13-9 mark against the Runnin' Utes since they joined the Pac-12 prior to the 2011-12 season. Game time on Sunday is 4 p.m. (PT) in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.

GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion
Capacity: 13,800
Tipoff Time: 4:10 p.m. (PT)
Television: FS1
TV Talent: Dan Hellie (play-by-play), Casey Jacobsen (analyst)
Radio Broadcast (UCLA Sports Network): AM 570
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS XM: SiriusXM 373 and on the SXM App

TRENDS AND NOTES
– UCLA has won six consecutive games (season-best) and has won eight of nine contests since opening 6-10.
– Bruins' freshman Sebastian Mack has scored at least 15 points in 11 games this season.
– Over those past nine contests, UCLA has surrendered 63.8 points per game and 31.4 percent from 3-point range.
– The Bruins have averaged a plus-6.7 rebounding margin in their 14 victories (and a negative-2.1 margin in 11 losses).
– UCLA has won seven of its last eight games versus Utah (and stretching back to 2017, that's nine wins in 13 games).
– In the last nine games, junior Lazar Stefanovic has shot 46.3% from three and 91.4% at the free throw line (32/35).
– The Bruins rank first in the Pac-12 in scoring defense (63.9 ppg) and second in 3-point field goal defense (32.2%).
– UCLA and Washington State (5-3 on the road, Pac-12 play) are the only schools with at least five Pac-12 road wins.
– The Bruins have shot 44.7 percent (overall) and 37.4 percent from 3-point range in 14 victories this season.
– One week ago, sophomore Dylan Andrews was honored as Pac-12 Player of the Week for the first time in his career.
– The Bruins have gone 3-1 in games decided by three or fewer points this season.

THURSDAY NIGHT'S WIN
The Bruins outscored Colorado by a 10-6 margin over the game's final 4:50, securing a 64-60 win against the Buffaloes on Thursday night. UCLA extended its winning streak to a season-high six games, the Bruins' longest winning streak since recording 12 consecutive wins in February and March of last season. Sebastian Mack scored a team-leading 19 points and Adem Bona finished with 14 points and seven rebounds to lead UCLA. The Bruins led by as many as 14 points early in the second half, before Colorado tied the contest with just under seven minutes remaining in regulation.

UCLA'S LAST NINE GAMES
Through the last nine contests, Lazar Stefanovic has averaged a team-leading 13.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Stefanovic has shot 44.0 percent from the field and 46.3 percent from 3-point range in those nine games. He has made 32 of 35 free throws during that span (91.4 percent) and has totaled 13 assists and eight turnovers. Adem Bona (12.9 ppg in nine games), Sebastian Mack (12.8 ppg) and Dylan Andrews (12.4 ppg) have each averaged at least 12 points per game in that nine-game stretch. As a team, the Bruins have shot 43.3 percent overall and 38.8 percent from 3-point distance.

MINUTES PER GAME
Dylan Andrews ranked No. 4 and Lazar Stefanovic ranked No. 5 in the Pac-12 in minutes per game, through games played on Friday, Feb. 16. Andrews has logged a team-leading 34.7 minutes per game in his second season in the program. Stefanovic enters this Sunday's contest having averaged 34.6 minutes per game.

65 OR FEWER POINTS
The Bruins have held their opposition to 65 points or fewer in 15 of 25 contests this season, posting a 12-3 record in those games. UCLA has surrendered a Pac-12-leading 63.9 points per game this season (65.4 ppg, in 14 Pac-12 games). Last season, the Bruins limited the opposition to 65 points or fewer in 27 of their 37 total games, compiling a 25-2 record in those contests. UCLA has allowed 50 points or fewer in four games this season – versus Saint Francis, Lafayette and Chaminade in non-conference games in November, and at crosstown rival USC on Saturday, Jan. 27.

SCORING DEFENSE
Through games played on Friday, Feb. 16, the Bruins ranked No. 15 in the country and first in the Pac-12 in fewest points allowed per game (63.9 ppg, through 25 games). UCLA's field goal percentage defense ranked No. 63, nationally, and second in the Pac-12 (41.4%). Under fifth-year head coach Mick Cronin, UCLA's 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). The Bruins have allowed fewer than 70 points in 48 of their last 59 games, going 41-7 in those 48 contests since the start of the 2022-23 season.

DEFENSIVE PRESENCE
Sophomore Adem Bona, standing at 6-foot-10 and 245 pounds, has averaged 12.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.2 assists per game in all 25 contests. Last week, Bona was the only Pac-12 player named to the 15-man watch list for this year's Naismith Men's Defensive Player of the Year award, which was won by Jaylen Clark last season. Bona ranks No. 2 among all Pac-12 players in blocks per game (1.9), No. 3 in field goal percentage (58.9%) and No. 8 in offensive rebounds per game (2.2). He has totaled 32 of his team-leading 47 blocked shots through UCLA's last 14 games.

BLOCKED SHOTS LEADERBOARD
Sophomore Adem Bona (12.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg) has totaled 104 blocks in 58 career games, averaging 1.8 per game this year. Bona has moved into the No. 6 spot on UCLA's all-time blocks list, 13 blocks behind Lorenzo Mata (No. 5, with 117 career blocks). Jelani McCoy (1996-98) established the program's career record with 188 blocks during his three-year collegiate career. Through Thursday's games, Bona ranked No. 41 in the nation with 47 blocks this season and No. 41, nationally, with an average of 1.88 blocks per game.

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 three true freshmen who will not turn 19 years old until later this year (Aday Mara, Ilane Fibleuil and Brandon Williams). The Bruins' program added eight new faces last summer, including seven true freshmen and one transfer, junior Lazar Stefanovic (from Belgrade, Serbia, who transferred to UCLA from the University of Utah).

ACROSS THE COUNTRY
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.

INTERESTING PARALLEL
UCLA's 46-point loss at Utah on Thursday, Jan. 11, marked the first time the Bruins had lost by at least 40 points since dropping an 109-68 decision to North Carolina (at the Great Alaska Shootout) in the season opener on Nov. 27, 1997. After that loss to the Tar Heels in 1997, the Bruins won their next nine straight games and 13 of their next 14 contests. In similar fashion, this year's UCLA team has won eight of nine games since the loss at Utah on Jan. 11. The Bruins' 1997-98 squad (24-9) entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 6 seed in the South Region and advanced to the Sweet 16.

3-POINTERS, AS A TEAM
UCLA has shot 32.4 percent from 3-point range. The 2019-20 team shot 32.3 percent, the lowest single-season 3-point percentage by any UCLA team (NCAA adopted the 3-point arc in 1986-87). UCLA is averaging 5.2 made threes per game, the lowest per-game average since 2012-13 (4.9 per game). In addition, the 16.0 attempts per game are the fewest since 2012-13 (14.7 per game). Last season, UCLA averaged 6.1 made threes per game and took 17.6 attempts per game.

MOST THREES, PER GAME
UCLA's 2016-17 team made an average of 9.8 threes per contest, the highest such per-game average in program history. The Bruins made 40.6 percent of their 3-point attempts that season and took an average of 24.2 threes per game. UCLA's 2017-18 squad attempted a school-record 24.6 threes per game.

UCLA'S LEADING SCORER
Sebastian Mack has averaged a team-leading 13.5 points per game, along with 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. The 6-foot-3 freshman guard from Chicago, Ill., has twice secured Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors. He ranked third among all Pac-12 players in most free throws made (108-for-150), through Thursday, Feb. 15. In addition, Mack ranked No. 7 in the Pac-12 in steals per game (1.6 spg). He has scored in double figures in 16 games during his freshman season and recorded a team-leading 21 points in an 82-74 win at Stanford on Wednesday, Feb. 7.

NOTES ON PAULEY PAVILION
– This marks the 58th season in which UCLA has played in Pauley Pavilion. The arena opened in time for the 1965-66 basketball campaign. The first game in Pauley Pavilion took place on Dec. 3, 1965, as No. 1 UCLA took down Ohio State (92-66). UCLA spent 47 seasons in Pauley before the venue was closed for an 18-month renovation. UCLA hosted 18 home games in 2011-12 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena (14 games) and the Honda Center in Anaheim (four games).

– CSUN snapped UCLA's 29-home-game winning streak earlier this season (CSUN won, 76-72, on Dec. 19, 2023). Prior to that loss, UCLA had not lost at home since Jan. 13, 2022 (an 84-81 overtime loss to Oregon). UCLA's 29-game home streak had been the longest active streak in the country. Since taking over as UCLA's head coach prior to the 2019-20 season, Mick Cronin has guided the Bruins to a 63-10 record in 73 home games (86.3% win percentage).

– 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
The Bruins have advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of the past three seasons. UCLA secured its 19th NCAA Final Four appearance in 2021, earning a No. 11-seed in the 68-team field and advancing from the First Four to the Final Four. Along the way, the Bruins registered victories over Michigan State, BYU, Abilene Christian, Alabama and Michigan. 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.

LEADING THE WAY
– Head coach Mick Cronin has guided the program to an overall mark of 113-47 (midway through his fifth year at UCLA).
– Over the past three seasons, Coach Cronin has led UCLA to a 9-3 record in three NCAA Tournament appearances.
– Coach Cronin earned Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors in 2020 (his first year at UCLA) and 2023 (his fourth year).
– 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).

HOME CONTESTS
The Bruins have gone 8-4 in 12 home contests this season, shooting 42.9 percent from the field and 31.5 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. Sebastian Mack has averaged 14.5 points and 3.2 rebounds in 12 home contests. Adem Bona has shot 64.1 percent from the field at home, with averages of 13.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. UCLA has limited the opposition to 41.3 percent shooting from the field in 12 home games (and 31.7 percent from beyond the 3-point line). In addition, the Bruins are averaging 67.3 points per game at home, while limiting the opposition to 61.2 points per contest.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES ON UCLA
– UCLA's bench has outscored the opposition's bench in 15 of 25 games this season (UCLA has gone 11-4 in those 15 contests) ... the Bruins' bench combined for 22 points in a 68-66 victory at Arizona State on Wednesday, Jan. 17.

– The Bruins have outrebounded the opposition in 16 of 25 games (10-6 record in those 16 contests) ... UCLA recorded a season-high 55 rebounds (including 17 offensive boards) in a win over Chaminade in Honolulu on Tuesday, Nov. 21.

– Since the start of the 2020-21 season, the Bruins have gone 55-18 in Pac-12 play ... last season, the Bruins went 18-2 in the Pac-12, earning their first regular-season conference title since 2013 (under then-head coach Ben Howland).

– The Bruins have won 38 of their last 42 home Pac-12 contests, with the losses taking place against USC (March 2021), Oregon in overtime (Jan. 2022), Stanford (Jan. 2023) and California (Jan. 2023).

STANDING TALL
UCLA's 15-man roster 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.

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UCLA Men's Basketball to Host Utah on Sunday

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Players Mentioned

Dylan Andrews

Adem Bona

Berke Buyuktuncel

Jaylen Clark

Ilane Fibleuil

Sebastian Mack

Aday Mara

Will McClendon

Kenneth Nwuba

Jack Seidler

Lazar Stefanovic

Brandon Williams

Devin Williams

University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics

UCLA Men's Basketball to Host Utah on Sunday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Dylan Andrews

Adem Bona

Berke Buyuktuncel

Jaylen Clark

Ilane Fibleuil

Sebastian Mack

Aday Mara

Will McClendon

Kenneth Nwuba

Jack Seidler

Lazar Stefanovic

Brandon Williams

Devin Williams

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