LOS ANGELES – UCLA (12-9, 4-4 Pac-12) seeks its fifth victory in its last seven games on Saturday, when the Bruins will host Colorado (11-9, 4-4) in Pauley Pavilion. Game time is 7:30 p.m. (PT). The Bruins have won four of their five games against Colorado since the Buffaloes joined the Pac-12 prior to the 2011-12 season. Most recently, UCLA earned a 69-59 win over No. 11 Utah in Pauley Pavilion on Thursday night.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion (13,800)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 31
Game Time: 7:30 p.m. (PT)
Television: Pac-12 Networks
TV Talent: Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play), Bill Walton (analyst)
Radio: AM 570 (KLAC)
Radio Talent: Chris Roberts (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS Satellite Radio: Channel 93
SIRIUS XM Radio: Channel 197
GETTING TO THE GAMETickets are available by
ordering online or calling the UCLA Central Ticket Office at 310-UCLA-WIN (825-2946). The Pauley Pavilion Box Office (north side) will open Saturday at 6 p.m. for that night’s 7:30 p.m. game against Colorado. More information about directions to Pauley, parking and tickets can be found through our
Gameday Info website.
LISTEN LIVEUCLA’s home game against Colorado on Saturday evening (7:30 p.m. PT) will be broadcast live on the UCLA Sports Network from IMG College on AM 570 (KLAC), the flagship home of UCLA Athletics. The pregame show kicks off at 7 p.m. (PT). Chris Roberts and former UCLA basketball standout Tracy Murray will have the call, live from Pauley Pavilion. Fans can also listen to the audio broadcast by using the TuneIn radio app (
click here).
FACING COLORADOThe Bruins will be seeking their fifth win in their last seven games when they host Colorado in Pauley Pavilion on Saturday. UCLA dropped a 62-56 decision at Colorado nearly four weeks ago (Jan. 2) in both teams’ first Pac-12 game of the season. That contest at the Coors Events Center featured nine lead changes and five ties. The host Buffaloes took a 51-49 lead with five minutes to play and led the rest of the way.
Norman Powell scored a team-leading 22 points for UCLA, while Askia Booker registered 20 points to lead Colorado.
BRUINS TOPPLE UTESNorman Powell scored a team-best 23 points, connecting on 9 of 16 shots, to help UCLA cruise past No. 11 Utah, 69-59, on Thursday night. The Bruins never trailed in the second half, securing a 29-28 cushion in the final three minutes of the first half and leading the rest of the way. UCLA led Utah by as many as 15 points in the second half.
Bryce Alford finished with 14 points and
Isaac Hamilton scored 11 for the Bruins. UCLA totaled 15 assists and had just six turnovers in the Pac-12 win, outrebounding its opponent for the 15th time in 21 games this season.
HONORING CHAMPIONS
UCLA will honor its 1964 and 1965 NCAA championship teams in a halftime ceremony during Saturday’s game versus Colorado. The Bruins’ 1964 squad captured UCLA’s first NCAA basketball championship, posting a perfect 30-0 record in head coach John Wooden’s 16th season at UCLA. The following year, the Bruins won the NCAA title by going 28-2 overall and defeating Michigan, 91-80, in the NCAA championship contest. UCLA reached its peak form in the 1965 NCAA Tournament, when it averaged 100 points in four games.
RETRO JERSEYSUCLA's basketball team will debut the adidas Heritage Classic alternate basketball uniform this Saturday when the Bruins face Colorado (modeled after the Bruins' 1964-65 uniform,
uniform link here). For the first time ever, UCLA fans can bid on the actual game-worn jerseys (
auction link here) from this game to own a very unique piece of Bruins’ basketball history. These items are the authentic game-worn UCLA retro jersey, and all proceeds raised through the action will be used to directly assist with UCLA student-athlete scholarship expenses. Contact UCLA’s athletic development office (phone: 310-206-3302) with any questions regarding this exclusive auction.
FRESHMAN LEADERKevon Looney is the nation’s only freshman to be averaging a double-double (12.7 ppg, 10.0 rpg). Looney has tallied 10 double-doubles in 21 games. In comparison, UCLA’s
Kyle Anderson had eight double-doubles as a freshman (2012-13) and 16 last season. Looney has averaged 13.3 points and 9.4 rebounds in eight Pac-12 games and has scored in double figures in five of the Bruins’ last six contests. He tallied season-highs of 27 points and 19 rebounds in UCLA’s thrilling 86-81 double overtime victory against Stanford in Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 8.
POINTS AND ASSISTSBryce Alford ranks eighth in the Pac-12 in scoring (15.8 ppg) and has dished a team-leading 5.6 assists per game (fourth in the Pac-12). Alford, a 6-foot-3 guard from Albuquerque, N.M., has scored in double figures in 19 of UCLA’s 21 games. Through Jan. 29, Alford ranked second in the Pac-12 in free throw percentage (89.0 pct, 73-82), third in three-pointers made per game (2.5), fourth in minutes per game (36.0) and sixth in assist turnover ratio (2.2). Alford scored 14 points and finished with seven assists (two turnovers) in the win against Utah on Thursday.
FRONTCOURT FRESHMENFreshmen
Thomas Welsh and
G.G. Goloman have made a strong impact for the Bruins in Pac-12 play. Welsh, who started UCLA’s games at Oregon State (Jan. 22) and Oregon (Jan. 24), finished with seven points against Utah on Thursday night (3-for-3 from the field). The Bruins’ 7-foot center from Redondo Beach, Calif., also had eight points and four rebounds at USC (Jan. 14). Goloman, a 6-foot-10 forward who grew up in Körmend, Hungary, scored a season-high six points and totaled a season-best four steals in UCLA’s loss at Oregon State on Jan. 22.
1,000 POINTSSenior
Norman Powell currently ranks No. 44 on UCLA’s all-time scoring list (1,118 career points). Powell, a 6-foot-4 guard from San Diego, became the 51st player in program history to have reached the 1,000 career point mark in UCLA’s game at Colorado (Jan. 2). He has averaged 8.9 points per game in his career and can move into a four-way tie for ninth place on UCLA’s career games played list this Saturday. Powell has averaged 20.3 points in the Bruins’ last four games, making 30 of 65 total field goal attempts (46.2 pct) in those contests.
GETTING ADJUSTEDSophomore guard
Isaac Hamilton has scored in double figures in 13 of the team’s 21 games, starting all 21 contests. A former standout at St. John Bosco High School (Bellflower, Calif.), Hamilton enters Saturday evening’s game versus Colorado having tallied 10.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He did not play last season (NCAA rules) but did practice with the Bruins. Hamilton currently ranks second on the team in minutes per game (33.3) and leads all UCLA players in three-point field goal percentage (36.2 pct, 34-94).
PARKER’S PROGRESSIONJunior forward
Tony Parker has made consistent strides over three seasons. After having played just 6.3 minutes per game as a freshman (2012-13, averaged 2.4 ppg, 1.2 rpg), Parker played 17.2 minutes per game last season and has logged 24.9 minutes per game in 19 starts this season. He registered 6.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 2013-14. This year, he has recorded 10.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-9 forward from Atlanta, Ga., returned to UCLA’s starting lineup Thursday after missing the previous two games with back spasms.
YEAR TWOSteve Alford is midway through his second season as UCLA’s head coach and his 24th year as a college basketball head coach. He earned career victory No. 500 on Jan. 8, 2015, as UCLA downed Stanford in double overtime, 86-81. Alford directed the Bruins to a 28-9 record in 2013-14, tying the school record for most victories in a head coach’s first year in Westwood (Gene Bartow went 28-4 in 1975-76). Alford arrived at UCLA in March 2013 after six highly successful seasons at New Mexico. He has led his teams to at least 22 wins the previous seven years.
CRASHING THE BOARDSUCLA leads the Pac-12 in rebounds per game (39.8) and offensive rebounds per game (13.7). The Bruins have recorded the fourth-best rebound margin (+4.6) of any Pac-12 program (through Jan. 29). UCLA ranks No. 21, nationally, in offensive rebounds per game and No. 51 in rebound margin.
Kevon Looney has registered 4.0 offensive boards per game, the eighth-highest average in the nation (leads all freshman). UCLA is the Pac-12’s only program with at least two players in the top 10 in rebounds (Looney, 2nd at 10.0 rpg;
Tony Parker, 9th at 7.3).
