Sunday, January 4, 2015

UCLA Basketball Set for Sunday's Game at No. 10 Utah

Isaac Hamilton (left) has averaged 15.8 points in UCLA's last four games (AP photo)
Isaac Hamilton (left) has averaged 15.8 points in UCLA's last four games (AP photo)

Courtesy: Associated Press

Courtesy: UCLA Athletics
Release: Saturday 01/03/2015
Article Link
SALT LAKE CITY - UCLA (8-6, 0-1) will play at No. 10 Utah (11-2, 1-0) on Sunday afternoon at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Sunday’s game, slated to begin at 1:00 pm (PT), will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks. UCLA will close its four-game road trip at Utah on Sunday before returning home to face Stanford next Thursday evening in Pauley Pavilion.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,000)
Date: Sunday, Jan. 4
Tipoff Time: 1:10 p.m. (PT)/2:10 p.m. (MT)
Television: Pac-12 Networks
TV Talent: Ted Robinson (play-by-play), Bill Walton (analyst), Yogi Roth (reporter)
Radio: AM 570 (KLAC)
Radio Talent: Chris Roberts (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
LISTEN LIVE
UCLA’s game at Utah on Sunday, Jan. 4, will be live on the UCLA Sports Network from IMG College on AM 570 (KLAC). The pregame show kicks off at 12:30 p.m. (PT), while the game is set to begin at 1 p.m. (PT). Chris Roberts and former UCLA basketball standout Tracy Murray will have the call, live from the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City. Fans can also listen to the audio broadcast by using the TuneIn radio app (click here).
PAC-12 PLAY
UCLA opened its Pac-12 schedule with a 62-56 loss at Colorado on Friday evening. Norman Powell finished with 22 points and Isaac Hamilton added 16. The Bruins open conference play this season with five of their first seven games on the road. Friday night’s loss marked the Bruins’ second defeat in their last 10 Pac-12 opening games (UCLA has gone 2-2 in Pac-12 openers on the road in 10 seasons). The Bruins have not opened their Pac-12 schedule on the road since the 2011-12 season, dropping a pair of games at Stanford and California in Dec. 2011.
ON THE ROAD
The Bruins are nearing the end of a stretch of four consecutive games away from home. UCLA lost to No. 1 Kentucky in Chicago (United Center) on Dec. 20 before dropping its final non-conference game at Alabama on Dec. 28. In fact, UCLA is currently admist a nine-game stretch that features seven games away from home (one neutral site contests and six road games from Dec. 20 through Jan. 24). Conversely, UCLA’s conference schedule will allow the Bruins to conclude their regular season schedule with five of their final seven games at home.
ONE THOUSAND
Senior Norman Powell became the 51st player in program history to have reached the 1,000 career point mark in UCLA’s game at Colorado last Friday night. Powell, a 6-foot-4 guard from San Diego, scored a team-leading 22 points to push his career total to 1,003. He became the second player in as many seasons at UCLA to reach the 1,000 career point plateau (Jordan Adams accomplished the feat as a sophomore in March 2014). Powell currently ranks No. 51 overall on UCLA’s career scoring chart behind Michael Roll (1,021 career points).
HISTORY WITH UTAH
UCLA has tallied a 7-5 all-time record on the basketball court against Utah, having won three of four contests against the Utes since they formally joined the Pac-12 Conference in the summer of 2011. Prior to the meeting at the Los Angeles Sports Arena on Jan. 26, 2012, UCLA had not played Utah since the 1983 NCAA Tournament (consolation game). Last season, Utah defeated the Bruins, 74-69, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City. UCLA responded less than one month later with an 80-66 win against Utah in Pauley Pavilion.
ON THE HORIZON
Following UCLA’s road trip to Colorado and Utah, the Bruins will return home to host Stanford on Thursday, Jan. 8, and California on Sunday, Jan. 11. Last season, UCLA went 1-1 against Stanford during the regular season, winning one game in Pauley Pavilion before dropping a contest at Stanford’s Maples Pavilion. UCLA secured an 84-59 win over Stanford in a Pac-12 Tournament semifinal game. The Bruins won both of their games against California. Next Thursday’s game will mark the Bruins’ first contest in Pauley Pavilion since Saturday, Dec. 13 (vs. Gonzaga).
CRASH THE BOARDS
Through games played Jan. 2, UCLA ranked second in the conference in rebounds per game (41.7). In addition, the Bruins ranked No. 23, nationally, in offensive rebounds per game (13.9). UCLA’s team continues to lead the Pac-12 in offensive rebounds per game and are the only Pac-12 program to have two players listed among the conference’s top 10 rebounders (through Jan. 2). Freshman Kevon Looney ranks second in the Pac-12 in rebounds per game (10.2 rpg), while junior Tony Parker is ninth (7.6 rpg).
DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Kevon Looney, a 6-foot-9 freshman, ranks 14th in the nation (second in the Pac-12) in rebounds per game (10.2 rpg), through games played Jan. 2. He has been named to the 22-man Wayman Tisdale Award’s watch list (nation’s top freshman). Named a McDonald’s All-America selection as a high school senior last spring, Looney is the country’s only freshman to be averaging a double-double (12.4 ppg, 10.2 rpg). He has totaled seven double-doubles (14 games), the second-highest total in the conference behind Washington State’s Josh Hawkinson (eight).
UCLA’S TOP SCORER
Bryce Alford currently ranks fourth in the conference in points per game (16.8 ppg), having totaled a team-leading 5.9 assists per game, the third-highest average among Pac-12 players. Alford, a 6-foot-3 guard from Albuquerque, N.M., has scored in double figures in 13 of UCLA’s 14 games. He ranks first in the Pac-12 in minutes per game (35.5), third in three throw percentage (91.0 pct, 61-of-65), third in three-pointers made per game (2.3) and fifth in assist turnover ratio (2.4). He has led the Bruins in scoring in six of the team’s 14 games.

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