TUCSON, Ariz. – UCLA (16-11, 8-6 Pac-12) plays at No. 7 Arizona (23-3, 11-2 Pac-12) on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. (PT)/7 p.m. (MT). The Bruins and Wildcats split two games last season, with Arizona winning in Pauley Pavilion during the regular season and UCLA earning a 75-71 victory in the Pac-12 Tournament’s title game. Most recently, the Bruins dropped a 68-66 decision at Arizona State on Wednesday evening.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: McKale Center (14,655)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 21
Tipoff Time: 6:05 p.m. (PT)/7:05 p.m. (MT)
Television: ESPN
TV Talent: Dan Shulman (play-by-play), Jay Bilas (analyst), Shannon Spake (reporter)
Radio: AM 570 (KLAC)
Radio Talent: Chris Roberts (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
LISTEN LIVEUCLA’s game this Saturday at Arizona 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 5:30 p.m. (PT). Chris Roberts and former UCLA basketball standout Tracy Murray will have the call, live from McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz. Fans can also listen to the audio broadcast by using the TuneIn radio app (
click here).
WHAT’S NEXT
UCLA will play its final regular-season road game at Arizona this Saturday. The Pac-12 contest at McKale Center will be the only regular-season meeting bewteen UCLA and Arizona this season. Last year, UCLA and Arizona went 1-1 against each other with the Bruins winning, 75-71, in the championship game of the Pac-12 Tournament (March 15). UCLA has won 15 of the last 22 meetings against Arizona over the previous nine seasons. The Bruins defeated the Wildcats, 84-73, when the two schools last faced each other at the McKale Center (Jan. 24, 2013).
POWELL'S PRODUCTIONNorman Powell enters this weekend’s game ranking sixth in scoring in the Pac-12, having averaged 16.0 points per game (27 starts). The 6-foot-4 guard from San Diego has scored in double figures in 22 of UCLA’s 27 games, reaching the 20-point plateau in 11 contests. Powell scored a team-leading 23 points to help the Bruins defeat Oregon, 72-63, in Pauley Pavilion last Saturday. He ranks fourth among Pac-12 players with 16.8 points per game in conference games (through Feb. 18). Powell played in his 132nd game for UCLA on Wednesday at Arizona State.
LAST TIME OUTUCLA dropped a 68-66 decision at Arizona State on Wednesday evening. The Bruins led by as many as 10 points in the first half before their margin was reduced to 36-32 by halftime. Arizona State took the lead for good at the 5:12 mark in the second half (58-57) and pushed its cushion to 66-60 at the 1:41 mark. UCLA trimmed its late deficit to 67-66 in the final 10 seconds and regained possession with under eight seconds to play. The Bruins dribbled the ball the length of the court before
Isaac Hamilton’s three-point attempt at the buzzer was unsuccessful.
FRESHMAN STANDOUTKevon Looney enters the weekend having averaged 12.5 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, the second-highest rebounding average of any freshman in the nation (through Feb. 18). Likewise, Looney has logged 13 double-doubles in 27 games, the highest double-double total of any freshman in the country. In comparison, UCLA’s
Kyle Anderson had eight double-doubles as a freshman (2012-13) and 16 double-doubles last year. Looney has scored in double figures in 10 of the Bruins’ last 12 games and has registered double-doubles in six Pac-12 games.
ON THE HORIZON
Following Saturday’s game at Arizona, the Bruins will conclude their regular-season schedule with home games against Washington (Feb. 25), Washington State (March 1) and USC (March 4). UCLA has not faced Washington or Washington State this season. Last season, the Bruins won at Washington before losing at Washington State during the season’s final weekend. Earlier this year, UCLA won at USC by an 83-66 margin (Jan. 17). Following the regular-season finale versus USC, the Bruins will head to Las Vegas for the Pac-12 Tournament (March 11-14).
POINTS AND ASSISTSBryce Alford ranks second on the team in scoring (15.4 points per game) and has dished a team-best 5.2 assists per game in 27 starts (fourth-highest assist average in the Pac-12). The 6-foot-3 guard from Albuquerque, N.M., has scored in double figures in 23 of 27 games. He is one of two Pac-12 players (along with Washington’s Nigel Williams-Goss) to rank among the top 10 in scoring and top five in assists per game. Alford ranks third in the Pac-12 in free throw percentage (85.5 pct, 94-for-110) and third in 3-pointers made per game (2.4).
CLIMBING THE CHARTSNorman Powell has played in all 132 games for UCLA since the start of the 2011-12 season. Powell, who has started each of UCLA’s last 66 games, currently ranks fifth on UCLA’s all-time games played list, having moved past Mitchell Butler (131 games, 1990-93) last Saturday. Michael Roll ranks first on the list (147), followed by Darren Collison and Alfred Aboya (142). Powell’s career total of 146 steals is tied for 10th place on the school’s all-time steals list (Ed O’Bannon and Gerald Madkins also registered 146 career steals at UCLA).
STEALING THE SHOWUCLA’s basketball program represented itself well during NBA All-Star Weekend (Feb. 13-15). Former UCLA guard
Zach LaVine, at just 19 years of age, won the 2015 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest at Barclays Center on Saturday. One night later, former UCLA guard Russell Westbrook scored a game-high 41 points to lead the Western Conference past the East, 163-158, at Madison Square Garden before securing the game’s MVP award. LaVine played in all 37 games for UCLA last year, while Westbrook competed on back-to-back NCAA Final Four teams in 2007 and 2008.
