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GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion (13,800)
Tipoff Time: 6:02 p.m. PT
Television: Pac-12 Network
TV Talent: J.B. Long (play-by-play), Don MacLean (analyst)
Radio (UCLA Sports Network from IMG): AM 1150
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS/XM Channels: Ch. 93/Ch. 197
SIRIUS App. Channel: Ch. 959
PURCHASE TICKETS
Season ticket packages for 2017-18 men's basketball campaign are on sale for less than $19 per game. To secure seats for all the home games in 2017-18, call (310) 206-5991 or visit uclabruins.com/tickets. Fans can click here to download the men's basketball schedule directly to their calendar.
DOWNLOAD THE UCLA APP
Be sure to download the UCLA Bruins Mobile App to your device, free of charge (download here). The official app of UCLA Athletics allows fans to receive in-game stats and live updates during events. Fans can also sign up to receive push notifications about gameday promotions, game times, live scoring and more. Fans can shop for UCLA gear with one click in addition to getting breaking news from UCLA Athletics. When searching iTunes or Google Play, use the term "UCLA Bruins" for more direct access.
ON DECK
UCLA will enter Friday night's home game with a 2-0 record, having averaged 84.5 points in two regular-season victories. Freshman Kris Wilkes, who recorded his first collegiate double-double on Wednesday (20 points, 12 rebounds), has averaged a team-high 19.0 points while making 6 of 9 three-point field goal attempts. Junior Aaron Holiday has registered 17.5 points, 6.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game in the Bruins' first two regular-season contests.
BRUINS WIN IN OVERTIME
UCLA overcame an 86-85 deficit in the final 3.7 seconds of regulation on Wednesday, edging Central Arkansas by a 106-101 margin in overtime. Jaylen Hands made the second of two free throw attempts with 1.3 seconds to play, tying the game at 86-86. After falling behind, 90-86, in the opening minute of overtime, the Bruins used a 9-0 scoring run to secure a 95-90 advantage and led for the rest of the contest. Central Arkansas attempted a Pauley Pavilion-record 35 three-pointers.
LAST WEEK'S SEASON OPENER
The Bruins limited Georgia Tech to 20 made field goals in the team's regular-season opener in Shanghai on Saturday, Nov. 11. The 20 shots made by Georgia Tech marked the fewest made against UCLA since Feb. 20, 2016 (when Colorado was 19-for-61 in a loss to the Bruins in Pauley Pavilion). UCLA limited Georgia Tech to four three-pointers (on 18 attempts), the fewest made threes by a team against the Bruins since Dec. 19, 2015 (North Carolina, 4-for-19 from long range).
NEARING 1,000
Senior center Thomas Welsh and junior guard Aaron Holiday are both nearing the 1,000-career-point plateau. Welsh will enter this Friday night's game having scored 857 career points, needing just 143 more to reach 1,000. Holiday has totaled 807 points, now into his third season, and stands 193 points shy of tying the 1,000-point mark. UCLA's tradition-rich men's basketball program has 54 former players who have scored at least 1,000 career points wearing the Bruins' uniform.
NATIONAL HONORS
Junior guard Aaron Holiday has been named as one of 50 players to the preseason watch lists for the 2018 John Wooden Award and the Citizen Naismith Trophy. In addition, Holiday is among 40 student-athletes on the preseason watch list for the Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award. Hailing from nearby Chatsworth, Calif., and Campbell Hall High School, Holiday averaged 12.3 points and 4.4 assists per game coming off the bench for the Bruins last season.
MAKING A DEBUT
With Kris Wilkes (18 points) and Jaylen Hands (14 points) posting double-digit scoring efforts against Georgia Tech, at least one UCLA freshman has scored in double figures in his collegiate debut in six straight seasons. Last fall, TJ Leaf (22 points) and Lonzo Ball (19) scored in double figures against Pacific. Other recent freshmen in that category have included Aaron Holiday (10 pts, 2015), Kevon Looney (20 pts, 2014), Thomas Welsh (14 pts, 2014), Zach LaVine (14 pts, 2013), Jordan Adams (21 pts, 2012), Kyle Anderson (10 pts, 2012) and Shabazz Muhammad (15 pts, 2012).
YEAR FIVE
Steve Alford has entered his fifth season as UCLA's head coach and his 27th overall year as a collegiate head coach. Alford has led the Bruins to a 98-45 mark in just over four years, guiding UCLA to three NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 trips as well as the 2014 Pac-12 Tournament Championship. Last season, UCLA went 31-5 overall and posted a 15-3 mark in Pac-12 play, going 16-1 at home and defeating every team on its schedule. Through the previous four seasons, Alford and his coaching staff have had 10 Bruins selected in the NBA Draft, including four players from UCLA in June 2017.
MOVIN' ON UP
Thomas Welsh has moved into a tie for third place, along with Charles O'Bannon, on UCLA's all-time blocked shots list. Welsh (118 blocks) moved into that third-place tie with one block against Central Arkansas last Wednesday night. The top two spots on UCLA's career blocks list are occupied by Jelani McCoy (188) and Dan Gadzuric (184). In addition, Welsh currently ranks No. 7 on the school's all-time field goal percentage list, having shot 56.1 percent in over three seasons.
BRUIN SENIORITY
The Bruins' 16-man roster features four senior student-athletes – Thomas Welsh (center, 7-foot), G.G. Goloman (forward, 6-foot-11), Ikenna Okwarabizie (center, 6-foot-9) and Alec Wulff (guard, 6-foot-3). Welsh has played in 101 games (63 starts) for the Bruins, having missed just five games the past three seasons due to illness/injury. Welsh has averaged 8.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game in his career, shooting 56.1 percent from the field. Goloman has played in 87 games in just over three seasons in Westwood, averaging 2.5 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.
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