Friday, February 2, 2018

UCLA Men's Basketball Hosts USC on Saturday

feb 02, 2017 | UCLA MEN'S BASKETBALL PAGE | POST LINK
The Bruins (15-7, 6-4) face USC (17-6, 8-2) on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion.

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LOS ANGELES – The Bruins will host USC on Saturday in Pauley Pavilion (3 p.m., PT). UCLA has just eight regular-season games left on its schedule, with three of those to be played at home. Last season, UCLA lost at USC (84-76) in January before responding with a 32-point win against the Trojans in Pauley Pavilion less than one month later (102-70). UCLA edged USC in a quarterfinal meeting at the Pac-12 Tournament, 76-74. UCLA has faced USC three times in each of the last three seasons (that includes the two regular-season meetings plus one game in the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas).

GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion (13,800)
Game Time: 3 p.m. (PT)
Television: ESPN2
TV Talent: Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Bill Walton (analyst)
Radio (UCLA Sports Network from IMG): AM 1150
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS/XM Radio Channels: Ch. 132/Ch. 198
SIRIUS App Channel: Ch. 960

BLUE OUT
UCLA will be hosting a "Blue Out" this Saturday afternoon, when the men's basketball team faces USC. All fans in attendance at this Saturday's game will receive a "Blue Out" t-shirt, courtesy of Wescom. In addition, the Bruins are encouraging their fans to arrive early and wear blue for this Saturday's crosstown showdown.

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.

PURCHASE TICKETS
Fans can purchase tickets to UCLA's upcoming game against USC by clicking here. For tickets to the other remaining home games, visit uclabruins.com/tickets or call (310) 206-5991. Click here to download the men's basketball schedule directly to your calendar.

TOP REBOUNDER
Through games played Jan. 28, senior center Thomas Welsh ranked No. 15 in the country in rebounds per game (10.5) and was one of just eight players in the nation to have recorded at least 13 double-doubles. In fact, Welsh currently ranks second in the nation in total career rebounds (907) among any player from one of the "power six" conferences (ACC, Big East, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC). Seton Hall's Angel Delgado (1,305) leads all players nationwide in career rebounds. Welsh will enter this Saturday afternoon's game ranking No. 6 on UCLA's career rebounds list (907).

UCLA'S LAST GAME
Aaron Holiday scored a team-leading 21 points as the Bruins built a 22-point lead midway through the second half and defeated Stanford, 89-73, before 10,519 in Pauley Pavilion on Saturday, Jan. 27. UCLA shot 52.8% from the field, made 10 of 19 shots from three-point range and made 23 of 25 free throws (93.1%). The Bruins had their best game at the free throw line – with a minimum of 25 free throw attempts – since making 27 of 29 free throws (93.1%) in a 105-84 win over Nevada in Las Vegas on Nov. 28, 2013 (in what was the sixth game with Steve Alford serving as UCLA's head coach).

FREE THROWS
UCLA has shot 83.5% (86-for-103) from the free throw line in its last four games. Overall, the Bruins have shot 72.0 percent at the charity stripe this season. Aaron Holiday was a perfect 9-for-9 at the line last Saturday, marking his fifth career game where he has made all his free throws (with a minimum of six attempts). Jordan Adams was UCLA's last player to go 10-for-10 from the line, making all 10 attempts in the win versus Nevada on Nov. 28, 2013.

HOLIDAY'S HEROICS
Aaron Holiday ranks fifth among all Pac-12 players in scoring (19.0 ppg), through games played Jan. 28. He has totaled at least 20 points in 11 games. He entered his junior season having scored at least 20 points in just three previous games (all as a sophomore in 2016-17). Holiday has been selected to the 25-man midseason list for the 2018 John R. Wooden Award, presented annually to the nation's top men's and women's college basketball players. Holiday now ranks No. 42 on the Bruins' all-time scoring list with 1,190 points (Holiday is just 13 points away from becoming the No. 40 all-time scorer).

Holiday entered the week (through games played Sunday, Jan. 28), as one of just five players in NCAA Division I men's basketball to have averaged at least 19.0 points and 5.0 assists per game. Others in that group include Trae Young (Oklahoma), RJ Cole (Howard), Junior Robinson (Mount St. Mary's) and Jon Elmore (Marshall).

DOUBLE DIGIT FRESHMAN
Freshman guard Kris Wilkes has averaged 13.8 points and 5.4 rebounds, starting all 22 games for the Bruins this season. Wilkes has scored in double figures in 17 of 22 games. He has scored at least 20 points in four contests, twice logging a season-high 21 points for UCLA. In the Bruins' victory Saturday versus Stanford, Wilkes had 18 points and five rebounds, making 6 of 7 shots from the field. He ranks fifth in scoring among all Pac-12 freshmen. Wilkes has made 76.1% (35/46) of his free throws in UCLA's last 12 games after having shot 53.3% (24/45) from the line in the team's first 10 contests.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Thomas Welsh (12.6 ppg, 10.5 rpg) has totaled 13 double-doubles this season. He recorded 10 double-doubles as a sophomore in 2015-16. Welsh is the eighth UCLA player in the past 20 years to have logged at least 10 double-doubles in one season. Since the start of the Bruins' 1998-99 campaign, Kevin Love has registered more double-doubles in a single season than any other UCLA player (23 double-doubles in 2007-08). The school's single-season double-doubles record is 28 by Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) during the Bruins' 1967-68 NCAA title-winning season.

MORE ABOUT THE BRUINS
Aaron Holiday ranks first among all Pac-12 players (in conference games only) in scoring, having averaged 20.7 points in the Bruins' 10 league games (through games played on Jan. 28). In addition, Holiday has made 25 of 47 three-point attempts in league action, converting at a 53.2% clip (the third-highest percentage among Pac-12 players).

The Bruins have shot 50.0% or better in seven games (going 6-1 in those contests). UCLA shot a season-best 58.2% in the team's 107-84 win at California (Jan. 6). Most recently, the Bruins shot 52.8% (28-of-53) in a home victory against Stanford on Jan. 27. UCLA made 10 of 19 three-pointers in the win over Stanford (52.6% from three-point territory).

Aaron Holiday and Thomas Welsh both reached the heralded 1,000-career-point milestone in a Pac-12 victory against Washington State earlier this season (Dec. 29, 2017). In a 33-point, 11-rebound performance, Holiday crossed the 1,000 point marker in the first half of the game. Welsh reached the milestone in the second half of UCLA's victory that night.

Senior center Thomas Welsh and Arizona's Deandre Ayton are the only players in the Pac-12 to have averaged at least 10 points and 10 rebounds per game (Welsh currently stands at 12.6 ppg and 10.5 rpg). In addition, Welsh ranks second among all Pac-12 players in defensive boards per game (7.8) and is fourth in offensive rebounds per game (2.7).

MOVIN' ON UP
Thomas Welsh ranks third on the school's all-time blocked shots list (137), having surpassed Charles O'Bannon (118) for the No. 3 slot earlier this season. The top two spots on UCLA's career blocks list are occupied by Jelani McCoy (188) and Dan Gadzuric (184). McCoy played at UCLA from 1995-98, while Gadzuric starred for the Bruins from 1999-2002. Welsh has totaled 13 double-doubles in 22 games for the Bruins this season. Please note, UCLA's official "blocked shot" statistic has only been tracked on a consistent basis since the 1978-79 season.

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