LOS ANGELES – UCLA will return to action at USC on Saturday afternoon in the final regular-season contest for both programs. The Bruins can clinch a share of the Pac-12 regular-season title with a victory this Saturday. UCLA (12-5 Pac-12) entered the week with a one-half game lead over Oregon (11-5 Pac-12) in the standings. Oregon is set to host California on Thursday evening (6 p.m., PT) and Stanford on Saturday night (8 p.m.). UCLA has clinched a first-round bye in next week's Pac-12 Tournament and can claim the No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 seeds (depending on the outcome of this week's games).
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Galen Center
Venue Capacity: 10,258
Tipoff Time: 12:20 p.m. (PT)
Television: CBS
TV Talent: Carter Blackburn (play-by-play), Pete Gillen (analyst)
Radio (UCLA Sports Network): AM 570
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
XM Radio Channels: Ch. 386
SIRIUSXM Internet Channel: Ch. 976
HISTORY AT GALEN CENTER
Since the Trojans began playing home games at the Galen Center (2006-07 season), the Bruins have compiled an 8-5 record in USC's home venue. Only four of those 13 matchups have been decided by 10 points or fewer, with three games having been decided by five points or fewer.
LEAGUE HISTORY
The Bruins are seeking to win the Pac-12 title (or a share of the title) for the first time since 2013. The 2012-13 squad won the Pac-12 title in outright fashion, marking UCLA's 31st regular-season conference crown.
ACCESSING GAME NOTES
All game notes from the 2019-20 season area available online (link: https://ucla.in/368i5Di). In an effort to reduce wasted paper at athletic events, UCLA Athletics encourages individuals to view game notes online (via laptop, tablet or a mobile device). A limited supply of "game notes" will be available in the Dick Enberg Press Room on the day of a game. The link above also provides access to PDF versions of game notes from opposing teams, as well as PDF versions from the previous three men's basketball seasons.
LAST MEETING VERSUS USC
USC defeated UCLA, 74-63, before a crowd of 13,659 in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom when these two teams last met on Saturday, Jan. 11. Chris Smith scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for UCLA, while Jalen Hill finished with 14 points off the bench. UCLA's game against USC marked the first time all season in which the Bruins had been outrebounded (by a 35-31 margin). The lead changed hands six times in the first half, as USC entered the locker room at the intermission with a 33-31 advantage. USC pushed its margin to as many as 14 points with nine minutes remaining in the second half.
UCLA 69, ARIZONA 64
Chris Smith scored a team-leading 17 points, including back-to-back baskets in the final 2:30 with UCLA trailing 62-58, last Saturday in the 69-64 win over Arizona. UCLA swept the two-game regular-season series against Arizona for the first time since 2012-13. Tyger Campbell made a driving layup to snap a 62-62 tie with just 50 seconds to play in regulation. Campbell finished the game with eight assists and no turnovers, as the Bruins registered their seventh straight win.
UCLA 75, ARIZONA STATE 72
The Bruins secured their sixth consecutive win last Thursday, defeating Arizona State, 75-72. Jake Kyman scored 21 points off the bench and was 5-for-8 from 3-point range. Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 13 points and nailed the game-winning 3-pointer with just 0.6 seconds to play in regulation. Jaquez Jr.'s 3-point basket snapped a 72-72 tie and ended UCLA's four-game losing streak against Arizona State. Tyger Campbell had 10 points and a career-high 14 assists.
BEATING THE BUZZER
Jaime Jaquez Jr.'s 3-pointer just ahead of the final buzzer marked UCLA's first game-winning "buzzer beater" since last season, when Kris Wilkes drilled a 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds to play at the end of regulation against Notre Dame (Dec. 8, 2018). With two wins last week, the Bruins have won 11 of their past 13 contests.
PLAYING WITH PRECISION
Freshman point guard Tyger Campbell has averaged 12.0 points and 7.1 assists through the Bruins' past nine games. Campbell was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week two weeks ago (the week of Feb. 17-23) after he had averaged 14.0 points and 7.5 assists in road wins at Utah and Colorado (Feb. 20 and 22). Campbell had 13 points in the win at Utah before recording his first collegiate double-double (15 points, 11 assists) in UCLA's 70-63 victory at Colorado.
NATIONAL LEADERBOARD
Tyger Campbell ranks No. 3, nationally, among freshmen in assist-turnover ratio (2.7) and also ranks No. 3 among all freshmen in assists per game (5.0). Arizona freshman Nico Mannion (5.3 apg) ranks second in that category, while Saint Louis' Yuri Collins is first among all freshmen (5.5 apg).
NOTES ON THE BRUINS
- UCLA has gone 18-0 this season when limiting the opposition to 73 points or fewer.
- Junior Chris Smith has averaged 14.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 17 Pac-12 games.
- Through the last 13 games (11-2 record), UCLA has limited its opposition to 65.5 points per game.
- UCLA led all Pac-12 teams in road wins (5) in Pac-12 action, entering Thursday's Pac-12 action.
- Sophomore Jalen Hill has averaged a team-leading 6.9 rebounds per game, which ranks 10th in the Pac-12.
- UCLA has had 11 players, including freshmen, establish new career highs in points scored this season.
- The Bruins ranked first in the Pac-12 in rebounding margin (+5.93 rpg) and No. 27, nationally (through March 1).
- UCLA has out-rebounded the opposition in 24 of 30 games this year (currently averaging 36.8 rebounds per game).
- Freshman Tyger Campbell's 2.75 assist-turnover ratio leads the Pac-12 and ranks No. 19, nationally, through March 1.
UCLA'S LEADING SCORER
Junior Chris Smith leads the team in scoring (13.1 ppg) and ranks second in rebounding (5.3 rpg). He has posted career-high percentages in field goals (46.4%), 3-pointers (33.3%) and free throws (83.8%). Smith has scored 394 points, surpassing his two-year total from his freshman and sophomore seasons (337 points, 66 games). He has scored in double figures in 20 of 30 games and has been the Bruins' leading scorer in 13 contests. His 30-point game against Colorado (Jan. 30) marked UCLA's best single-game point total since Kris Wilkes had 34 against Arizona last season (Jan. 26, 2019).
GLANCING AT UCLA'S ROSTER
UCLA's roster features 14 student-athletes, including 12 players who were on the team last season. The Bruins have returned eight of 11 players who competed in the bulk of the team's games last season. That returning nucleus has included fifth-year seniors Prince Ali and Alex Olesinski, junior Chris Smith and sophomores Jalen Hill, Cody Riley, Jules Bernard, Kenneth Nwuba and David Singleton. The Bruins returned redshirt freshman Tyger Campbell and added incoming freshmen Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Camarillo, Calif.) and Jake Kyman (Aliso Viejo, Calif.), a pair of 6-foot-6 guards.
FREE THROW SHOOTING
The Bruins have shot 71.2 percent from the free throw line, No. 7 among all Pac-12 programs. UCLA's percentage is significantly higher than last year's mark of 63.3% (a jump by nearly eight percent). The Bruins have shot at least 70.0 percent from the line in four of the previous seven seasons. Chris Smith has led the way with his 83.8% free throw percentage (through all games). Freshman Jaime Jaquez Jr. has shot 84.0 percent (42-for-50) in 17 Pac-12 games.
REBOUNDING MARGIN
UCLA has registered a rebounding margin of +5.93 through 30 games, marking the Bruins' best rebounding margin since the 2007-08 season. That year, UCLA went 35-4 and advanced to the NCAA Final Four with a rebounding margin of +8.2. Over the past 30 seasons, UCLA has only had four teams post rebound margins of at least 6.0 or better. UCLA's 1995-96 squad recorded a rebounding margin of +6.0, and the Bruins' 1993-94 team had a rebounding margin of +7.7.
SINGLETON FROM 3-POINT RANGE
Sophomore David Singleton currently ranks No. 9 on UCLA's career list for highest 3-point percentage (minimum of 100 career 3-point attempts). Singleton has made 41.2% of his career 3-point attempts (shooting 68 for 165) through 61 games. UCLA's all-time leader in that category is former four-year standout Pooh Richardson (52-for-112, 46.4%). Two years ago, Aaron Holiday concluded his three-year career at the No. 5 slot on the career list (180-427, 42.2%).
KYMAN'S 20-POINT GAMES
Freshman Jake Kyman has recorded three games with at least 20 points, all in Pac-12 play. He scored a season-high 21 points in a two-point win at Washington on Jan. 2, connecting on 7 of 12 shots from 3-point range. In that contest, Kyman hit the game-winning 3-point shot with under nine seconds to play in the second half. Kyman also had 20 points in a loss at Oregon on Jan. 26 and tallied 21 points (including 19 in the first half) in a victory against Arizona State (Feb. 27).
AN IMPRESSIVE FEAT
UCLA limited Arizona to a field goal percentage of 25.4 on Saturday, Feb. 8, marking UCLA's lowest opposing FG percentage by a Division I program since Dec. 3, 2014, when Cal State Fullerton shot 24.1% against UCLA (13-of-54). The Bruins had not held a Pac-12 opponent to that low of a percentage since Jan. 10, 1985, when Washington State made just 23.7% of its shots (14-of-59) in UCLA's 75-48 win. Since the start of the 1970-71 season (as far back as game-by-game field goal percentage records will reach), UCLA has never held an opponent on the road to a percentage lower than 27%.
NEWS AND NOTES
- Looking at UCLA's 14-man roster, nine of the team's student-athletes either grew up in the Southern California region or attended high school in the Los Angeles area. Cody Riley (listed as Kansas City, Kan.), moved to the Los Angeles area when he was in middle school and attended Sierra Canyon High School (Chatsworth, Calif.).
- When UCLA defeated Arizona, 65-52, on Saturday, Feb. 8, the Bruins won their fourth game at Arizona in their last six contests at the McKale Center. Arizona had gone 119-12 at home over the previous eight seasons (including this season), and UCLA had handed the Wildcats four of those 12 home losses.
- UCLA has out-rebounded the opposition in 24 of 30 games. The Bruins out-rebounded each of their first 16 opponents before USC won the battle on the boards (35-31) on Saturday, Jan. 11. The Bruins entered the week as the Pac-12 leader in offensive rebounds per game (12.0 o-rpg) and rebounding margin (+5.93).
- Tyger Campbell finished with a career-best 14 assists in the Bruins' 75-72 win over Arizona State on Feb. 27. Campbell tied the Pac-12 freshman single-game assists record (14) that was set by Lonzo Ball in a win over Washington State on March 4, 2017. UCLA has officially tracked single-game assists since the start of the 1973-74 season.
- Freshman Jake Kyman set the school's single-game record for most 3-pointers by a freshman (7), as he made 7 of 12 attempts from long range in the team's 66-64 win at Washington on Thursday, Jan. 2. Kyman is UCLA's only freshman and just the ninth player in school history to have made seven or more 3-point field goals in one game.
- UCLA's 22 offensive rebounds in the win at Washington (Jan. 2) marked the team's highest single-game offensive rebound total since Jan. 1, 2016. The Bruins had 23 offensive boards in a double overtime loss (96-93) at Washington on Jan. 1, 2016, to open Pac-12 action. In that game back in 2016, the Bruins totaled 59 rebounds against the Huskies.
- The Bruins' 50 points scored in a 50-40 win over California on Sunday, Jan. 19, marked UCLA's lowest point total in a victory since winning at Washington State (50-30) on Feb. 9, 2006. UCLA had not limited the opposition to 40 points (or fewer) since a 55-40 win over USC in the Pac-12 Tournament at Staples Center on March 7, 2012.
- The largest single-game point total of any current UCLA player belongs to junior Chris Smith, who tallied a career-best 30 points in the team's win over No. 20 Colorado (Jan. 30, 2020). The largest single-game rebound total of any current Bruin belongs to sophomore Jalen Hill, who tallied 20 boards in a win against Presbyterian last season (Nov. 19, 2018).
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