No. 18 UCLA Drops 80-71 Decision at Missouri

Jordan Adams logged his first collegiate double-double on Saturday (photo by Dennis Hubbard)

Courtesy: UCLA Athletics

Courtesy: Associated Press via uclabruins.com
Release: Saturday 12/07/2013

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COLUMBIA, Mo. - Jordan Adams recorded his first career double-double, logging 22 points and 10 rebounds, as the No. 18 UCLA basketball team lost at Missouri, 80-71, on Saturday.

The host Tigers (9-0) were led by Jabari Brown’s 22 points. Jordan Clarkson added 21 points to help Missouri extend its home winning streak to a nation-best 24 games.

UCLA (8-1) suffered its first defeat of the season. Kyle Anderson and Zach LaVine each scored 13 points, while Norman Powell scored 11 points to round out the Bruins' list of double-digit scorers.

Two free throws by Johnathan Williams III gave Missouri a 62-60 lead it would not relinquish with 9:30 remaining. The team trailed for most of the first half and into the second before Earnest Ross made a 3-pointer with 14:46 left.

Saturday’s win helped Missouri push its run of consecutive wins against non-conference opponents at Mizzou Arena to 79. The victory was the first in that stretch against a nationally ranked team.

Jordan Adams scored 22 points and had 10 rebounds for UCLA (8-1), which dropped its first road game this season. Kyle Anderson and Zach LaVine each added 13 points.

The Tigers remain the only unbeaten team in the Southeastern Conference and are off to their best start since the 2006-07 season. UCLA entered the game averaging a Pac-12 leading 90.6 points.

Missouri trailed 43-35 at halftime after committing 12 turnovers and shooting 41.7 percent from the field, but used back-to-back fastbreak dunks by Ross and Brown to pull within 49-45 with 16:44 left.

After UCLA's Tony Parker converted a free throw, Ross then hit consecutive 3-pointers to give the Tigers their first lead since 11:20 left in the first half.

Brown's 3-pointer five minutes later widened Missouri's lead to 67-62, and UCLA couldn't get any closer the rest of the way.

Ross finished with 20 points and Williams grabbed 15 rebounds as Missouri shot 38.5 percent from behind the arc after starting 1 of 7.

The Bruins shot 50 percent from the field and forced 12 Missouri turnovers in the first half, but shot 8-of-31 in the second half.

The Bruins' 71 points were a season-low, one point fewer than they scored in the opener against Drexel.

The teams traded baskets for the first 10 minutes before a 3-pointer by Bryce Alford sparked a 14-0 run that gave the Bruins a 30-17 lead with 6:47 left before the break. Missouri answered with the next 11 points, but UCLA then countered with the following eight for a 38-28 lead. LaVine finished the run with a thunderous windmill dunk.

Both schools played in the Las Vegas Invitational last week and were selected co-champions after defeating Nevada and Northwestern in Nevada. UCLA and Missouri agreed to not play each other ahead of Saturday's matchup.

The game ended a home-and-home series after UCLA defeated the Tigers 97-94 in overtime at Pauley Pavilion last Dec. 28.

Da Box.

Bruins get failing grade in loss to Missouri

UCLA's Kyle Anderson (center) tries to shoot over Missouri's Johnathan Williams III (right) as Earnest Ross looks on during the second half on Saturday in Columbia, Mo. Missouri won the game 80-71. L.G. PATTERSON, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

By CAITLIN SWIECA / For the OC REGISTER
Dec 7 2013
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COLUMBIA, Mo. – Faced with its first major test of the season, the No. 18 UCLA basketball team started strong but faded in the second half in an 80-71 loss to Missouri on Saturday.

After the Bruins jumped to a 43-35 halftime lead, their offense faltered as the team shot 8 for 31 in the second period, including 0 for 8 from long range.

“Really give Mizzou a lot of credit, because I thought they got us out of what we normally like to do in the second half,” UCLA coach Steve Alford said. “I thought our offense, for the first time all year, really affected everything else, and we can’t do that.”

Missouri coach Frank Haith said his team’s halftime adjustments focused on limiting the Bruins from beyond the arc.

“We wanted to take away the 3-point line, and they were 0 for 8 in the second half,” Haith said. “I thought that was the difference in the game.”

Sophomore forward Kyle Anderson said Missouri forced UCLA to make bad shots.

“I think a couple guys, including myself, took some tough shots, which is not fair to our teammates,” Anderson said. “I made it much easier on our opponents. That’s not the basketball we played through these eight games. We’re a young team, and that’s going to come along.

Poor shot selection contributed to a rare stat line in which the Bruins had more turnovers (11) than assists (nine). Only one of those assists came in the second half. The Bruins also were overmatched in the paint, bringing down only 30 rebounds to Missouri’s 47.

The Tigers did their damage on the perimeter, making 10 of 26 3-pointers. Guards Jabari Brown, Jordan Clarkson and Earnest Ross combined for 63 of Missouri’s 80 points.

It was Ross who led the charge for Missouri as he scored 15 second-half points, including four 3-pointers.

“They’re very talented,” Alford said of the Missouri trio. “They’re big, physical. That’s the first time we’ve had to match our guards, because we’ve got big, physical, athletic guards as well. Those three guards did a good job of doing what they’re supposed to do.”

The game was UCLA’s first true road game and the biggest test of Alford’s young tenure at the helm. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 8-1.

Jordan Adams led UCLA in scoring with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Anderson and Zach LaVine followed with 13 points each.

The Bruins will return home and have the week off before facing Prairie View A&M on Saturday at 5 p.m. After that, UCLA travels to New York City for a matchup with No. 10 Duke in New York City on Dec. 19.

“The schedule just continues to toughen,” Alford said. “We’ve just got to make sure we take our first loss of the season and learn from it and get better.”

Tigers can burnish résumé

 

By Steve Walentik

The Columbia Daily Tribune

Tigers can burnish résumé

Wednesday, December 4, 2013 at 2:00 pm       

 

 

It's only early December, less than four weeks into the regular season, but in college basketball, it's never too soon to start thinking about March.

 The Missouri basketball team has advanced to five straight NCAA Tournaments, equaling a school record first set from 1986-90 and matched from 1999-2003. The Tigers' chances of getting invited back to the sport's signature event will improve greatly if they show well over the next four days while playing host to West Virginia at 6 p.m. tomorrow in the Big 12/SEC Challenge and welcoming No. 18 UCLA at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

 

"We're looking at it as winning games as usual," junior guard Jabari Brown said. "But in the back of our minds, we know that it will play a role come tournament time."
 

The Mountaineers (6-2) and Bruins (8-0) are the second and third power-conference opponents Missouri will face this season, and both could wind up being counted among the quality wins when the NCAA Tournament selection committee sorts through the contenders in March.
 

Both have been prolific offensively. West Virginia, seemingly improved after a 13-19 season, is averaging 85.1 points, shooting 46.5 percent from 3-point range and has 50 more assists than turnovers. UCLA, the reigning Pac-12 regular-season champion, might be even better, averaging 90.6 points and shooting 55.2 percent from the field, second-best in the country.
 

Both represent significant upgrades in competition for Missouri, whose schedule ranks 274th, according to the ratings percentage index approximation at WarrenNolan.com.
 

"If you're able to have success against teams I think will do very well in their conferences, that definitely helps your résumé," MU Coach Frank Haith said.
 

The Tigers will get a few more chances to knock off big-name opponents before the start of SEC play when they face Illinois on Dec. 21 in in St. Louis and travel to North Carolina State on Dec. 28. Illinois is in the top 100 in RPI.
 

It was by design that Missouri's schedule started to get more difficult in December.
 

"We knew we were going to be a new team, a young team," Haith said.

 

NO NOSTALGIA: Missouri had no say in its opponent in the inaugural Big 12/SEC Challenge. The league offices got together to decide the matchups that weren't previously contracted by the schools involved. That could explain why the Tigers drew the Mountaineers and not one of their longtime former rivals — Kansas State, Iowa State or Oklahoma State, much less archrival Kansas.
 

"I don't think that's going to happen, not in this series," Haith said. "Maybe NCAA or somewhere down the road, but I don't think that's going to happen in the Big 12 Challenge."

 

GOOD PRESS: MU's basketball game against UCLA will be televised nationally on CBS and, for Tiger fans, could serve as the pre-pregame show for the SEC football title game between Missouri and Auburn, set to air at 3 p.m. on the network.
 

"What a great opportunity for the university," Haith said. "What does that do for the Mizzou brand? For six hours of that day, it's Mizzou. We're playing UCLA, and they're playing Auburn. I'm really happy for" Gary Pinkel, "and I think it does wonders for our program what they've accomplished."

Missouri's players are no different than a lot of MU students who would like to be at the game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
 

"I want to go, but we've got business to take care of," sophomore center Ryan Rosburg said. "So I'm hoping to win and then settle down and watch them win, so it'll be a big Saturday."

 

READY TO BE MORE INVOLVED?: Keanau Post arrived in Columbia with some fanfare as a junior college All-American last season at Southwestern Illinois College and seemed to have the inside track on the starting center position. But the 6-foot-11 junior lost that spot to Rosburg and has played sparingly. He's averaging 1.4 points and 2.0 rebounds while playing 9.1 minutes per game.
 

"It's a confidence thing with him," Haith said. "We've got to keep throwing him the ball, No. 1. It's sort of like what we did with Alex" Oriakhi. "We kind of force-fed Alex the ball. I think he's just got to get more comfortable. The speed of the game is something that he's got to adjust to.
 

"He's got it in him. It just takes time. Everybody progresses not the same in terms of how he gets it. But I think the first thing we must do is continue to encourage, and we've got to play inside-out a little bit more and give him opportunities."

Missouri basketball has chance to get two quality wins this week (VIDEO)

By Adam Stillman

News Tribune (Missouri)

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

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COLUMBIA, Mo. — The resume is blank.

Missouri can’t claim any marquee wins, nor is it stained by any bad losses.

The Tigers (7-0) have a chance to pick up a pair of resume-boosting wins this week as Missouri plays host to West Virginia and No. 18 UCLA at Mizzou Arena.

“Every game is important, but there’s no question … if you have success against (power-conference) teams that I think will do very well in their conferences, that definitely helps your resume,” Missouri head coach Frank Haith said.

Video

Mizzou Network: Haith previews coming weekend

Yes, it’s never too early to start talking about the NCAA Tournament. Key non-conference victories can prove to be huge boosts for an at-large tournament berth.

West Virginia sits at 6-2 with losses to Virginia Tech and No. 9 Wisconsin, while UCLA boasts a 7-0 record.

“These two wins are going to be big resume wins for us, non-conference games that we really need to win,” Missouri forward Ryan Rosburg said. “With them coming here, we shouldn’t be scared. We haven’t lost here in a long time. We’re really excited for the challenge.”

Missouri owns a 22-game winning streak at Mizzou Arena, the longest homecourt streak in the country. The last home loss for the Tigers came Feb. 21, 2012, against Kansas State.

Missouri managed non-league wins against Stanford, Virginia Commonwealth and Illinois last season, which helped the Tigers earn a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament. A pair of wins this week would go a long way in the eyes of the selection committee.

“We know it will play a role come tournament time,” Missouri guard Jabari Brown said.

West Virginia comes to town for a 6 p.m. tip-off Thursday (ESPN-TV), while UCLA travels for an 11:30 a.m. game Saturday (KRCG-TV).

“We’re excited about this week,” Haith said. “This week’s a big week for us. You look at what’s going on at Mizzou. Our football program and what they’re doing Saturday, and our volleyball team and what’s going on there this weekend. Then you throw in basketball with what we have Thursday playing West Virginia and UCLA on Saturday. I think it’s just a big week for our university from an athletic standpoint.”

There’s been a slow build-up to this point for Missouri.

The Tigers began with games against Southeastern Louisiana, Southern Illinois, Hawaii, Gardner-Webb and IUPUI before traveling to Las Vegas for tougher contests against Northwestern and Nevada.

Now comes this pair before tilts with Western Michigan, Illinois, North Carolina State and Long Beach State.

“It got tougher out in Vegas and obviously now it takes another step as you look at the next games in succession,” Haith said. “It definitely gets tougher and tougher as we get toward league play. There’s no slippage the rest of the way.”

Realistically, UCLA and Illinois might be the only non-conference opportunities that hold up as resume-builders come March. So it’s best to take care of business as much as possible.

“We didn’t want to slip up and lose one of the early games either,” Missouri point guard Jordan Clarkson said. “These games are just as important as the games we played before.”

There’s truth to that. Wins in these games are just as important as avoiding losses in those earlier contests.

The eye’s already on March. A couple wins this week would be a great first step to get there.

View Frank Haith interview here if video fails to load automatically.

Somebody's "0" has got to go!!!

That's assuming the Tigers beat WV today. Missouri stats as of Nov 29 courtesy of mutigers.com.

Common opponents: Nevada and Northwestern.

UCLA beat Nevada by 21 (105-84), Mizzou beat them by 13 (83-70).

UCLA beat Northwestern by 16 (95-79), Mizzou beat them by 11 (78-67).

No. 18/17 UCLA Set to Play at Missouri on Saturday

UCLA has opened 8-0 for the first time since 2006-07 (photo by Don Liebig)

Courtesy: UCLA Athletics

Courtesy: UCLA Athletics
Release: Wednesday 12/04/2013

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LOS ANGELES – The No. 18/17 UCLA basketball team (8-0) looks for its ninth consecutive victory this Saturday when playing at Missouri. UCLA has gone 6-1 all-time against the Tigers (7-0), who will host West Virginia on Thursday evening. The Bruins most recently earned their eighth straight win, an 89-76 victory against UC Santa Barbara, on Tuesday evening in Pauley Pavilion.

Venue: Mizzou Arena (15,061)
Tip-off Time: 9:37 a.m. (PT)
Television: CBS
TV Talent: Kevin Harlan, Greg Anthony
Radio: AM 570 (KLAC)
Radio Talent: Chris Roberts (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)

THE LATEST
UCLA has opened the season 8-0 for the first time since 2006-07, when the Bruins began that year 14-0. UCLA has averaged a Pac-12-leading 90.6 points per game, scoring an average of 98.8 points per game in the last four contests. Jordan Adams leads UCLA with 21.5 points per game, having scored at least 16 points in all eight games. Kyle Anderson has recorded four double-doubles (including one triple-double) in eight games. Anderson leads all Pac-12 players in assists (7.8), ranks fifth in rebounds (9.3) and is third in steals (1.9).

STRONG START
In his 23rd year as a collegiate head coach, Steve Alford has become UCLA’s first head coach to open his coaching career in Westwood with an 8-0 record. John Wooden won his first six games as the Bruins’ head coach in 1948-49. Since Coach Wooden retired following the 1974-75 NCAA Championship season, UCLA has opened its season with at least eight consecutive victories five previous times. The Bruins opened the 2006-07, 1993-94 and 1991-92 seasons with 14-0 records. The Bruins’ 1990-91 team began its regular season with an 8-0 mark. As head coach at New Mexico last season, Steve Alford guided the Lobos to a 12-0 start. Last year’s New Mexico squad did not suffer its first defeat until Dec. 22, 2012 against South Dakota State.

BRUINS VERSUS TIGERS
After playing two neutral-site contests in Las Vegas last week, UCLA returns to the road to face Missouri on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. (PT). The Bruins have gone 6-1 in the all-time series against the Tigers, most recently securing a 97-94 overtime victory against Missouri in Pauley Pavilion last season (Dec. 28, 2012). Prior to last year’s game, UCLA and Missouri’s previous two meetings came in the 2002 and 1995 NCAA Tournaments. The 1995 contest, a second-round NCAA Tournament game, is best remembered for Tyus Edney’s 4.8-second game-winning layup at the buzzer.

STRONG CHALLENGE
UCLA faces a formidable test playing at Missouri this Saturday. The Tigers have gone 141-21 (.870) at home since Mizzou Arena opened in 2004-05. In fact, the Tigers are 88-4 at home since 2008-09, amounting to an incredible .957 winning percentage. The Tigers have compiled 77 consecutive wins at home against non-conference foes since the end of the 2005-06 season. Missouri’s last non-conference loss at home came against Sam Houston State in the 2005 Preseason NIT. Since then, the Tigers have gone nearly eight full seasons without a loss.

POINT PRODUCTION
UCLA has scored at least 80 points in each of its last seven games (all victories). The last time UCLA scored at least 80 points in seven or more consecutive games was in 1998 (Jan. 17-Feb. 22) when the Bruins totaled at least 80 points in 11 straight games (7-4 during that stretch). The last time UCLA scored at least 80 points in seven or more straight wins was from Feb. 22-March 17, 1995 (Bruins scored at least 80 points in eight straight wins). UCLA’s streak of 80+ points in eight straight wins was disrupted by Missouri on March 19, 1995, when the Bruins edged the Tigers, 75-74, on a game-winning layup by Tyus Edney in the 1995 NCAA Tournament (game played at BSU Pavilion in Boise, Idaho).

TRIPLE THREAT
Kyle Anderson registered the third triple-double on record in school history on Nov. 22, logging 13 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. That marked UCLA’s first triple-double since Dec. 18, 1995, when Toby Bailey had 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Stephen F. Austin. Anderson clinched the triple-double with his 10th assist, a dish to Jordan Adams who knocked down a shot to finish with a career-high 30 points.

LOOKING BACK
Since the assist became an official stat in 1983-84, UCLA has just three triple-doubles on record (including Kyle Anderson’s) – Toby Bailey’s on Dec. 18,1995 and a point-rebound-block triple-double by Jelani McCoy against Maryland (Dec. 9, 1995) with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 11 blocks versus the Terrapins.

BIG OFF THE BENCH
UCLA freshmen Zach LaVine and Bryce Alford have played instrumental roles off the bench. The Bruins’ reserve corps has accounted for 30.3 percent of its total scoring (220/725). LaVine ranks second on the team with 14.4 points per game, while Alford has scored 7.1points per game and averaged 3.3 assists per game. LaVine scored 21 points against Nevada on Nov. 28 and followed that with an 18-point effort versus Northwestern on Nov 29. Alford scored a season-high 18 points against Northwestern, connecting on 7 of 9 shots (4 for 4 from 3-point range).

TOP MARKS
Heading into Friday’s Pac-12 games, UCLA leads the conference in points per game (90.6), field goal percentage (55.3), three-point field goal percentage (43.0), assists per game (20.0), assist turnover ratio (1.9) and steals per game (11.0). Likewise, the Bruins rank second in scoring margin (21.8) and in free throw percentage (74.5). Jordan Adams ranks fourth in the Pac-12 in scoring (21.5 ppg), Kyle Anderson is fifth in rebounding (9.3) and Tony Parker is fifth in field goal percentage (65.9 pct). Kyle Anderson ranks first in assists (7.8) and third in steals (1.9).

LAST YEAR’S GAME
Shabazz Muhammad hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:01 left in overtime to help UCLA upset No. 7 Missouri, 97-94, when these two teams met last season (Dec. 28, 2012). Travis Wear scored 22 points, including a jump shot with 12 seconds remaining, to close out UCLA’s first win over a top-10 non-conference opponent since 2007. Muhammad finished with 27 points for UCLA, which overcame an 86-77 deficit at home in the game’s final five minutes. The Bruins used an 11-2 scoring run in the final four minutes to send the game to overtime.

NATIONAL RANKS
Through games played on Sunday, Dec. 1, UCLA ranked sixth in the nation in points per game (90.9) and second in field goal perccentage (55.6), trailing Gonzaga’s 55.8 field goal percentage. The Bruins were also ranked No. 3 in assists per game (20.1), No. 4 in assist turnover ratio (1.86) and No. 8 in scoring margin (23.0). UCLA’s field goal percentage defense ranked No. 22, nationally (37.6 pct). Kyle Anderson ranked third in the country in assists per game (7.6), while classmate Jordan Adams was fifth in steals per game (3.29).

ON THE HORIZON
Following this Saturday’s game at Missouri, the Bruins will head into final exams before hosting Prairie View A&M in Pauley Pavilion on Saturday, Dec. 14. UCLA defeated Prairie View A&M, 95-53, at home last season. The Bruins will be back on an airplane the following week, flying to New York City where they will take on Duke at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, Dec. 19. The contest against Duke will be nationally televised by ESPN. UCLA will close its non-conference schedule in the final two weeks of December at home versus Weber State (Dec. 22) and Alabama (Dec. 28).

INSTANT OFFENSE
Affectionately dubbed “instant offense” by classmate Kyle Anderson, sophomore Jordan Adams has scored in double figures in 33 of his 41 career games. Adams averaged 15.3 points per game last season and scored a career-high 30 points in UCLA’s win against Morehead State on Nov. 22, 2013. He has led UCLA in scoring 21 times (18 times by himself, three times tied with teammates) over the team’s last 43 games.

INJURY REPORT
Freshman Noah Allen suffered multiple fractures to his face after a collision with one of Oakland’s players on Nov. 12. He underwent surgery on Nov. 14. A timetable for his return has not been determined. Freshman Wanaah Bail missed UCLA’s first five games of the season recovering from left knee surgery before making his collegiate debut in Las Vegas on Thursday, Nov. 28. Senior Travis Wear missed UCLA’s first three games (appendectomy on Oct. 28).

REACHING 100
UCLA scored 105 points or more in consecutive games (Nov 24, Nov. 28) for the first time since Nov. 27 and Dec. 4, 1993. The Bruins had not reached the 100-point plateau in back-to-back contests since Nov. 27 and Dec. 1, 1999. Following UCLA’s 105-84 win against Nevada on Nov. 28, the Bruins came five points shy of the 100-point mark against Northwestern (95-79, Nov. 29). UCLA has not scored 100+ points in three straight games since opening the 1971-72 season with seven consecutive wins with 100 or more points (Dec. 3-29, 1971).