Bruins shock No. 23 Wildcats 65-52 on the road

Pac-12 Networks

In a stunning upset that few could say they saw coming, the UCLA Bruins went to Arizona and defeated the No. 23 Wildcats by a final of 65-52. Defense led the way for the Bruins as the Wildcats were held to their lowest point total this season. No single UCLA student-athlete stood out on offense but head coach Mick Cronin got contributions up and down the bench as nine different Bruins scored in the stunning victory. UCLA has now won back-to-back victories when playing against ranked teams, having defeated then-No. 20 Colorado on January 30th.


Longer version from Matthew Loves Ball 
Mike Regalado - Bruin Report Online

GOAZCATS TV

UCLA Defeats No. 23 Arizona, 65-52

TUCSON, Ariz. – The UCLA men's basketball team won at No. 23 Arizona, 65-52, in a Pac-12 contest on Saturday night before a sell-out crowd of 14,644 at the McKale Center.

UCLA (13-11, 6-5 Pac-12) registered its third consecutive victory at Arizona, limiting the Wildcats to season lows in points and field goal percentage (25.4%).

In fact, the Bruins limited Arizona (16-7, 6-4) to its lowest overall field goal percentage in the history of the McKale Center, an arena that opened in 1973. Previously, Arizona had never shot as low as 32 percent in a game at the McKale Center (and that occurred against Oregon in 1980).

The Bruins used a back-breaking 14-0 scoring run in the second half, turning a one-point lead into a 15-point advantage with five minutes to play. UCLA's defense held the Wildcats without a field goal for nearly 10 minutes in the second half.

"You can't play much better than that," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "We kept them out of transition, made them play five-on-five, took our chances, they missed some good looks. Once we controlled the defensive glass, the game was over, which is hard to do against them."

The Bruins used a team effort on Saturday night, as Chris Smith led the group with 15 points. Tyger Campbell had 12 points and a team-leading five assists.

UCLA shot 51.1 percent from the field, including 52.9 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. In addition, UCLA made 10 of 12 free throws (83.3 percent).

The Bruins entered the game having out-rebounded the opposition in 20 of 23 games. Saturday's result proved no different. UCLA registered a 35-30 rebounding advantaged. Jalen Hill had nine rebounds (and nine points) after having missed Thursday night's game at Arizona State with a sprained right knee (sustained in practice on Wednesday).

The teams began the game trading 3-pointers, with the first six baskets coming from beyond the arc (three from each team).

Smith had two of the first three Bruin 3-pointers. Cody Riley's and-one with 4:43 to play in the first half gave UCLA a 23-21 lead, and Prince Ali's three-pointer at 3:01 put UCLA ahead 26-23.

UCLA took a 29-28 lead into halftime and came out firing in the second half, going on a quick 5-0 run to start the half and outscoring the Wildcats 9-2 in the first four minutes. That spurt put the Bruins ahead of Arizona, 38-30. A jump shot by Smith at the 13:32 mark extended UCLA's advantage to nine points (45-36).

Arizona came roaring back, taking advantage of Riley and Jaime Jaquez Jr. each picking up their fourth fouls to go on an 8-0 run to close to within one, 45-44, with 9:47 to play. But the Bruins answered with an 14-0 run of their own to take a 15-point lead, 59-44, on a David Singleton three-pointer. UCLA ended up with an 18-2 run to move ahead 63-46 with 3:16 to play to put the game out of reach.

UCLA did not play Arizona at the McKale Center last season, but won previous contests in the Wildcats' home arena in Feb. 2018 and Feb. 2017.

Saturday's win marked the Bruins' second victory over a top-25 ranked foe in the last two weeks. The Bruins downed No. 20 Colorado in Los Angeles (72-68) on Thursday, Jan. 30.

UCLA will return home to face Washington State this Thursday evening. Game time is 8 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. The Bruins' game will be televised on Pac-12 Network.

Postgame Quotes – UCLA at Arizona

POSTGAME QUOTES

UCLA 65, Arizona 52

Tucson, Ariz. (McKale Center)

February 8, 2020

Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach

opening remarks

“You can’t play much better than that. But they missed some open shots. At least we made it hard on them, didn’t give them layups. We kept them out of transition, made them play five on five and took our chances. They missed some good looks. Once we controlled the defensive glass, the game was over, which is hard to do against them, really hard to do. Zeke Nnaji is unbelievable. It’s hard to believe that he’s as freshman.”

on if that is the best UCLA has played all season

“Oh, hands down. Hands down.”

on what helped the Bruins get on a 14-0 scoring run

“Yeah, I called the timeout to tell our guys, ‘Look, they made a run and now it’s over.’ But I’ll tell you guys this all the time. I’ll get on them and I demand a lot from them and they get the job done, you’ve got to give them credit. Coaches don’t win games. Players win games. And tonight, my players won the game. They did a tremendous job. We only had three first half turnovers. We did a tremendous job with execution. Sean [Miller] is as good a coach defensively as there is in the country, period. Always has been and always will be. So it’s hard to score against them. We had to change some things and make some adjustments because they’re just so good in the half-court. Tyger [Campbell] was awesome – his passing, his big buckets, his passing early in the game. He did a tremendous job.”

on Arizona shooting its lowest field goal percentage in 48 years

“Thank God it was against us. You know, some of that was our defense, and some of that was that the ball didn’t go in. I saw with their Gonzaga [game], you know, they were one for their first 15 from three. For us, it’s the law of averages because we played the other night and the other team couldn’t miss.”

on whether he thinks the Bruins are making a consistent improvement as the season continues

“We had a great team meeting last night. We had a great practice today. We kind of rested on our day in between and do some of our mental stuff. We had a great team meeting yesterday where I talked to the guys, and it was really the first time that I had talked to them about Cincinnati and how to win these games. I had coached in the Big East against top-25 teams. You have to make the other team play five on five. It’s not that you don’t want to run, you’ll run for layups. But you can’t let them run for layups. So you can’t get your shot blocked. You can’t have live ball turnovers because they’ll just go flying on down like Arizona State, where we had given up 27 points on the break. Tonight, I’m not sure what it ended up – we had four points on the [fast] break. You’ve got a chance to win if you do that. You’ve got to stop a team. They’re too good if you give them easy baskets.”

on whether one of the team’s goals was to limit Zeke Nnaji

“That guy is impressive. We couldn’t get enough people on him, at times. I mean, literally, he was out-rebounding us, one on four, a few times. He’s not the reason that they didn’t win. I’m not sure what his numbers ended up. So, he’s a double-double machine. He’s as good a rebounder as I have seen all year.”

on the Bruins’ 3-point defense against Arizona

“Well, I think that Nico has to play a lot. And he is a freshman, in fairness to him. I think he has to take a lot of threes off the dribble. We tried to do a really good job on Smith, Hazzard and Baker. Those were the guys we were worried about the most, from the 3-point line. We contested Nico as much as we could. But you know, he’s going to miss some shots. You have to be somewhat arbitrary about it. Sometimes the ball goes in and sometimes it doesn’t.”

on the mental fortitude of this team to win in a hostile environment

“It was awesome to see. That’s the best part of coaching, by far.”

on whether this may raise expectations for the rest of UCLA’s games

“I’m sure it does. Of course. Welcome to my job. You’re going to go and write about we should win the rest of them, of how we figured it out and I finally did a good job coaching. We’ve been waiting all year for me to do a better job, and now we’ve got to go and win every game. It’s OK. That’s the way it is. You hold a team to 30 percent and I like our chances.”

UCLA freshman Tyger Campbell

on how the Bruins secured the victory

“We just stayed locked in on the defensive end. We came out in the second half and knew that they were going to come out on a big run, as every home team does, and we tried to bounce back after they went on it. We just kept playing solid with the ball.”

on how his team improved on defense between Thursday’s loss and Saturday’s win

“I don’t think that it was anything that specific. We just wanted to win, you know. We wanted to split on the road after the loss to ASU. So, we just tried to do that best we could to win this game. We came out on top.”

on the trajectory of this team, having now won five of the past seven games

“Well, we are just taking it one game at a time. It was a great win for us here, this being my first time here, it was amazing. It was amazing playing here. The crowd was amazing.”

on playing in front of a rowdy crowd

“It was good. It definitely kept the energy up. Every play where they’d score, the crowd is yelling. They’d go on a run, so it was big for us to show that we could just come together and weather the storm.”

on the impact of Jalen Hill and a crucial three-point play late in the second half

“I mean, that’s just what he does. He’s a big and tough player. It’s always great to have him on the court. Like you said, in the second half, he was rebounding his head off.”

on the Bruins going on a 14-0 run in the second half

“Well, when you’re out there – I didn’t really realize that we went on a 14-0 run. During the game, we are just taking it one play at a time. Try to score and then get a stop. Every time we scored, we huddle up and talked about how we were going to go back down and get a stop.”

on when he knows when to be in more of an attack mode, on offense

“I wouldn’t say it’s attack. I just want to play hard and win for my team. If that is attacking or if that’s getting in the lane and passing or if that’s rebounding, I just try and do what I need to do to help my team win.”

UCLA sophomore Jalen Hill

on the offensive rebound and putback (and foul) late in the second half

“It felt good. I couldn’t play [Thursday night] at Arizona State, so I just had a lot of pent up energy. I wanted to hype the bench up. We’d been talking, all been together, and that is what you have to do on the road, especially in here. It’s loud. So, when you can get moments like that when the crowd is quiet, you have to let your teammates know.”

on securing the win at Arizona in a tough road environment

“It feels really good. They’re a really good team. They just weren’t really hitting tonight. But I know that they can shoot the ball. They’re just really talented. I mean, it feels good to get the win, to get a split on the road. I feel like this team can play like this all the time. We’ve just got to make sure that we keep doing it.”

on locking in to continue this upward trajectory

“We have to make sure that we keep getting in the gym. Don’t get complacent. We beat a good team, it’s whatever and on to the next game. After today, it doesn’t matter. We’ve got to lock in in practice and keep it going.”

on UCLA’s 14-0 scoring run in the second half that helped put the game away

“They had gone on a run prior to that, made it a one-point game. We got to the huddle, and Tyger [Campbell] was like, ‘They made their run, now it’s our turn.’ That’s a big part. You’ve just got to know that every team is going to make a run. It’s a game of runs. You’ve got to know that they made their and now it’s time to make ours.”

on how his right knee feels (missed Thursday’s game with a right knee sprain)

“Oh man, I didn’t feel it in the game when I had got subbed out or timeouts it might get a little stiff, but in the game, nothing bothered me. But now, it’s hurting a little bit but I’ll be fine. I’m about to get iced up, real quick.”

on if he had to convince his way into playing on Saturday

“No, they really trust me. But Coach Cronin made sure that he didn’t pressure me into playing. He wants the best for me, just like he wants the best for everybody else on the team. I just got to listen to my body. I wanted to play at Arizona State, but I had to be honest with myself. I wouldn’t really have been a benefit to my team if I had been out there, anyways. And I just was not feeling 100 percent, or even close to that. I took the rehab seriously and that made it feel better.”

on the Bruins having won five of their past seven games and if there’s a good feeling around that

“Yeah, I mean I feel it but you cannot get complacent. You’ve just got to keep going.”

UCLA junior Chris Smith

on the Bruins’ 14-0 scoring run midway through the second half

“Just playing together. Tyger was keeping us together. Every chance that we could, we huddled, you know, just talked to each other. We just looked to the next play. They got on the 8-0 run and the crowd got into it, but we just stayed together. We got through it.”

on if he thinks this is the best, most complete performance of the season

“I’d say so, yeah, probably. We played 40 minutes together, the first time we’ve played 40 minutes together like this. We played well in the first half and then made them call a timeout, what was it like a minute into the second half? Had never done that before, especially at their place. That was amazing.”

on securing a victory in this environment against a Pac-12 rival

“I love it, man. There is nothing better than when there’s time on the clock and the home fans are leaving. The same fans that were going crazy, talking crazy to you, the same fans leaving with five minutes left to go. There’s nothing better than that.”

on the Bruins holding Arizona to zero 3-pointers in the second half after a tough game at ASU last Thursday

“I mean, shots just weren’t falling for them tonight. They were getting a lot of them back, second and third chance shots in the first half. But as soon as we cut that off, that is when we started making a run. I mean, I can’t say much about that. Our shots were falling. Theirs weren’t. We just trusted in each other. If somebody was open, we made sure they got the ball. On the defensive end, we talked to each other, closed out on shooters and made sure that drivers couldn’t get to the lane.”

on UCLA having won five of seven games and if there is a little more pressure to keep winning

“We want to win every game. Guys are looking for us to win.”

on if there are any noticeable differences since the Bruins won five of seven games

“I’d say the chemistry, our toughness and our defensive effort, for sure. And just playing together. On the offensive end the other night against Arizona State, we weren’t finding the open man. We were taking shots, one on three, stuff like that. We were driving tight gaps. We didn’t do that tonight. And we had been doing a lot of that earlier in the season, and we’re not doing that as much anymore. I’d say that our chemistry, just believing in each other and playing together. That has definitely picked up later in the season.”

on freshman Tyger Campbell’s strong effort

“That guy is a great point guard. You know, probably the purest point guard in college at the moment. You know, you’ve got your scoring point guards. Now, everybody wants to be like Russell Westbrook, Mr. UCLA, but Tyger is a pass-first guy. He just loves when his teammates succeed. That makes him happy. That just pulls the team together. And that makes us play for each other when you have somebody handling the ball every single possession and they can get you the ball when you’re open and that means a lot.”

on Tyger’s ability to be more aggressive on offense

“I just told him, ‘Man, attack when you can.’ We were getting a lot of switches. The bigs were switching out on him, so when you get that, I know that there was one time where I’d set the screen and he had [Stone] Gettings on him. We made eye contact. I told him to attack. I’ll tell him that every single time. If there’s a mismatch, attack, no matter who it is. Especially with Tyger, he can get whatever he wants. When he attacks, he’ll draw defenders and he finds the open man every single time. But yeah, I just told him in there that he hit really big shots tonight. And that is something he can do every night.”

on UCLA having won three straight games at the McKale Center and he has been part of two of those wins

“It’s crazy. My freshman year we won, and I was so happy. I didn’t contribute as much as I did this time. But, you know, it is always fun to get a win in an environment like this where there are probably like a handful of fans, at most, who are cheering us on. I love winning here. It’s a tough team. They play really well. But we just overcame it. And we got the win. I loved it.”

Game summary and Post-game quotes from UCLA Men's Basketball website 

The Box

ASU manhandles UCLA in Tempe, a 84-66 shellacking

Pac-12 Networks

The Sun Devils top UCLA for the fourth time in a row, collecting an 84-66 win on Thursday in Tempe. ASU shot a blistering 58% from 3-point range and received an 18-rebound performance from Romello White -- his 10th game with double-digit boards.

Longer version from Matthew Loves Ball

UCLA dismantles Utah 73-57. Bruins improve to 12-10, 5-4.

Bruins' freshman guard Tyger Campbell scored a career-high 22 points and dished out eight assists, as UCLA defeated Utah, 73-57, on Sunday afternoon in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 18 points and had four steals.

All videos from UCLA Athletics except where indicated otherwise.

short version.

longer version from Mr. Jonnyparks
Ỳ

UCLA Men's Basketball Defeats Utah, 73-57

from UCLA Men's Basketball website LOS ANGELES – Tyger Campbell scored a team-leading 22 points and had eight assists to lead the UCLA men's basketball team past Utah, 73-57, in a Pac-12 game in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom on Sunday afternoon.

Campbell helped UCLA (12-10, 5-4 Pac-12) secure their fourth victory in their last five games, connecting on 7 of 13 shots and 2 of 4 attempts from 3-point range. He registered a season-high 22 points and finished the game one assist shy of season high in that category.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 18 points and tallied four steals, while Jalen Hill logged 14 points and a team-leading eight rebounds.

"I was really happy with our win," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "Happy for Tyger Campbell, obviously. It's tough being a young guy when everybody expects the world from you in your first year. Unfortunately, that's how college basketball has changed for the worse now. But he stood in there, kept working. You stand in there and keep working and you get better."

The Bruins led Utah (12-9, 3-6 Pac-12) by a 32-21 margin at halftime and saw their 11-point lead early in the second half fall to as few as four points (50-46) with 9:12 to play.

From that point in the game, UCLA pushed its margin back to double-digits with a jump shot from Campbell, a deep 2-point shot from Jules Bernard and a pair of free throws from Jaquez. That offensive sequence gave UCLA a 56-46 cushion with 7:47 left in regulation.

The Bruins led by as many as 19 points (67-48) with 3:22 to play in the game.

Campbell scored 16 of his 22 points after halftime. He made 6 of 9 shots in the second half to help the Bruins secure the win and improve to 5-4 in Pac-12 action.

UCLA out-rebounded the Runnin' Utes by a 33-31 margin and have now out-rebounded the opposition in 20 of 22 games this season.

The Bruins will return to action at Arizona State on Thursday, Feb. 6. Game time at ASU's Desert Financial Arena is 8 p.m. PT (9 p.m. MT, local time in Arizona). UCLA will conclude its two-game road trip at Arizona on Saturday, Feb. 8.

Postgame Quotes - UCLA vs. Utah

POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 73, Utah 57
February 2, 2020

Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening statement
“Obviously, happy with our defensive effort. They can really shoot the ball. I thought we needed to pressure them, try to speed them up because they shoot it well and they pass it well. It’s a great recipe, offensively. They’ve been on a roll lately. They won two against the Washingtons. They led USC for 38 minutes the other night. Really happy with our win. Happy for Tyger Campbell, obviously. It’s tough being a young guy when everybody expects the world from you in your first year. Unfortunately, that’s how college basketball has changed for the worse now. But he stood in there, kept working. You stand in there and keep working and you get better. Today, I thought he had the advantage in the pick and roll. Obviously, we rode him as long as we could and he dominated the second half from an offensive standpoint.”

on what is clicking defensively
“Our focus, our buy-in. Changing DNA is really hard to do. It’s the hardest thing, as a coach, to do, changing the DNA of a program. And I say that with all respect because Steve [Alford] won a lot of games ... They just did it differently. It’s not better, it’s not worse. They just did it differently. They scored a whole lot of points. Young guys, they have no defensive DNA. That’s not my fault, Murry’s [Bartow] or Steve’s. Good coaching is telling your guy ‘Don’t foul,’ because he’s got nobody as good as Tyger on the bench, or Jaime [Jaquez Jr.] or Jake [Kyman], whomever you want to pick. Their big guys, who tell them [to] stand by the rim. Cody’s [Riley] never fought around the post and made those type of plays in his life. Nobody’s ever asked him to do that, to make those defensive plays. So, it just takes time. There’s buy-in, but then you find out what you’re all about, like I told our guys. People judge you and the world’s not fair. People have a lot of prejudice in the world, unfortunately. They prejudge West Coast kids. They prejudge UCLA kids, saying they're soft or they're selfish. These guys are proving that they’re not. We’re no finished product. Their effort is there. That’s all you can really ask. You just try to build habits over time. You see Cody out there, his stat line’s not great, but he made some unbelievable defensive plays — especially in the second half. And that’s what you’ve got to have if you’re going to have a winning team. You have guys that are focused on that instead of pouting about how many shots they make. It’s a big change in their DNA for us.”

on offensive performance, especially from Tyger Campbell
“We thought Tyger had an advantage in the pick and roll. I could see he felt confident out there. I’m not a big ‘My offense’ guy. I’m a big ‘Where’s the mismatch.’ More like the pros, I guess. Go to your strength. It’s going to be different every game, depending on how the other team defends. I could see he was extremely confident, so in the second half, we rode that as much as we could. I thought Jalen [Hill] and Jaime, around the rim, was special… But I would say, in my opinion, you can’t ever have a real program if you turn the ball over. Our last two games, we’ve only had 10 turnovers. You’ve got to be around that number to be a real program, year in and year out. That’s got to be around your average and, obviously, that’s a DNA change for us, as well. We led the Pac-12 in turnovers last year. We go on the road, if we turn it over, we won’t win next week. But I’m happy for Tyger. Really happy for him.”

UCLA redshirt freshman Guard Tyger Campbell
on his teammates rushing over to him to help him up when he was fouled and fell
“I feel like if it was anyone on the team doing that, all four guys would have run through, but it just shows how together we are as a team. Winning brings people together, and y’all don’t see a lot of the stuff we do in the locker room and in practice and off the court. We’re just trying to stay together as a team and just push through these games and win some games.”

on bringing the energy despite a Noon start
“I just came into the game and wanted to win. That’s all we care about. It’s not really about points or anything like that. I just came in and wanted to win for my team. I love my team, and we’re trying to go on a run in this Pac-12 right now.”

on persevering this year
“Just go hard in practice every day and keeping guys together in practice. I wouldn’t have been able to do what I did today without my team finding me, and JHill (Jalen Hill) setting the ball screens he set me today. It’s really just a team effort. I might have had 22, but it was the whole team, and it was everything that mattered. It’s team-oriented; all we care about is team and winning.”

UCLA redshirt sophomore forward/center Jalen Hill
on coming into the game with confidence
“Every game we’re just trying to play the same – play hard, play smart. Obviously when you win a game and then you go into practice, you can really focus on the things that you did do well and the things that you need to improve on. It makes the next game easier.”

on if the goal of the team has changed being one game out of first in the Pac-12
“The goal has never changed. We want to win. Whether we were in eighth or wherever we were at, it doesn’t matter. Now that we’re one game out of first we’re just that more focused. We want to win, and Coach Cronin is doing an amazing job in practice keeping us focused and keeping us grounded so we can keep getting win after win.”

on what has changed defensively in the last few weeks
“Talk, communication. Just knowing that every guy is on the same page. Nobody’s trying to gamble on defense. Nobody’s trying to do anything that we haven’t practiced. Just knowing that everybody’s got each other’s back, it really helps.”

UCLA freshman guard Jaime Jaquez Jr.
on keeping the pressure up in the second half of both games this weekend
“During the beginning of the games usually at the start we get really good jumps and we’re ahead a lot of the time. And in the second half of the game, we usually tend to fall apart. So that was a big emphasis during the last couple of practices – just keep it together in the second half and finish our game. So that was our mentality, and that’s what we were working on throughout practices and the games.”

Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak
opening remarks
“First half there was a lid on the rim. I thought we missed a bunch of open shots. You guys witnessed it. We were one for 12 from three at half. We started the second half, hit three threes and then it was a couple-possession game and we couldn’t sustain it. The free throw line was the key.”

on their offensive efficiency
“Overall, we just missed some offensive shots. We had a stretch where we had seven turnovers in our first 13 possessions. The margin for error is just too slim against a team like this.”

on their road record
“There is a different story line for each game. We are 0-5 on the road, but we’ve played tough teams like Arizona and Colorado which are physical top-20 teams. We didn’t make enough plays at Arizona State and USC, but we were in those ball games. Tonight is a four-point game. We have to have some onions. One thing about it, I know we’ve rode some guys pretty hard.”

Utah sophomore forward Timmy Allen
on the two games in Los Angeles
“It’s very frustrating. We had an opportunity to win in both. The details, the small things, we just have to pay attention to those.”

on where they go from here
“We get to the gym. We’ve got to get reps up and get our mind right.”

on the tough interior defense in the Pac-12
“I just have to make some plays. It’s going to be like that all season.”

on the team’s shooting in this game
“I feel like this is the grind-it-out part of the season. We have to decide where we are at. It’s a long season.”

on how they are going to improve
“We just have to come out a little bit stronger and make some plays. We were right there.”

UCLA upsets #20 Colorado at Pauley 72-68. Bruins improve to 11-10, 4-4.

Jan 30, 2020

Let's go straight to the film!!!

Short version from the Pac-12 Networks

UCLA men's basketball upsets No. 20 Colorado 72-68 on Thursday night in Westwood to snap a four-game losing streak to the Buffs. Chris Smith finished with a career-high 30 points as the Bruins also snapped a six-game losing streak to top-25 opponents with their win over Colorado. McKinley Wright moved into second on CU's all-time career assists list as he finished with 14 points and five assists on Thursday. UCLA moves to 11-10 and 4-4 in conference, while Colorado drops to 16-5 and 5-3 in Pac-12 play.

Longer version from Matthew Loves Ball
from UCLA Athletics

UCLA Defeats No. 20 Colorado, 72-68

from UCLA Men's Basketball webpage: LOS ANGELES – Junior guard Chris Smith recorded a career-high 30 points to lead the UCLA men's basketball team to a 72-68 upset over No. 20 Colorado on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.

With the win, UCLA (11-10, 4-4) snapped a four-game losing streak to the Buffaloes (16-5, 5-3) dating back to Jan. 12, 2017. The victory also marked the first time that the Bruins defeated a ranked team since toppling then-No. 13 Arizona on Feb. 8, 2018. The Bruins improved to 11-0 on the campaign when limiting the opposition to 73 points or fewer.

Smith's 30-point effort was the first by a Bruin since Kris Wilkes had 34 against Arizona on Jan. 26, 2019. Smith shot 8-of-16 from the field and sunk his first 11 free throw attempts in a row before missing a pair in the game's final minute to finish the night at 13-15. He also posted nine rebounds, finishing one short of his third double-double of the year.

He was one of several Bruins to have solid nights on Thursday. Redshirt senior guard Prince Ali provided a shot in the arm off the bench, notching 11 points including a 3-for-3 performance from beyond the arc. Freshman guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 13 points, his fifth consecutive and ninth game overall finishing in double digits.

UCLA built up a 12-point lead by halftime thanks to an efficient first-half effort. The Bruins played a solid two-way game in the opening 20 minutes, shooting 44.8 percent from the field and outrebounding Colorado 20-10. The Bruins were also on fire from the charity stripe, hitting all nine of their attempts from the free throw line, and committed just four turnovers compared to seven by the Buffaloes.

Ali helped ignite the key run of the first half for the Bruins, hitting a pair of threes as part of a 14-0 swing that made it 23-10 in favor of UCLA. A pull-up three by Ali from the right elbow off a Tyger Campbell outlet pass capped that rally and forced a timeout from the visitors.

Colorado responded in the second half, going on a 12-0 run early to trim UCLA's lead to just three points. A clutch three from the top of the key from Chris Singleton following a Cody Riley offensive board helped stem the tide and re-establish a 47-39 lead with 13:47 remaining.

The Buffaloes continued to push and eventually got within two points at the 7:22 mark, but UCLA would not allow them to get any closer, going on an 11-2 run – featuring six points from Smith and four from Jaquez Jr. – to push the lead back into double digits. A pair of desperation three-pointers late by Colorado provided the game's final scoreline.

The Bruins finished the night with a 39-29 advantage in rebounding, the team's largest differential against a Pac-12 opponent this season. Four separate players had at least five rebounds: Smith (9), Jaquez Jr. (7), Riley (5), and Ali (5). 

UCLA returns to action on Sunday afternoon by hosting league rival Utah in an FS1-televised game. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.

Postgame Quotes - UCLA vs. Colorado

POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 72, Colorado 68
January 30, 2020

Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening statement
“Obviously a great win for our team, top-25 opponent. Somebody told me they had 95-percent of their scoring back. I thought they could easily could be coming into tonight’s game 18-2, they had a couple wild losses late in games. They’re extremely well-coached, they play extremely physical. I thought the key to the game would be our rebounding, we were gonna have to get some second chance points because they’re so solid defensively which is what veteran teams are. Plus they had depth, so if guys don’t defend he puts another guy in. So our second chance points were big for us, we were plus-8 and I think that was the difference in the game. Very happy for Prince [Ali], obviously Chris [Smith] played great. Prince’s attitude in practice the last two days was great. So many young kids this day and age – when things aren’t going their way – play the victim instead of looking in the mirror. We had a talk – I want him to finish his career, him and Alex are just great kids, we need him to help us win some games. Just really happy that he made those shots, for him. Obviously the ball goes in, it helps the coach’s blood pressure. They’re a very good team, we’re gonna play them again. Great win for us.’

on Chris Smith
“One thing about him is … recruiting so many guys, [they] wanna talk about what position they’re gonna play. The guy with the biggest advantage is the guy that’s playing guard but he’s being defended because I play him at the four. Nobody wants to play there when you recruit. But I’m playing him four because he’s the guy who gets to go against their big guy all night. I’m a big mismatch guy. It’s not giving it away, teams saw me coach at Cincinnati trying to get the matchup we wanted in the attack. It’s hard to run plays and score against [Colorado] because they’re so well-schooled. Tried to get Chris the best matchup I could, he’s such a good free throw shooter – we’ve worked hard with him at drawing fouls and it really made a difference in this game.

on the team’s rebounding mindset against a physical Colorado squad
“We show a lot of film on offensive rebounding. Couple days of practice, boxing out. To be honest with you a little bit about what happened last year [against CU], Colorado just really out-manned UCLA in both games physically. You can’t let that happen. We’re trying to build a program, you’re never gonna build a program if you get pushed around, especially at home. We had a lot of talk about that, lot of practice.”

on finishing the game
“We play a lot of young guys, even Jalen [Hill] and Cody [Riley] are young guys as far as playing experience. It’s different when you sub in and if you don’t play well they take you out versus being a guy that has to play. It’s still a learning process, a lot of guys are still learning. We still make a lot of plays that are amazing to be honest with you. I have to remind myself, I just haven’t coached these guys that long. We still make some mistakes, some mind-blowing mistakes at times. But we did enough to win the game is the most important thing.”

on lineup decisions late with players in foul trouble
“We were up by two possessions, it was at 5 or 6 that we tried to go small rather than take away the three-point shot. And you’re trying to get your best free throw shooters on the floor at that point. Press offense and three-point defense.”

on responding to Colorado’s physicality
“Well, we won the rebounding battle by 10. But we had two guys foul out and two guys with four [fouls]. Veteran teams are going to be physical, that’s just part of it. If you can’t match that, you’re never gonna be a real team. So it’s a great learning process for our guys. I thought early in the game we might have surprised them with the way we rebounded the ball. It was 20-10 in the first half, so they kept us off the glass for the most part in the second half. They boxed out a lot better in the second half.

on Tyger Campbell
“At this point in his career, any points he gives us are kind of icing on the cake. He’s so young, he’s playing so many minutes. What he’s learned is – most recruits want to play as freshmen, they don’t realize the whole key to being able to do it is defense. Two things – defend and take care of the ball. Coach isn’t gonna play guys that don’t defend and don’t take care of the ball. In this league, you’ve got a lot of really good point guards. He’s had to guard a lot of really good players. In high school, if you’ve got a great player, you tell him don’t foul, we don’t have anyone as good as you. So you hide him. Then guys get to college and not only do they need to play defense, they have to guard a guy who’s older and is really good.”

UCLA redshirt senior guard Prince Ali
on if this was a breakthrough game …
“Yeah, we’ve had a week to plan for them. What happened at Oregon was difficult, but we knew we had to keep fighting, so we came to practices all week, and we planned for them, and we were able to get the W, which was huge for us.”

on how he felt coming into this game …
“I felt good. Coach Cronin this whole week was on me about just being ready to shoot and being confident in my stroke. I knew coming in that if I got a clean look, I was going to let it go, so it was just confidence.”

UCLA junior guard Chris Smith
on what he was thinking when his shot to beat the shot clock with four minutes to go went in …
“Just get the shot off. We were offensive rebounding. We beat them on the glass, I think by 10, and a lot of it was on offensive rebounds. I was just thinking get a shot off. I think we had Cody [Riley] and JHill (Jalen Hill) in at the time, so two big bodies, so just get the shot up and collapse. That’s a shot I believe I can make. I was just trying to get it on the rim.”

on being more aggressive with their shots than in previous games …
“We knew that they were a pack team on defense, so we knew we had to move the ball with people. You’ve got to attack the lane, get people to help so you can get a teammate open, and that’s definitely one of our emphasis tonight.”

on the importance of this win moving forward …
“Tonight was definitely a confidence booster. It shows us and everyone else that we can hang with some of the best. We went from playing a Top 10 team in Oregon, that was a rough game, to playing a Top 25 team at home and getting a big win. We’ve got some young guys, but they don’t play like they’re young. Jaime [Jaquez Jr.] hit four clutch free throws in the end. That’s not what a freshman would do. I would have missed it. But we’ve got young guys who don’t play like they’re young, and tonight was a confidence booster to get us back on our feet for the next one.”

UCLA freshman guard Jaime Jaquez Jr.
On what was done to prepare to come out strong on the boards …
“Pretty much just going into practice knowing I was going to have to be physical and really have to box out and try to get rebounds. The key to the game was rebounding, so going in that’s what I wanted to do, and that’s what I did.”

Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
on their last two road games…
“They just really out-toughed us. UCLA just out-toughed us. From the start of the game, they were just tougher, but we were better in the second half. This team really has heart, but the last two games we got punked. We fouled more than usual. UCLA really deserved to win this game.”

on the team’s goals for the season…
“Our goal is to win the next game. When you lose the rebounding game, it’s tough to win. At halftime we had zero offensive rebounds. We had one team offensive rebound, but no individual offensive rebounds. This shows that UCLA was tougher.”

on self-motivation…
“Sometimes you just have to look within. That’s where we are right now. You can’t look for outside influences to motivate you and that includes the coaches.”

on the upcoming game against USC…
“Doesn’t matter what team we are playing next. It’s just about taking care of Colorado.”

Colorado sophomore forward Evan Battey
on their road game struggles…
“We have to take care of things like rebounding. We can’t spot a team 25 fast-break points and 18 second-chance points on the road. It’s really hard to win.”

on their upcoming game against USC…
“I hope we get that spark. We’ve beat them the last two times. I’m not a fortune teller, but I’m going to be ready to go.”

on his overall individual performance…
“It doesn’t mean anything how I did. We lost the game. My stats mean nothing. I’m a team player, so that’s what matters.”

Colorado Senior Forward Lucas Siewert
on playing zone defense vs. man-to-man defense…
“We’ve been playing zone defense, but we take pride in man-to-man. We just have to get ready for it. Teams are trying to switch more and we’re not moving the ball as much.”

on their upcoming game against USC…
“They are going to be ready for us. They’re a better team than UCLA and we are better than how we played tonight. That may be the spark that we need.”

#12 Oregon absolutely dominates UCLA in Eugene 96-75. Bruins now 10-10, 3-4.

Jan 26, 2020

Get your game films here!!!

Short version from the Pac-12 Networks

Oregon men's basketball came just shy of hitting triple-digits on Saturday afternoon in Eugene, as the Ducks got the better of UCLA, 96-75. Chris Duarte led Oregon with 24 points, but it was a total team effort as Payton Pritchard( 19), Shakur Juiston (11), and Will Richardson (16), all reached double-digit points.

Longer version from Matthew Loves Ball

UCLA Defeated by No. 12 Oregon, 96-75

from UCLA Men's Basketball website: EUGENE, Ore. – The UCLA men's basketball team dropped a 96-75 decision on the road to No. 12 Oregon on Sunday afternoon before 9,309 at Matthew Knight Arena.
 
Freshman Jake Kyman led the Bruins (10-10, 3-4 Pac-12) with 20 points in the setback. He made 7 of 11 shots, including 4 of 8 attempts from 3-point range, picking up his second 20-plus-point game of the season. Kyman had opened the month of January with a 21-point effort at Washington.
 
Sophomore Jalen Hill finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, two steals and a block. Freshman Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 10 points, rounding out UCLA's list of double-figure scorers. Jaquez Jr. dished a team-high five assists and had three rebounds.
 
Oregon (17-4, 6-2 Pac-12) led the game from start to finish, using a 14-0 scoring run midway through the first half to secure a 21-9 lead with just over 13 minutes to play before halftime.
 
A layup by Hill with 10:31 to play in the first half disrupted the Ducks' scoring run. From that points, Oregon built a 23-point lead, 37-14, with 5:21 left in the opening stanza.
 
UCLA entered the locker room trailing, 48-26. The Bruins shot 60.0 percent in the second half, outscored the Ducks by a 49-48 margin and trimmed their double-digits deficit to as few as 15 points (56-41) with 14:35 to play in regulation.
 
The Bruins committed 22 turnovers at Oregon, as the Ducks finished with 34 of their 96 totals points off UCLA's turnovers.
 
"When you look at our offensive numbers, we shot 50 percent [overall], 41 from three and 81 at the free throw line," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "By far, the best we have had with those three in a game, maybe all year. It's a great lesson for our team. If you don't defend, you don't take care of the ball, you've got no chance. I thought the turnovers completely changed the game. It got them feeling good."
 
Oregon finished the game with four players scoring in double figures. Chris Duarte had a team-leading 23 points, as he connected on 8 of 14 shots from the field. Payton Pritchard tallied 19 points, six assists and five rebounds, while Will Richardson had 16 points and Shaku Juiston registered 11 points.
 
Kyman and David Singleton were relatively efficient for the Bruins from 3-point range. Kyman knocked down four 3-pointers, while Singleton connected on 3 of 6 attempts from long range.
 
UCLA will return home to host No. 23 Colorado on Thursday evening. Game time in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom is 8 p.m. The Bruins' showdown against Colorado will be nationally televised on ESPN2.

In addition, the Bruins will close the week against Utah on Sunday, Feb. 2. Game time next Sunday in Pauley Pavilion is 12 p.m. (PT). That game will be televised by FS1.

Postgame Quotes - UCLA at Oregon

POSTGAME QUOTES
Oregon 96, UCLA 75
Eugene, Ore. (Matthew Knight Arena)
January 26, 2020
 
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening statement
“When you go on the road at the No. 12 team in the country and you turn it over 23 times, you have no chance. The interesting thing is when you look at our offensive numbers, we shoot 50 percent, 41 from three and 81 from the free throw line. By far, the best we have had with those three [stats] in a game, maybe all year. It’s a great lesson for our team – you don’t defend, you don’t take care of the ball, you’ve got no chance. I thought the turnovers completely changed the game. It got them feeling good. It’s a lot easier to make shots when things are rolling. I also was concerned [that] they hadn’t shot the ball well since Pac-12 [games] started. If you look at their numbers in Pac-12, coming into today, they were shooting 33 percent as a team and had some guys struggling immensely. They started hitting guarded ones. That’s when it snowballed on us.”
 
on handling Oregon’s press
“We let it affect us. We played sideways. When you play sideways and telegraph your passes, they don’t have to protect the rim so they just come harder and harder. We really dedicated most of our practice to it, which is the most disappointing thing. It’s a little different, practice and then put people in the stands. We looked like a really young and inexperienced team out there, which is disappointing. I know we are, but I was hoping we were past all that.”
 
on the Bruins’ defensive effort
“Thirty-four points off turnovers. All we talked about was controlling the tempo of the game with our offense by taking care of the ball. We really thought we could get any shot we wanted against them in the half court, and we did really.”
 
on if he had any prior interactions during his career with Kobe Bryant
“I knew him when he was younger. I was the coach in Sonny’s game [Sonny Vacarro]. I’m sure that Sonny is devastated. I was the coach in Magic Johnson’s Roundball Classic in Palace Hills, and I coached him in that event. His last high school game and mine.”
 
on if the team discussed Kobe Bryant’s death
“Not really. No excuse for us. Sure, we said, ‘Hey guys, we’re lucky to be doing what we’re doing, man.’ Every day is not promised. Tomorrow is not promised. I think the whole basketball world is shook up right now and doesn’t know what to say, including them [Oregon]. For the L.A. basketball community, especially, it’s just mind-boggling. I have a 13-year old daughter too, and it’s just unbelievable.”
 
UCLA sophomore forward Jalen Hill
on the inability to handle Oregon’s press
“The press really hurt us because we just didn’t play smart today. You have 20-plus turnovers on the road, you’re not going to win. You turn it over that much and it kills the team’s morale. It just sucks. You can’t score on a turnover. At least if you take bad shots, you have a chance for the ball to go in or for someone to get the rebound. Turnovers just hurt the team. You can’t set up the defense, it’s basically free points.”
 
on what the life of Kobe Bryant means to him
“That’s why I wear 24, because of him. Not because of him as a player, but because of his mentality. I try to carry that into my game a lot. It’s crazy, you could see on the bus ride here. People outside the stadium with their heads down, you could tell it was a different aura, a different vibe around the whole Oregon stadium. That’s monumental. Kobe Bryant had that effect. Everyone looked up to him. It’s disbelief really, it’s really sad.”
 
on the team’s reaction to Kobe’s passing
“Grief affects everyone differently. I just wanted to go out and play as hard as I could. A lot of people looked up to him. It’s sad and the basketball world is going to be feeling that for a long time.”
 
UCLA freshman guard Jake Kyman
on how the Bruins struggled to handle Oregon’s press
“It was pretty overwhelming. But it wasn’t really what they were doing, it’s on us. We were getting sped up, a little nervous, I think, at the beginning. So that’s on us. We need to stay more calm, stop being jittery, make the right pass or the right play, and just calm down.”
 
on the team’s turnovers
“We definitely had a lot of turnovers. Those led to many points, so if we cut those down, we’re in the game. That was our problem in the first half and mostly the whole game. We have to limit the turnovers, play better defense down the stretch, just know the assignments and try to figure that out more.”
 
on the team’s morale after Sunday’s loss at Oregon
“I wouldn’t say it’s a huge setback. It’s probably a minor setback. We’ve got to stay focused and know what we can do. We’ve proved it the last two games before. We just gotta keep doing what we’ve done. We can’t take this and hang our heads. We have to keep pushing forward and have a different mindset and play harder in the next game.”
 
on his level of confidence as he continues to get more minutes
“I definitely feel like I’m getting more confident. Getting into the flow of the game better, getting a rhythm, feeling the ball more, finding guys who are open. Just having that rhythm is key.”
 
on what the life of Kobe Bryant meant to him
“He was my favorite player since I was a little kid. I always watched him and tried to model my game after him with mid-range and shooting and everything. It really took a hard toll with me because he’s been my favorite player. I think he’s the GOAT. It was a struggle. But I’ve gotta get my mind in the right headspace for the game.”