UCLA Basketball to Play at Oregon on Thursday Evening
LOS ANGELES – UCLA returns to action at Oregon on Thursday evening in a conference game nationally televised by ESPN2. The Bruins (16-4, 5-2) have won four of their last five games and are currently in second place in the Pac-12 standings. Last week, UCLA won a pair of home games against Stanford and California.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Matthew Knight Arena (12,346)
Tipoff Time: 6:05 pm (PT)
TV: ESPN2
TV Talent: Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Bill Walton (analyst)
Radio: AM 570 (KLAC)
Radio Talent: Chris Roberts (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
Westwood One Sports Radio: Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play), Bill Frieder (analyst)
PAC-12 PLAY
UCLA enters Thursday night’s game with a 16-4 overall record and a 5-2 mark in Pac-12 action. The Bruins earned a pair of home victories against Stanford (91-74) and California (76-64) last week and have won four of their last five contests. Tony Parker led the way against Stanford, scoring 22 points and grabbing seven rebounds. David Wear tallied a career-high 18 points in UCLA’s win against California on Sunday, while Kyle Anderson logged his conference-leading 11th double-double against the Golden Bears (17 points, 12 rebounds).
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Kyle Anderson earned Pac-12 Player of the Week acclaim after having averaged 15.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists in UCLA’s two wins last week. Anderson secured his second career Pac-12 Player of the Week award, UCLA’s first of the 2013-14 season.
ON THE ROAD
The Bruins will play five of their next seven games on the road, including contests at Oregon this Thursday (6 p.m.) and Oregon State on Sunday (11:30 a.m.). UCLA has gone 3-3 in games played away from Pauley Pavilion this season (1-2 in road games, 2-1 in neutral site games). The Bruins have not played at Oregon since Jan. 21, 2012 and have not won at Oregon since Jan. 15, 2011. Under fourth-year head coach Dana Altman, the Ducks have been led this season by junior guard Joseph Young (17.6 ppg) and senior forward Mike Moser (13.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg).
THE LATEST
Through games played Sunday, Jan. 26, UCLA ranked ninth in the nation in scoring (84.3 ppg), seventh in field goal percentage (50.0) and sixth in assists per game (17.7) ... UCLA ranks second in the Pac-12 in points per game.
Through 20 games, Kyle Anderson (15.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 6.7 apg) has become the first UCLA player to average at least 10.0/5.0/5.0 since Bill Walton finished with 19.3 ppg, 14.7 rpg and 5.5 apg as a senior in 1973-74.
Kyle Anderson has become the first NCAA Division I player to average at least 14.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg and 6.0 apg in one season since Ohio State’s Evan Turner finished the 2009-10 campaign with 20.4 ppg, 9.2 rpg and 6.0 apg.
Sophomore Jordan Adams has led UCLA in scoring, either by himself or tied with teammates, in 10 of 20 games ... he has scored in double figures in 19 of UCLA’s 20 contests and has reached the 20-point plateau eight times.
The Bruins’ current roster features seven players who have scored at least 20 points in a game during their collegiate career (at UCLA). Five of those seven UCLA players have accomplished that feat at least once this season.
TRIPLE THREAT
No player in the country has averaged as close to a triple-double as has Kyle Anderson (15.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 6.7 apg). Through games played Jan. 26, Anderson was the nation’s only player averaging at least 10.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg and 6.0 apg.
PROTECTING THE BALL
Through games played on Jan. 26, UCLA led all Pac-12 teams in assists per game (17.7), assist turnover ratio (1.67), steals per game (10.6) and turnover margin (+4.6). UCLA has committed the second fewest turnovers per game (10.6) of any Pac-12 team. UCLA’s defense has forced the highest average of turnovers among Pac-12 teams (15.3). Kyle Anderson (133 assists, 60 turnovers) has accounted for 37.7 percent of UCLA’s total assists.
KEY SCORER
Sophomore guard Jordan Adams leads UCLA with 17.3 points per game, the sixth-highest scoring average among Pac-12 players (through Jan. 26). He scored a career-high 30 points against Morehead State (Nov. 22, 2013) and registered his third double-double of the season at Colorado with 14 points and 13 rebounds (Jan. 16, 2014). He finished second in scoring for UCLA last season, averaging 15.3 points per game as a freshman.
PICKED THEIR POCKETS
UCLA has three players that rank among the Pac-12’s top 10 leaders in steals. Jordan Adams (60 steals, 3.0 spg) leads all Pac-12 players, having logged at least at least two steals in 16 of 20 games. He had a career-high eight steals against Sacramento State on Nov. 12. Kyle Anderson (35 steals, 1.8 spg) ranks fourth in the conference, while Norman Powell (28 steals, 1.4 spg) is 10th. UCLA leads all Pac-12 teams with 10.6 steals per game.
TRIPLE-DOUBLE
Kyle Anderson became the fourth player on record in UCLA history to record a triple-double (13 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists) in UCLA’s 81-70 win over Morehead State on Nov. 22, 2013. 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.
UCLA’s ALL-TIME TRIPLE-DOUBLES
Since UCLA consistently tracked assists as a statistic beginning in 1971-72, the Bruins have had four triple-doubles (including one point-rebound-block effort from Jelani McCoy). Kyle Anderson became the fourth Bruin to accomplish that feat, joining elite company with Bill Walton, Jelani McCoy and Toby Bailey.
FROM DOWNTOWN
Kyle Anderson has made 18 of 34 three-point attempts (52.9 percent), a strong increase over his freshman year totals (8-for-28, 21.1 percent). Anderson shot a perfect 5-for-5 from long range in UCLA’s 74-69 loss to Utah on Jan. 18. That marked UCLA’s first “perfect” effort from three-point range with a minimum of five attempts since Ray Young went 5-for-5 from downtown on Feb. 22, 2003, in a loss to Stanford.
MIDSEASON ACCOLADES
Kyle Anderson has been named as one of 25 players to the John R. Wooden Award midseason list. Anderson is among four Pac-12 players on the midseason list (along with Arizona’s Aaron Gordon and Nick Johnson and Oregon’s Joseph Young). The 6-foot-9 guard from Fairview, N.J., was among five players to be named a “midseason” All-America selection by The Sporting News. Joining Anderson on The Sporting News’ list of first-teamers included Marcus Smart (Oklahoma State), Nick Johnson (Arizona), Jabari Parker (Duke) and Doug McDermott (Creighton).
BIG OFF THE BENCH
UCLA’s Zach LaVine, Bryce Alford and Tony Parker have played major roles off the bench. In all, the Bruins’ bench this season has accounted for 29.8 percent of its total scoring (503/1686). LaVine ranks third on the team with 12.0 points per game. Alford has averaged 7.8 points and 2.9 assists per game.
YOUNG TALENTS
Zach LaVine has shot 52.0 percent from the field. His 46.7 percentage from 3-point territory (35-for-75) ranks fifth in the Pac-12. He has made more 3-point field goals than any other UCLA player. And while LaVine ranks second among Pac-12 freshmen in 3-point FG percentage, classmate Bryce Alford ranks third among Pac-12 freshmen in 3-point field goal percentage (41.8).
HIGH OCTANE
The Bruins have averaged 84.3 points through 20 games, the program’s highest per game offensive output through the first 20 games in any season since averaging 86.2 ppg after 20 games in 1994-95, the last year in which UCLA won the NCAA Championship. Earlier this season, UCLA compiled a seven-game streak of at least 80 points scored in victories. That feat had not been accomplished since the 1994-95 campaign (streak from Feb. 22-March 17, 1995).
EXPERIENCED BRUIN
Junior guard Norman Powell has played in more games (88) in a UCLA uniform than any other current UCLA basketball player. He has made 30 career starts and has played in all 88 UCLA games since the start of the 2011-12 season. Powell has twice scored a season-high 19 points this year, most recently in UCLA’s 69-56 win at No. 21-ranked Colorado (Jan. 16). He has shot 73.2 percent from the free throw line (41/56), making more free throws as he had in the previous two seasons combined (entered the year having made 36 of 55 free throw attempts).
INJURY REPORT
UCLA does not currently have any major injuries. Noah Allen missed 12 games after suffering multiple fractures to his face in a collision sustained against Oakland (Nov. 12). Wanaah Bail missed UCLA’s first five games recovering from left knee surgery (performed on June 28, 2013). Travis Wear missed UCLA’s first three games (underwent an appendectomy on Oct. 28, 2013).