UCLA Prepares to Face Marquette on Friday

UCLA's Notes (PDF) | Marquette's Notes (PDF) | UCLA's Updated Stats (PDF)

LOS ANGELES – UCLA hosts Marquette in a marquee non-conference matchup this Friday evening in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. The two schools have only faced each other twice – UCLA has gone 2-0 – with the most recent meeting having occurred on Dec. 18, 1964. Both programs are entering Friday's game with 4-1 records. The Bruins have faced a Big East Conference opponent each of the past three seasons (Notre Dame in 2018-19 & 2019-20, and Creighton in Nov. 2017).
 
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom
Tipoff Time: 6:36 p.m. (PT)
Television: Pac-12 Network
TV Talent: Ted Robinson (play-by-play), Bill Walton (analyst)
Radio (UCLA Sports Network): AM 1150
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
XM Radio Channel: Ch. 382
SIRIUSXM Internet Channel: Ch. 972
 
BRUIN GAMEDAY LIVE PREGAME SHOW
Starting 30 minutes before all home games, Bruin Gameday Live will bring fans inside Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. The live simulcast of the pregame radio show will be hosted by Josh Lewin and Tracy Murray. The show includes an interview with head coach Mick Cronin, a matchup scouting report, live shots of the team warmups as well as popular videoboard segments such as the intro video, heritage video and appearances by the UCLA Spirit Squad and the UCLA Band. Once the game starts, Bruin Gameday Live will complement the TV and radio broadcasts with game stats, a social media feed, prize giveaways, and more. Bookmark BruinGamedayLive.com on all connected devices to watch this new virtual game day experience.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (17 points, 4 blocks) was one of five UCLA players to score in double figures in the team's 83-56 win over San Diego on Wednesday night. Jaquez Jr. made 6 of 9 shots, and 3 of 4 from 3-point territory, in the 27-point victory. Chris Smith and Tyger Campbell each scored 12 points, Cody Riley had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Johnny Juzang had 10 points off the bench in his first game as a Bruin. UCLA led the visiting Toreros, 33-23, at halftime, pushed the second-half advantage to 16 points at the 12:16 mark and never saw its cushion reduced to fewer than 10 points.
 
LOOKING BACK AT 1964
When the Bruins last faced Marquette, the two schools played against each other in the two-day Milwaukee Classic (Dec. 18, 1964). Gail Goodrich scored 21 points, connecting on 7 of 13 shots, while Freddie Goss finished with 19 points. The win over Marquette allowed UCLA to advance to the championship contest against Boston College the following day. UCLA defeated BC, 115-93, in the title game as Goodrich scored a team-leading 35 points (on 14 of 28 shot attempts).
 
SOLID DISTRIBUTION
UCLA's 23 assists in the 76-56 win against California last Sunday were the most by any Bruins' squad since recording 25 assists in an NCAA Tournament win against Kent State on March 17, 2017 (at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento). Campbell had 12 of the Bruins' 23 assists against California. UCLA recorded a season-high 22 assists in a non-conference loss to Hofstra last year (Nov. 21, 2019), totaling at least 20 assists in just two games that season. Campbell has averaged a Pac-12-leading 6.8 assists per game and has shot 44.6 percent from the field (25-for-56).
 
DON'T GET FOULED
The Bruins have committed fewer fouls than their opponent in all five games this season. In UCLA's last three games – a trio of home victories – the Bruins' opposition has gone a combined 16 for 29 at the free throw stripe (averaging 9.7 attempts per game). Last season, UCLA's opponents averaged 18.8 free throw attempts per game (through 31 contests). Last Sunday, California was just 3-for-5 at the free throw line as UCLA recorded a 76-56 victory in Pac-12 action. In the Bruins' win over Seattle (Dec. 3), the visiting Redhawks made just 3 of 9 free throw attempts.
 
SHOOTING SUCCESS
UCLA made a season-high 60 percent of its shot attempts last Sunday in the 76-56 win over California. The Bruins made 30 total shots against California (Dec. 6) and versus San Diego (Dec. 9), four shy of the team's season-high 34 made shots versus San Jose State last season (Dec. 1, 2020). In fact, UCLA made 30 or more shots in just two games last season (34 against San Jose State and 33 in an overtime victory against Washington State, on Feb. 13). Through the Bruins' past three games, UCLA has shot 53.0 percent (88 for 166) while limiting the opposition to 37.9 percent shooting.
 
WELCOME TO PAULEY PAVILION
Sophomore Johnny Juzang, who grew up in nearby Tarzana, Calif., scored 10 points and added three rebounds in his UCLA debut on Wednesday night against San Diego. Juzang, a 6-foot-6 guard, missed UCLA's first four games of the season with a stress reaction in his right foot. He transferred from Kentucky to UCLA in the summer and had been playing in his first collegiate game since Kentucky's game at Florida on March 7, 2020 (scored 10 points in UK's 71-70 road win).
 
ABOUT CHRIS SMITH
Senior Chris Smith has played in a team-high 102 games since the start of the 2017-18 campaign, averaging 8.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Last season, Smith earned first-team All-Pac-12 acclaim (averaged a team-best 13.1 ppg). Smith has scored at least 20 points in two of the Bruins' five games this season and has grabbed at least 10 rebounds in two contests. He scored a career-high 30 points in a home victory against Colorado last season (Jan. 30, 2020).
 
NOTES ON THE BRUINS
- Last season, UCLA went 18-1 when limiting the opposition to 73 points or fewer (the loss was at USC on March 7).
- UCLA has returned 86.2% of its total rebounding production and 91.3% of its total assists from last year.
- Jaime Jaquez Jr. has scored in double figures in 18 of the team's last 30 games (since the Chaminade game last season).
- The Bruins won 11 of their final 14 games last season, holding teams to 64.7 points per game in that span.
- With Johnny Juzang's 10-point effort against San Diego, nine Bruins have scored at least 10 points in a UCLA uniform.
 
WHO'S BACK AT UCLA?
The Bruins have returned eight of their primary 10 contributors from last season's team. All five starters from the second half of last season have returned (Tyger Campbell, David Singleton, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Chris Smith and Jalen Hill). Also back are Cody Riley, Jules Bernard and Jake Kyman, as well as Kenneth Nwuba, who took a redshirt year in 2019-20. UCLA has added sophomore Johnny Juzang (transfer from Kentucky) and freshmen Jaylen Clark and Logan Cremonesi.
 
SOPHOMORE STANDOUT
Sophomore Jaime Jaquez Jr. has averaged 36.0 minutes per game and will enter Friday evening's contest having registered 14.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest. The former standout at Camarillo High School (Camarillo, Calif.) has shot 56.8 percent from the field through five games. He has made 10 of 21 attempts from 3-point distance. Through games played on Wednesday, Dec. 9, Jaquez was tied for second among Pac-12 players in minutes per game (36.0). As a freshman last season, Jaquez Jr. averaged 8.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game (third on the team in minutes per game, 26.7).
 
MILWAUKEE CONNECTIONS
While UCLA's current roster does not have any connections to the state of Wisconsin, former UCLA standout Kevon Looney (2014-15) grew up in the Milwaukee area and attended Hamilton High School. After he averaged 11.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game as a freshman, Looney was selected in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors (No. 30 overall). Looking back at the timeline of UCLA's Milwaukee connections, former Bruins' frontcourt player Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1969 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.
 
ASSIST LEADER
Sophomore guard Tyger Campbell currently leads all Pac-12 players in assists per game (6.8) and is third in assist-turnover ratio (4.9-to-1). Last season, Campbell led all Pac-12 players in assist-turnover ratio (2.79-to-1) and was third in the league in assists per game (5.0). He has totaled at least 10 assists in three career games (including in one game this season). Last year, Campbell dished a career-high 14 assists in the team's 75-72 victory at home against Arizona State (Feb. 27). In the game prior, he registered 11 assists (and just one turnover) in a 70-63 win at No. 18 Colorado.