UCLA Prepares for Saturday's Game at Washington

UCLA's Notes (PDF) | Washington's Notes (PDF)

SEATTLE – The Bruins' game at Washington this Saturday will begin at 4:30 p.m. and will be televised by the Pac-12 Network. UCLA looks to sweep the regular-season series against the Huskies, having secured an 81-76 win over Washington in Los Angeles (Jan. 16). In that game, the Bruins erased a 39-29 halftime deficit, scoring the first 10 points of the second half. Jules Bernard scored 20 points (6-of-13 FGs) and Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished with 15 points (7-of-14 FGs). Washington's Quade Green registered a game-high 25 points, connecting on 10 of 16 shots against the Bruins.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Alaska Airlines Arena (Seattle)
Game Time: 4:30 p.m. (PT)
Television: Pac-12 Networks
TV Talent: Rich Waltz (play-by-play), Eldridge Recasner (analyst)
Radio (UCLA Sports Network): AM 570
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS / XM Radio Channels: Ch. 84 / Ch. 84
SIRIUSXM Internet Channel: Ch. 84
 
ABOUT THE BRUINS
- UCLA has gone 9-3 in Pac-12 play, including a 9-0 mark in home games and a 3-3 record on the road.
- The Bruins won nine of their first 10 league games for the first time since 2007-08 (finished 16-2 that year).
- Dating back to last season, UCLA has won 16 of its past 20 Pac-12 contests (and 24 of 32 overall games).
- Dating back to last January, the Bruins have won 16 consecutive home games (including the last 13 in Pac-12 play).
- UCLA ranks second among all Pac-12 teams (behind Colorado) in fewest turnovers per game (11.0), through Feb. 11.
- Not including Chris Smith (injured), UCLA has four active players who have averaged at least 10.0 points per game.
- UCLA has committed fewer fouls than the opposition in 16 of 18 games (the two outliers were losses in Pac-12 play).
- Nine players on the Bruins' 14-man roster have each scored at least 10 points in at least one career game with UCLA.
 
INDIVIDUAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Tyger Campbell (11.6 ppg, 5.9 apg) continues to lead all Pac-12 players in assists per game (5.9).
- Tyger Campbell (33.8) and Jaime Jaquez Jr. (33.6) rank fifth and sixth, respectively, in the Pac-12 in minutes per game.
- Tyger Campbell (5.9 apg) was tied at the No. 18 spot (nationally) in assists per game, through Thursday, Feb. 11.
- David Singleton ranked No. 8 in the Pac-12 in 3-point percentage (43.1%, 25-for-58), through Thursday, Feb. 11.
 
HISTORY AGAINST WASHINGTON
UCLA has compiled an all-time record of 102-43 against Washington. Including an 81-76 win over the Huskies in Pauley Pavilion earlier this season, UCLA has won six of the last seven matchups (since the start of the 2016-17 campaign). The Bruins have won two of their last three meetings at Washington's Alaska Airlines Arena, including a narrow 66-64 comeback victory in the Pac-12 opener for both schools last January (Jake Kyman hit a UCLA freshman record seven 3-pointers in that win). The Bruins' last six wins over Washington have been by an averaged of 22.2 points per game.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT
Washington State secured an 81-73 victory against UCLA at Beasley Coliseum (Pullman, Wash.) on Thursday night. The Bruins trailed by 23 points midway through the second half and reduced Washington State's margin to just seven points (78-71) with 1:18 to play. The Bruins never got any closer than seven points in the final two minutes. Tyger Campbell (17 points, five assists) and Johnny Juzang (25 points, seven rebounds) scored in double figures for UCLA.
 
CLOSING TIME
Through two seasons under head coach Mick Cronin, UCLA has gone 15-4 in games decided by five points or fewer (and all contests that have finished in overtime, regardless of score margin). Last season, the Bruins went 7-3 in those narrow contests. This year, UCLA has gone 8-1. Through Coach Cronin's final three seasons at Cincinnati (2016-17 through 2018-19), his teams went 18-7 in those situations. From 2016-17 through the 2020-21 season, Coach Cronin's teams have gone 33-11 in such contests. UCLA's last three victories have been by five points or fewer.
 
POINT GUARD
Tyger Campbell, a sophomore from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has averaged 11.6 points and a league-best 5.9 assists per game (18 contests). This marks the first season since 2015-16 in which UCLA has returned its starting point guard from the previous year (2014-15 and 2015-16, Bryce Alford). From 2011-12 through 2020-21, UCLA has utilized nine different primary (or starting) point guards. Prior to Campbell, Jaylen Hands served as the Bruins' primary ball handler in 2018-19. Campbell has been UCLA's first point guard to start each game during his freshman year since Lonzo Ball in 2016-17.
 
70 POINTS OR FEWER
This season, UCLA has compiled a 9-1 record when limiting the opposition to 70 or fewer points. Last season, UCLA went 18-1 when holding the opposition to 70 or fewer points (the lone loss was a 54-52 setback at USC in the final game of the regular season). Through his final three seasons as the head coach at Cincinnati (2016-17 through 2018-19), Coach Cronin's teams went 79-10 when limiting the opposition to 70 or fewer points. Over the past five seasons (2016-17 through 2020-21), his teams have gone 105-12 when holding the opponent to 70 or fewer points (through 154 total games).
 
BEST STARTS IN LEAGUE PLAY
The Bruins opened Pac-12 play with eight straight wins (now 9-3, Pac-12), marking the program's best start in conference play since 1982-83 (opened their Pac-10 slate with nine straight wins). That UCLA team went 15-3 in the Pac-10 (first-place finish, 23-6 overall record). The 1981-82 UCLA team opened Pac-10 play with an 0-3 record before winning 11 consecutive games (14-4 Pac-10 finish, second place). The most recent UCLA team with an undefeated league record was the 1977-78 Bruins under first-year head coach Gary Cunningham (UCLA went 14-0 in the Pac-10 and 25-3 overall).
 
POST PRODUCTION
Cody Riley has established himself as a go-to frontcourt scoring threat, having averaged 10.2 points and 5.7 rebounds in 17 games. Riley has totaled four double-doubles, including a 16-point and 10-rebound performance in UCLA's 57-52 win over Oregon State (Saturday, Jan. 30). Riley has started 17 games for the Bruins, logging noticeable improvements in his field goal percentage (55.1%) and free throw percentage (68.3%). Riley has made 14 of 18 shots from the field in the Bruins' final five minutes of all games (and made 16 of 20 free throws in those late-game situations, as well).

BIG MAC
Mac Etienne, a 6-foot-9 forward (New York, N.Y.), enrolled at UCLA in 2021 (winter quarter). He spent the past two seasons at Suffield Academy (Connecticut) before transferring to Brewster Academy (New Hampshire) for his senior year. Etienne was ranked as high as No. 31 in the Class of 2020 by 247Sports.com. While on the East Coast, he competed for the Nike PSA Cardinals AAU program and had been the top-ranked player in Connecticut (last season).
 
LOOKING TOWARD NEXT WEEK
The Bruins will return home to face Arizona next Thursday (Feb. 18) and Arizona State on Saturday, Feb. 20. UCLA won a pair of road games at Arizona State (81-75, OT) and Arizona (81-76) last month, the third and fourth wins during the Bruins' seven-game winning streak. Looking at the series against Arizona, UCLA has compiled an all-time record of 60-44 against the Wildcats. The Bruins have won the last four games in the series (and five of the last six meetings). UCLA has won each of its past four contests at Arizona (including last month's 81-76 victory in the McKale Center).
 
MORE ABOUT JAIME JAQUEZ JR.
Sophomore Jaime Jaquez Jr. has averaged 12.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, having started all 18 contests. Jaquez Jr. ranks second on team in steals (23) and has tallied a team-leading 105 rebounds. Jaquez Jr., who spent the summer of 2019 competing with the Mexican National Team at the Pan-Am Games in Peru, is third on the team in most 3-pointers made (21). Throguh games played Thursday, Feb. 11, he ranked sixth in the Pac-12 in minutes per game (33.6). He has scored in double figures in 11 of 18 games, shooting 46.3 percent from the field.
 
STEADY IMPROVEMENT
Junior Jules Bernard, who grew up in Los Angeles and attended Windward School, has averaged career highs with 8.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. He has shot 42.2 percent overall and 77.2 percent at the free throw line (44-for-57). Bernard has posted his highest minutes-per-game average (25.6) during his three-year collegiate career. He tallied 47 assists and 84 turnovers in his first two seasons but has registered 23 assists and 18 turnovers through UCLA's 18 games this year. In addition, Bernard has scored in double figures in seven of 18 games.
 
30-POINT CLUB
Senior Chris Smith scored a career-high 30 points last season in a 72-68 victory against Colorado (Jan. 30, 2020). He became UCLA's first player with at least 30 points in a game since Kris Wilkes had 34 points in a home victory over Arizona on Jan. 26, 2019. That marked Smith's first career game with at least 25 points. He scored in double figures in three games as a freshman and 10 as a sophomore and didn't score at least 20 points in a game until the fourth game of the Bruins' 2019-20 campaign (vs. Southern Utah). Smith has totaled 844 points, 401 rebounds and 126 assists in 105 career games.
 
THE BRUINS WHEN ...
Since the start of the 2016-17 season, the Bruins have gone 74-9 when leading at halftime (spanning 151 games). During that span, the UCLA has gone 21-38 when trailing at halftime (4-2 when tied at the break). UCLA's largest halftime deficit overcome in that stretch has been 16 points – UCLA trailed at home against Oregon, 44-28, on Feb. 23, 2019, and outscored the Ducks in the second half (62-39) to win, 90-83. When the Bruins have built a 10-point lead (or larger) at any point in the game, UCLA has gone 79-9. When trailing by 10 or more points in a game, UCLA has gone 15-40.
 
STREAKING
UCLA has made at least one 3-pointer played in its last 704 games. That 3-point streak began after the Bruins went 0-for-14 from 3-point territory in a 78-63 loss at No. 2-ranked Stanford on Feb. 3, 2000 (Maples Pavilion). UCLA has made at least three 3-pointers in 250 of 256 games since the start of the 2013-14 season. The Bruins made a school single-game-record 19 three-pointers (on 31 attempts) at Colorado on Jan. 12, 2017. UCLA won that road game, 104-89.