No. 8/7 Men's Basketball Hosts Norfolk State on Monday
LOS ANGELES – The No. 8-ranked UCLA men's basketball team will take on Norfolk State (2-1) this Monday evening in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. The Bruins' game is scheduled for 7 p.m. (PT). This marks the final contest of a three-game homestand to open UCLA's regular-season schedule.
The Bruins' game on Monday night will be televised by the Pac-12 Network, with J.B. Long and Don MacLean on the call. Fans can listen to the game on AM 1150 radio in the Los Angeles area. Veteran radio broadcasters Josh Lewin and Tracy Murray will have the call, courtside in Pauley Pavilion.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom
Tipoff Time: 7:05 p.m. (PT)
Television: Pac-12 Network
TV Talent: J.B. Long (play-by-play), Don MacLean (analyst)
Radio Broadcast (UCLA Sports Network): AM 1150
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS XM, SIRIUS XM App Channels: Ch. 85 or 197, Ch. 959
UCLA's complete schedule (2022-23): https://ucla.in/3Cc9T62
KEY NOTES ABOUT UCLA
- The Bruins have returned five of their main 11 contributors from last season's squad. UCLA went 27-8 overall last year, advancing to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16. Veteran players back this season include seniors Tyger Campbell, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kenneth Nwuba and David Singleton and junior Jaylen Clark. Each of those five student-athletes played in at least 20 contests in 2021-22. All five players competed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament (advancing from the "First Four" to the Final Four). UCLA also has returned one pair of redshirt freshmen in Mac Etienne and Will McClendon, who both missed last season with knee injuries (torn ACL). Etienne joined the team in Dec. 2020 and played in 13 games in 2020-21.
- The same five UCLA players have scored in double figures in each of UCLA's first two games – Jaylen Clark (16.5 ppg), Tyger Campbell (16.0 ppg), David Singleton (13.5 ppg), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (13.0 ppg) and Amari Bailey (12.0 ppg). Each of those five players has averaged at least 25 minutes per contest. In all, the Bruins are shooting 49.6 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. Singleton has shot a team-leading 63.6 percent from 3-point range in two games, draining 7 of 11 attempts from 3-point distance (including a perfect 3-for-3 against Sacramento State last Monday).
- The Bruins improved to 2-0 on Friday evening, defeating Long Beach State, 93-69, in Pauley Pavilion. Tyger Campbell scored a team-leading 18 points. David Singleton made 4 of 8 attempts from 3-point range, finished with 14 points, and totaled a career-best nine rebounds. The Bruins led at halftime by a 48-33 margin and led The Beach by at least 20 points throughout the second half. UCLA improved its all-time record against Long Beach State to 20-1 with Friday's 24-point victory (ninth straight win over Long Beach State). Four Bruins finished the game with seven or more rebounds.
BRUINS VERSUS NORFOLK STATE
Monday night's non-conference matchup against Norfolk State (at 7 p.m., PT) will mark the first time these two programs have faced each other on the basketball court. Norfolk State (located in Norfolk, Virginia) advanced to last season's NCAA Tournament as the No. 16 seed in the East Region, falling to top-seeded Baylor (85-49) in a first-round meeting in Fort Worth, Texas. Last Friday evening, Norfolk State faced Baylor in a rematch (at Baylor) and lost to the Bears by a 87-70 tally. Norfolk State compiled a 24-7 overall record last season and went 12-2 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).
HISTORY & TRADITION
The 2022-23 school year marks the 104th season in which UCLA has fielded a men's basketball team (first season was 1919-20). In addition, this is the 57th season in which the Bruins have called Pauley Pavilion their home. The arena opened at the start of the 1965-66 season, and UCLA spent the next 46 seasons playing home games in Pauley Pavilion. The arena was closed for an 18-month renovation during the 2011-12 school year, re-opening in Nov. 2012. In all, the Bruins have won a nation-leading 11 NCAA Championships and have advanced to the NCAA Final Four 19 times.
THE BRUINS' SCHEDULE
UCLA is playing a 31-game regular-season schedule, with seven games against programs that are ranked in the Associated Press' preseason top 25 poll. UCLA's schedule includes 17 games at home, 11 games on the road, and three contests at neutral sites (two in Las Vegas, one in New York). The Bruins could play as many as eight games against teams that advanced to last season's 68-team NCAA Tournament (includes two against Arizona, two versus USC and one game each against Baylor, Illinois, Kentucky and Norfolk State). UCLA will play 14 games before the end of the 2022 calendar year.
PRESEASON ACCOLADES
Seniors Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tyger Campell were honored as preseason first-team All-Pac-12 selections (as selected by media members in October). Jaquez Jr., a 6-foot-7 guard/forward, has been named a preseason first-team All-America selection by CBS Sports and The Athletic. Both Jaquez Jr. and Campbell were named first-team All-Pac-12 selections last season, along with former teammate Johnny Juzang (all three players were in their junior seasons). Campbell, a 5-foot-11 point guard, has been recognized as a first-team All-Pac-12 selection the last two years (sophomore in 2020-21, junior in 2021-22). Campbell could become the Bruins' first "four year" starting point guard since Darren Collison (2006-09).
CLARK CONTINUES TO IMPRESS
Junior Jaylen Clark, in the Bruins' season opener last Monday night, recorded the most steals in one game by any UCLA player (7) since Jordan Adams had eight steals on Nov. 18, 2013 (that game was also versus Sacramento State). UCLA's single-game record of 11 steals was set by Tyus Edney in a home win over George Mason on Dec. 22, 1994 (the same season in which UCLA won the 1995 NCAA Championship). Darren Collison ranks second on the single-game steals list, having registered nine steals in a home victory over Long Beach State during his sophomore season (Nov. 28, 2006).
RARE ACCOMPLISHMENT
Jaylen Clark and Earl Watson (1997-2001) are the only UCLA players to have ever recorded at least seven steals and eight rebounds in one game. Clark had seven steals and eight rebounds (and 17 points) last Monday. Watson had seven steals, eight rebounds and six points against Northern Arizona on Dec. 18, 1997.
1,000 POINT CLUB
Tyger Campbell became the 60th UCLA player to have scored at least 1,000 career points (in a Bruins' uniform) in the first half of UCLA's win over Long Beach State last Friday night. He currently ranks No. 59 on the Bruins' all-time scoring list (1,014 points). Campbell entered the contest against Long Beach State having scored 996 career points. He crossed the 1,000 point threshold on a 3-point basket in the first six minutes of the first half. Campbell and Jaquez Jr. (1,169 career points) are the only current UCLA players to have reached that 1,000-career-point milestone. Looking at UCLA's veteran student-athletes, David Singleton ranks third (among current players) with 627 career points through 129 career games.
WELCOME TO WESTWOOD
UCLA has added six freshmen to the roster this season – guards Dylan Andrews, Amari Bailey, Abramo Canka and Jack Seidler and forwards Adem Bona and Evan Manjikian. Bailey (6-foot-5 guard) and Bona (6-foot-10 forward) were both honored as McDonald's All-America selections in the spring of 2022. Bailey was recently listed as a preseason honorable mention All-Pac-12 Conference selection (along with junior Jaylen Clark). Andrews (6-foot-2 guard) spent his first three years of high school at nearby Windward School (Los Angeles) before excelling as a senior at Compass Prep in Arizona. Bona averaged 15.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game last season as a senior at Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.).
THREE-POINT STREAK
UCLA has made at least one 3-pointer played in its last 755 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 299 of 307 games since the start of the 2013-14 season. The Bruins made a school single-game-record 19 three-pointers, on 31 attempts, in a 104-89 win at Colorado on Jan. 12, 2017. UCLA's previous 3-point record was set earlier that season, as the Bruins made 18 of 30 attempts in the regular-season opener against Pacific (Nov. 11, 2016). UCLA has made 17 or more 3-point field goals in four games (19 once, 18 once and 17 twice).
TOP-25 POLLS (complete polls here)
The Bruins have been ranked No. 8 in the preseason Associated Press (AP) poll and No. 7 in the preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced in October. UCLA was ranked in every top 25 poll (both the AP and Coaches' Polls) during the 2021-22 season. The Bruins were ranked No. 2 last season in the two major preseason polls.