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No. 7 UCLA Prepares to Play at Oregon State on Thursday

Feb 7, 2023
Jaylen Clark (photo by Scott Chandler)

LOS ANGELES – No. 7-ranked UCLA (19-4, 10-2 Pac-12) returns to action at Oregon State (9-15, 3-10 Pac-12) this Thursday evening at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Ore. Game time between the Bruins and Beavers is set for 6 p.m. (PT). The Bruins won both of their home games last week, taking down Washington on Thursday night (70-61) and Washington State on Saturday (76-52).
 
Following this week's two road games – at Oregon State and Oregon – the Bruins will have just six regular-season games left on the schedule. Next week, UCLA will host Stanford on Thursday (Feb. 16) and California on Saturday (Feb. 18).
 
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Gill Coliseum (Corvallis, Ore.)
Capacity: 9,604
Tipoff Time: 6:02 p.m. (PT)
Television: Pac-12 Network
TV Talent: J.B. Long (play-by-play), Fran Fraschilla (analyst)
Radio Broadcast (UCLA Sports Network): AM 570
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS XM, SIRIUS XM App Channels: Ch. 83, Ch. 83
 
ABOUT THE BRUINS
– UCLA returns to the road this week, playing at Oregon State on Thursday (6 p.m.) and at Oregon on Saturday (7 p.m.).
– The Bruins have gone 10-2 in Pac-12 play and are one-half game ahead of Arizona (10-3) in the conference standings.
– The Bruins improved to 10-2 in league play with a 76-52 win over Washington State on Saturday.
– Jaime Jaquez Jr. averaged 19.5 points and 12.5 rebounds in wins against Washington and Washington State last week.
– UCLA has won 21 consecutive home games, marking the nation's longest active home winning streak.
– Sporting a 19-4 record, UCLA has recorded its best start through 23 games since the 2016-17 season (was 20-3).
– UCLA has limited the opposition to fewer than 70 points in 20 of 23 total contests this season.
– UCLA ranks No. 9, nationally, and No. 1 in the Pac-12 in fewest points allowed per game (60.3).
– The Bruins have committed fewer turnovers than their opponent in 22 of 23 games this season.
– UCLA has gone 13-0 in home contests this season and has posted a 6-4 record in road and neutral site games.
 
AGAINST THE BEAVERS
– The Bruins have compiled an all-time record of 101-40 against Oregon State in a series that began in 1925.
– Tyger Campbell scored 20 points as five Bruins scored in double figures in a 94-55 win at Oregon State last February.
– UCLA has won its last two games at Oregon State (during the 2019-20 and 2021-22 seasons).
– Over the past 10 seasons, UCLA has gone 12-6 against Oregon State in 18 meetings.
 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
– Jaime Jaquez Jr. (16.3 ppg, 7.7 ppg) is one of five players in the Pac-12 to rank among the top 10 in the conference in scoring (No. 6) and rebounding (No. 5) ... Jaquez Jr. ranks No. 4 in the league in steals per game (1.65 spg).
 
– Tyger Campbell ranks No. 2 in the Pac-12 in assist-turnover ratio (2.46) and No. 4 in assists per game (4.9) ... Campbell has shot 40.7 percent from 3-point distance in 12 Pac-12 games and is 24-for-29 at the free throw line in league games.
 
– Jaylen Clark leads the Pac-12 in steals (58) and steals per game (2.64) ... he ranks No. 4 in the country in steals per game (2.64) ...  his 58 steals this season are just six shy from breaking into UCLA's single-season top-10 list.
 
– David Singleton, a fifth-year senior, has recorded career-high averages in scoring (10.3 ppg), rebounding (3.2 rpg) and steals (1.1 spg) ... he ranks second in the Pac-12 this season in 3-point shooting percentage (43.4%).
 
– Adem Bona leads the Bruins in blocked shots (34 blocks, 1.55 bpg) and has averaged 8.5 points and 5.1 rebounds in 22 games as a freshman ... he ranks No. 4 among all Pac-12 players in blocks per game (1.55).
 
RUNNING THE POINT
Led by point guard Tyger Campbell (13.2 ppg, 4.9 apg), UCLA has registered an assist-turnover ratio of 1.43-to-1, which ranked No. 20 in the nation through Sunday, Feb. 5. Campbell's assist-turnover ratio (2.46) ranks No. 41 in the nation and No. 2 in the Pac-12. The Bruins have committed fewer turnovers than their opponent in 22 of 23 games this season. Through Sunday's contests, UCLA ranked No. 2 in the nation in turnover margin (+6.3 per game), the best turnover margin among any Pac-12 program (Arizona State was second in the Pac-12 at +1.9 per game).
 
PROGRAM'S BEST STARTS
UCLA's 19-4 start through 23 games stands as one of the program's best starts to a college basketball season over the past 40 years. The Bruins opened their 2016-17 campaign with 19 wins in 22 games. UCLA went 19-2 to open the 2007-08 and 2006-07 seasons, a pair of basketball campaigns that concluded with trips to the NCAA Final Four. UCLA's recent 14-game winning streak was the Bruins' longest such streak since winning 14 in a row near the end of the 2007-08 season.
 
GLANCING AT THE METRICS
UCLA has been ranked No. 3 in the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings (KenPom.com), trailing (1) Houston and (2) Tennessee. Through Thursday's games, the Bruins had the No. 23-ranked adjusted offensive efficiency rating and the No. 3-ranked adjusted defensive efficiency ranking. Ranked No. 7 in this week's AP poll and USA Today Sports Coaches poll, UCLA has been ranked in each of the last 33 AP polls (since the start of the 2021-22 season).
 
ELITE COMPANY
Senior Jaime Jaquez Jr. has been named as one of 20 top players in the nation to the John R. Wooden Award late season watch list (as announced last week). Jaquez Jr. ranks No.  6 in the conference in scoring (16.3 ppg) and No. 5 in rebounding (7.7 rpg). He ranks No. 21 on the Bruins' all-time scoring list and No. 18 on UCLA's all-time rebounds list (715 rebounds). He's one of just 11 UCLA players to rank among the school's top 25 lists in career scoring and rebounding. Jaquez Jr. has totaled five double-doubles this season and 14 total double-doubles in his four-year UCLA career (120 games, 112 starts).
 
JAQUEZ JR. AND DAVID GREENWOOD
Since the NCAA (and UCLA) began to record the "block" and "steal" statistic at the start of the 1978-79 season, the only UCLA players to tally at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and three steals in one game have been Jaime Jaquez Jr. and David Greenwood. Jaquez Jr. had 23 points, 13 rebounds, five blocks and four steals in a home victory against Colorado on Saturday, Jan. 14. Greenwood is UCLA's only other player on record, to have come close to that. He registered 22 points, 18 rebounds, four blocks and three steals in UCLA's 85-83 home win versus Arizona State on Feb. 15, 1979.
 
TOP POINT GUARD
Senior Tyger Campbell opened the season on the watch list for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award, having been named one of five finalists for that award last season. He has averaged 13.6 points and 4.7 assists per game in all 22 contests for UCLA this season. Campbell currently ranks second among all Pac-12 players in assist-turnover ratio (2.36). He has become one of eight UCLA players to have logged at least 1,000 career points and 500 career assists in the Bruins' uniform (the assist stat has been regularly tracked at UCLA since the start of the 1973-74 season).
 
OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS
Not only do the Bruins rank No. 1 among all Pac-12 schools in offensive rebounds per game (12.17), but UCLA also leads the conference in having taken far more shots than shot attempts against (net difference of 193 more attempts). No other Pac-12 program has taken at least 100 more shots than they have attempted. UCLA entered the week ranking No. 43, nationally, in offensive rebounds per game. The Bruins have taken more shot attempts than their opponent in each of the past three seasons (2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22, all under Coach Cronin).
 
ROAD WARRIORS
The Bruins have gone 6-4 in 10 road and neutral site contests, this season. In addition to a 74-49 double-digit win at Washington on New Year's Day (Sunday, Jan. 1), the Bruins also notched an 87-60 victory at Maryland on Dec. 14. Against Maryland, UCLA led 39-11 with 3:30 remaining before halftime. Last season, the Bruins had substantial road victories with a 67-56 win at Marquette in Dec. 2021 (UCLA led at halftime, 35-21) and at Oregon State in March 2022 (UCLA won, 94-55). Playing at Stanford this season (Dec. 1, 2022), the Bruins raced to a 17-0 lead and won the contest, 80-66.
 
– Last season, UCLA went 13-7 in road/neutral site games. Since the start of the Bruins' 2021-22 season, UCLA has compiled a 19-11 record in 30 games played away from home.
 
JAYLEN THE SPARK PLUG
Junior Jaylen Clark has registered career-high averages across the board during his junior season – 13.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg and a Pac-12-best 58 steals (and 2.64 steals per game). The 6-foot-5 guard from Riverside, Calif., has been named as one of 15 players to the Naismith Men's Defensive Player of the Year watch list (as announced in late January). Clark scored a season-high 24 points in a win against Denver (Dec. 10, 2022). He totaled 15 points and five rebounds in a 60-58 win against USC (Jan. 5, 2023). Clark sank the go-ahead 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in that win versus the Trojans.
 
UCLA'S ROSTER CONSTRUCTION
The Bruins returned five of their primary 11 contributors from last year's team. UCLA went 27-8 overall last season, advancing to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16. Key returners include seniors Tyger Campbell, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kenneth Nwuba and David Singleton and junior Jaylen Clark. Each of those student-athletes played in at least 20 games in 2021-22. All five competed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament (the First Four to the Final Four). UCLA also has returned two redshirt freshmen in forward Mac Etienne and guard Will McClendon, who both missed last season with knee injuries (torn ACL).
 
PRECISION FROM 3-POINT RANGE
Fifth-year senior guard David Singleton has averaged career highs this season in scoring (10.3 ppg) and rebounding (3.2 rpg). Singleton ranks No. 2 in the Pac-12 in 3-point shooting percentage (43.4%), having connected on 49 of his 113 long-range attempts. His career 3-point percentage (43.7%) currently ranks No. 4 among all UCLA players in program history.  Singleton ranked No. 2 in the Pac-12 last season in 3-point shooting percentage (45.1%) and as a true freshman in 2018-19 (46.7%). He has now made at least 37 attempts from 3-point distance in each of his five seasons on the court at UCLA.
 
THREE-POINT STREAK
UCLA has made at least one 3-pointer in its last 776 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 319 of 328 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).
 
POSTSEASON SUCCESS
UCLA has compiled a 7-2 NCAA Tournament record over the past two seasons. The Bruins went 5-1 in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, advancing from the First Four to the Final Four. There was no NCAA Tournament in March of 2020 (COVID-19). UCLA is one of six teams to have advanced to the Sweet 16 or farther in 2021 and 2022 (other five schools are Arkansas, Gonzaga, Houston, Michigan and Villanova). No school advanced to the Final Four in both 2021 and 2022. Only Arkansas and Houston moved on to the Elite Eight in 2021 and 2022. Gonzaga, Houston and Michigan are the only programs to have advanced to the Sweet 16 or farther in 2019, 2021 and 2022.
 
NOTES ON PAULEY PAVILION
This marks the 57th basketball season in which UCLA has played in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. The Bruins' home arena opened in time for the 1965-66 season. The first game in Pauley Pavilion took place on Dec. 3, 1965, as the No. 1-ranked Bruins defeated Ohio State, 92-66. UCLA spent 47 consecutive seasons in Pauley Pavilion before the venue was closed for an 18-month renovation. The Bruins played 18 home games in 2011-12 at two venues in Southern California (14 games at the Los Angeles Sports Arena and four games at the Honda Center in Anaheim).
 
– UCLA has gone 13-0 at home this season and went 14-1 in 15 home games last year. The Bruins won their final eight home games last season and have strung together a streak of 21 consecutive home victories. UCLA has won its last 21 home games, which is the longest home winning streak in the nation (Auburn's 28-game streak was recently snapped). UCLA's only loss at home last season was an overtime defeat (84-81) to Oregon on Jan. 13, 2022. Since taking over as UCLA's head coach (fall of 2019), Mick Cronin has led the Bruins to a 51-6 record in 56 home games.
 
– With the COVID-19 pandemic prompting teams to close their arenas to fans, none of UCLA's home games in 2020-21 were played in front of a crowd. Likewise, three of UCLA's games in January of 2022 were played before no fans (arena was limited to players' family members only). Including a seven-game home win streak to close the 2019-20 home schedule, UCLA has won its last 32 home contests with fans in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
 
– Through 13 home games this season, the Bruins have averaged 77.8 points per game and have limited the opposition to 56.6 points per game. UCLA has won its 13 home contests by an average margin of 21.2 points per game. UCLA's most narrow victory in those 12 contests took place against USC – the Bruins won, 60-58, on Thursday, Jan. 5. The Bruins largest margin of victory at home this season occurred against Pepperdine – UCLA won, 100-53, on Wednesday, Nov. 23. Only three of the Bruins' 12 home victories this year have been by nine or fewer points (vs. Oregon, USC and Washington).
 
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 all, the men's basketball program has won a nation-leading 11 NCAA Championships and has advanced to the NCAA Final Four 19 times. As an athletics department, UCLA has won 120 team NCAA titles. That total ranks second in the nation behind Stanford (131). Most recently, the UCLA women's soccer team captured its second NCAA title by defeating North Carolina, 3-2, in double overtime in the 2022 NCAA Championship (played at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.).
 
UCLA IN PAC-12 PLAY
Since the start of the 2020-21 season, UCLA has compiled a 38-12 mark in the Pac-12 (13-6 in 2020-21, and 15-5 last season). The Bruins have won 30 of their last 32 home games in Pac-12 action. UCLA dropped a game at home to USC in March of 2021 and against Oregon (overtime) last season on Jan. 13, 2022. The Bruins won their final seven home Pac-12 games in 2019-20, during Coach Cronin's first season as UCLA's head coach.
 
THE BRUINS WHEN ...
Since the start of the 2017-18 season, the Bruins have gone 94-18 when leading at halftime (through 187 games). During that span, UCLA has gone 28-42 when trailing at halftime (3-2 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 100-13. When trailing by 10 or more points in a game, UCLA has gone 18-44.