By: Neill Woelk, CUBuffs.com Contributing Editor
LOS ANGELES — It was just a year ago that the Colorado Buffaloes won for the first time ever at UCLA, taking a 68-59 win to end an eight-game skid on the Bruins' home floor.
The Buffs then followed that up with an 80-76 home win over the Bruins, giving Colorado its only two-game Pac-12 sweep of the season.
That's a streak CU would like to continue Wednesday night, when Colorado (12-9 overall, 3-6 Pac-12) heads to Pauley Pavilion for a 7 p.m. matchup with UCLA (12-10, 5-4). It's the first of two games in Los Angeles for the Buffs, as they head to USC on Saturday for an 8 p.m. contest with the Trojans.
The Bruins have been a team embroiled in turmoil this season. After wrapping up non-conference play with four straight losses — including defeats at the hands of Belmont and Liberty — UCLA fired head coach Steve Alford and named assistant coach Murry Bartow as the interim.
The Bruins won their first three Pac-12 games under Bartow, then lost three in a row, then won two before losing their last outing, a 69-55 decision at Washington.
Tad Boyle's Buffs would simply like to stretch their current win streak to two — something they haven't done since early December, when they built a six-game win streak in non-conference play. To accomplish that, they will have to have another 40-minute effort like the one they put forth last Saturday in a 73-51 win over Oregon.
"We proved we could do it for 40 minutes, now we have to go do it again for 40 minutes," Boyle said. "We have to be ready to compete and execute defensively and offensively for 40 minutes."
In the Bruins, the Buffs will see a high-scoring, opportunistic team. Led by 6-foot-8 sophomore guard Kris Wilkes (18.3 points per game in Pac-12 play), UCLA leads the Pac-12 in scoring in conference games, averaging nearly 80 points per game.
To slow the Bruins down, the Buffs have to execute offensively and not turn the ball over. In the two wins over UCLA last season, Colorado averaged just 11 turnovers per game.
"The key with UCLA is you have to keep them out of transition," Boyle said. "The way you do that is by taking care of the ball and taking great shots. It's hard for them to run taking the ball out of the net. It's hard for them to run if we don't turn the ball over. That's the key against UCLA."
The Buffs have done a decent job in the turnover department in Pac-12 play, averaging 12.9 per game. UCLA, meanwhile, is last in the league in conference play in that department, handing it over to the opponent an average of 17.3 times per game.
The big key, Boyle said, is making sure the Buffs don't give up the "live ball" turnovers.
"A travel doesn't give them an offensive opportunity. We throw the ball out of bounds, it doesn't give them an offensive opportunity. We charge, the whistle blows. It's a dead-ball turnover," Boyle said. "It's the live ball turnovers, what we call the pick-sixes — in basketball it's a pick two. That's the one, your transition defense there's no answer for. UCLA is a team, they're aggressive in the passing lanes. They've got long, athletic guys. it's really important for us not to have live ball turnovers."
The Bruins also have a talented big man in 7-1 freshman Moses Brown, who is averaging close to a double-double in conference play (10.7 points, 8.8 rebounds). He is one very big reason the Bruins lead the Pac-12 in rebounding, averaging more than 42 boards per game.
To combat his presence, the Buffs will need their big men — Tyler Bey, Lucas Siewert and Evan Battey — to hit the glass consistently, as well as get some help from their perimeter players. In Saturday's win over Oregon, Colorado's guards pitched in 19 rebounds, including six from McKinley Wright IV, five from Eli Parquet, four from Shane Gatling and three from D'Shawn Schwartz.
"We're going to need that against UCLA," Boyle said. "You can't rely on those big guys to get every rebound. D'Shawn's got to exert his will. Shane and McKinley and all those guards have to help us."
The Buffs also wouldn't mind another big performance from Bey, who had a career-high 27 points to go with 10 rebounds in the win over Oregon.
THE SERIES: UCLA holds an 11-4 all-time edge in the series, but the Buffs have won the last two, sweeping the series last year. Colorado gained its first-ever win at UCLA on Jan. 13, 2018, with a 68-59 win. UCLA is 8-1 all-time against Colorado in Los Angeles.
BROADCAST: Pac-12 Network will televise the game with Ted Robinson, Richard Jefferson and Lewis Johnson. KOA will carry the radio broadcast with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke.
UP NEXT: The Buffs wrap up their Los Angeles trip with an 8 p.m. game Saturday at USC (ESPNU).
LOS ANGELES — It was just a year ago that the Colorado Buffaloes won for the first time ever at UCLA, taking a 68-59 win to end an eight-game skid on the Bruins' home floor.
The Buffs then followed that up with an 80-76 home win over the Bruins, giving Colorado its only two-game Pac-12 sweep of the season.
That's a streak CU would like to continue Wednesday night, when Colorado (12-9 overall, 3-6 Pac-12) heads to Pauley Pavilion for a 7 p.m. matchup with UCLA (12-10, 5-4). It's the first of two games in Los Angeles for the Buffs, as they head to USC on Saturday for an 8 p.m. contest with the Trojans.
The Bruins have been a team embroiled in turmoil this season. After wrapping up non-conference play with four straight losses — including defeats at the hands of Belmont and Liberty — UCLA fired head coach Steve Alford and named assistant coach Murry Bartow as the interim.
The Bruins won their first three Pac-12 games under Bartow, then lost three in a row, then won two before losing their last outing, a 69-55 decision at Washington.
Tad Boyle's Buffs would simply like to stretch their current win streak to two — something they haven't done since early December, when they built a six-game win streak in non-conference play. To accomplish that, they will have to have another 40-minute effort like the one they put forth last Saturday in a 73-51 win over Oregon.
"We proved we could do it for 40 minutes, now we have to go do it again for 40 minutes," Boyle said. "We have to be ready to compete and execute defensively and offensively for 40 minutes."
In the Bruins, the Buffs will see a high-scoring, opportunistic team. Led by 6-foot-8 sophomore guard Kris Wilkes (18.3 points per game in Pac-12 play), UCLA leads the Pac-12 in scoring in conference games, averaging nearly 80 points per game.
To slow the Bruins down, the Buffs have to execute offensively and not turn the ball over. In the two wins over UCLA last season, Colorado averaged just 11 turnovers per game.
"The key with UCLA is you have to keep them out of transition," Boyle said. "The way you do that is by taking care of the ball and taking great shots. It's hard for them to run taking the ball out of the net. It's hard for them to run if we don't turn the ball over. That's the key against UCLA."
The Buffs have done a decent job in the turnover department in Pac-12 play, averaging 12.9 per game. UCLA, meanwhile, is last in the league in conference play in that department, handing it over to the opponent an average of 17.3 times per game.
The big key, Boyle said, is making sure the Buffs don't give up the "live ball" turnovers.
"A travel doesn't give them an offensive opportunity. We throw the ball out of bounds, it doesn't give them an offensive opportunity. We charge, the whistle blows. It's a dead-ball turnover," Boyle said. "It's the live ball turnovers, what we call the pick-sixes — in basketball it's a pick two. That's the one, your transition defense there's no answer for. UCLA is a team, they're aggressive in the passing lanes. They've got long, athletic guys. it's really important for us not to have live ball turnovers."
The Bruins also have a talented big man in 7-1 freshman Moses Brown, who is averaging close to a double-double in conference play (10.7 points, 8.8 rebounds). He is one very big reason the Bruins lead the Pac-12 in rebounding, averaging more than 42 boards per game.
To combat his presence, the Buffs will need their big men — Tyler Bey, Lucas Siewert and Evan Battey — to hit the glass consistently, as well as get some help from their perimeter players. In Saturday's win over Oregon, Colorado's guards pitched in 19 rebounds, including six from McKinley Wright IV, five from Eli Parquet, four from Shane Gatling and three from D'Shawn Schwartz.
"We're going to need that against UCLA," Boyle said. "You can't rely on those big guys to get every rebound. D'Shawn's got to exert his will. Shane and McKinley and all those guards have to help us."
The Buffs also wouldn't mind another big performance from Bey, who had a career-high 27 points to go with 10 rebounds in the win over Oregon.
THE SERIES: UCLA holds an 11-4 all-time edge in the series, but the Buffs have won the last two, sweeping the series last year. Colorado gained its first-ever win at UCLA on Jan. 13, 2018, with a 68-59 win. UCLA is 8-1 all-time against Colorado in Los Angeles.
BROADCAST: Pac-12 Network will televise the game with Ted Robinson, Richard Jefferson and Lewis Johnson. KOA will carry the radio broadcast with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke.
UP NEXT: The Buffs wrap up their Los Angeles trip with an 8 p.m. game Saturday at USC (ESPNU).
