GAME NOTES: Firmly in the midst of a five-game win streak, the UCLA Bruins take their act to Maples Pavilion, for a Pac-10 Conference date with the Stanford Cardinal. UCLA has established itself as one of the hottest teams in the Pac-10 since mid-January, winning five straight and nine of its last 10 contests. The Bruins now find themselves one game behind first place Arizona in the league standings at 9-3.
The Cardinal fell, 87-76 at Washington on Saturday to halt a two-game win streak. At 13-11 overall, the Cardinal can match last year’s win total of 14 with a victory tonight. The team has compiled a 6-7 Pac-10 mark to date. With respect to the all-time series, tonight’s matchup marks the 225th meeting between UCLA and Stanford. The Bruins currently hold a 134-90 lead over the Cardinal.
UCLA last played this past Saturday, earning a 69-61 victory over Oregon State to stretch its win-streak to five games. The victory also marked the Bruins’ 13th straight over the Beavers, who haven’t won a game in the series since the 2005 Pac-10 Tournament. The Bruins’ utter domination in recent years marks the longest active streak of one league opponent over another. Malcolm Lee led the charge this Saturday, scoring 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while Joshua Smith came off the bench to score 15 points and grab six boards. UCLA held Oregon State to 32.9 percent shooting, including 36.4 percent from beyond the arc on the night. Lee paces the squad on the season, averaging 13.8 ppg, while Reeves Nelson has proven just as effective, scoring 13.7 ppg, while puling down a team-high 8.7 rpg. Tyler Honeycutt (12.5 ppg), Smith (10.6 ppg) and Lazeric Jones (10.4 ppg) round out the bulk of the scoring attack, as the Bruins average 71 ppg on the whole. They limit teams to 66.5 ppg on the defensive end.
In its last contest, Stanford was overwhelmed by the force that is Isaiah Thomas, as the Washington point guard awoke from an early slumber to score 14 points over the final three minutes of the first half to give the Huskies an insurmountable 48-31 lead at the break. The Cardinal was led in defeat by Jeremy Green, who matched a season-high with 24 points, while grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds, to post his first career double-double. He has now scored at least 20 points in four straight games. Green’s backcourt mate, Anthony Brown, added 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while forward Josh Owens connected on 6-of-8 field goal attempts for his 12 points. Green leads the unbalanced offense on the season, averaging a team-high 15.7 ppg. He is joined by Owens (11.4 ppg) as the only players to average double figures. Owens also pulls downs a team-high 6.8 rpg, as the Cardinal posts a plus-2.3 rebounding margin. In conjunction with Stanford’s strong effort on the glass is a stingy defense attack, which limits opponents to 63.1 ppg.
Stanford is a quality Pac-10 team, but UCLA has established itself among the conference elite. Look for the Bruins to earn the win behind their balanced offensive attack.
GAME NOTES: Firmly in the midst of a five-game win streak, the UCLA Bruins take their act to Maples Pavilion, for a Pac-10 Conference date with the Stanford Cardinal.
FACTS & STATS: Site: Maples Pavilion (7,329) — Stanford, California. Television: FSN. Home Record: UCLA 14-2, Stanford 10-3. Away Record: UCLA 3-3, Stanford 2-6. Neutral Record: UCLA 1-2, Stanford 1-2. Conference Record: UCLA 9-4, Stanford 6-7. Series Record: UCLA leads, 134-90.
Thursday, February 17th, 10:30 p.m. (et)
UCLA 70, Stanford 62