The UCLA men’s basketball team won its Pac-12 opener at Oregon State on Thursday night to snap a four-game losing streak. The Bruins will look to keep winning Saturday afternoon at Oregon.
The Bruins are 93-40 all-time against Oregon and 6-4 against the Ducks in their past 10 games, including a three-game winning streak dating to Dec. 4, 2022.
Here’s what you need to know about the Pac-12 matchup:
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Where: Matthew Knight Arena, Eugene, Ore.
TV/RADIO: CBS/AM 570
Records: UCLA 6-6, 1-0, Oregon 9-3, 1-0
UCLA’s latest result: UCLA is coming off a 69-62 win at Oregon State on Thursday night. After trailing 28-24 at halftime, the Bruins (6-6, 1-0) outscored the Beavers 30-12 in the first 11 minutes of the second half. UCLA’s balanced scoring was the difference as sophomore forward Adem Bona (13 points), sophomore guard Dylan Andrews (13 points), freshman guard/forward Brandon Williams (11 points), sophomore guard Will McClendon (10 points) and junior guard Lazar Stefanovic (10 points) all finished in double figures in the confidence-boosting victory.
“I told them, and it’s easier said than done, they’ve got to worry about what I say and not what everyone else says,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said postgame when asked about his team’s level of confidence. “You got to put in the work. It’s ain’t always about the result.
“Alabama football is getting ready to play in the Final Four and they lost early and almost lost to South Florida. Everybody had written them off. They have one of the best coaches of all-time and he keeps his players focused on what he wants and not what everybody else thinks. So that’s your job as a coach to keep them focused on what I want, OK. And I worry about defense, rebounding. On offense, shared the ball and play with confidence. I don’t care if you miss, just go rebound. Young kids tend to care too much when they miss. We’re still getting over that.”
Oregon’s latest result: Oregon (9-3, 1-0) is coming off an 82-74 win at home against USC on Thursday night. The Ducks were led by freshman Kwame Evans Jr. and Jackson Shelstad, who combined for 43 points. Evans, a 6-foot-9, 220-pound forward, had a career-high 22 points, eight rebounds and five steals while shooting 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
Matchups to watch: UCLA’s Andrews, who is coming off 13 points and four assists against Oregon State, versus Oregon senior guard Jermaine Couisnard, who is averaging 13.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. An interior matchup to watch is UCLA’s Bona versus Oregon’s Evans, who lead their respective teams in rebounding at about six per game.
UCLA trends to watch: The Bruins shot 47.4% from 3-point range against Oregon State, draining 9 of 19 from beyond the arc. That was well above the team’s 29% average coming into the Pac-12 opener. UCLA also won the points in the paint margin by 28-16 and the second-chance points margin by 25-11. Continued success in those three categories will be key for Cronin’s team.
