Coastal Carolina Vs UCLA: Game Day Information And Preview

Who is ready for some Sunday night hoops? UCLA is back two days after showing the country that they have a squad full of scorers as six Bruins scored in double-figures in their victory over 113-78 Montana State. If you did not get a chance to see head coach Steve Alford‘s new team on TV or in person, now would be the time to do that. There is no late tip-off tonight so go out to Pauley Pavilion to see what the Bruins are all about!

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Tip-Off: 7 p.m. PT

Location: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA

Tickets: uclabruins.com

TV: Pac-12 Networks

Radio/On-line: KLAC AM 570 (Los Angeles)/TuneIn

Odds: UCLA -16.0

Preview: So UCLA basically proved doubters wrong as they dismantled Montana State with some efficient shooting, great passing and a plethora of rebounds. Every starter had scored in double figures, including a freshman off the bench, as Norman Powell (25), Kevon Looney (20), Bryce Alford (18), Isaac Hamilton (15), Thomas Welsh (14) and Tony Parker (10) all contributed to the dominant performance by the UCLA basket ball team.

Nov 14, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins center Thomas Welsh (40) reacts to a basket during the first half against the Montana State Bobcats at Pauley Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

As far as scoring, Powell and Looney had control of their game and took out the Bobcats with some light sour shooting and a few primal scream-inducing dunks. Alford was incredible handling point guard duties as he ended with 12 assists to give him the Bruin’s first double-double of the season. Another surprise was the efficiency of freshman 7-footer Welsh who came of the bench and dominated in the second half.

Looking at the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, they are a team out of the Big South Conference that went 21-13 overall and 11-5 in conference last season that ended with a first round loss to #1 Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. So far they are 1-0 on the season after beating Division II Trinity Baptist 79-36 on Friday.

UCLA will have a tougher time on the boards in this contest as the Chanticleers have two big men that can match-up down low with the Bruins in 6’8″ Uros Ljeskovic and 6’7″ Badou Diagne. Ljeshovic had a game-high 12 rebounds in their win.

As far as scoring, 10 players got in on the fun for Coastal Carolina which was lead by four players scoring in double-digits, two of which came off the bench: staters G Shivaughn Wiggins (12), G Warren Gillis (10) and G Josh Cameron (16) and F Marcus Freeman (10).

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What will be interesting to see in this game is how UCLA matches up with a more sizable opponent and how their defense performs against a team that has many players that can score. After the Bruin’s exhibition game, Steve Alford had stated that there was not one person he thought did well on the defensive side. It was a different story against Montana State, but ultimately that was a game of offensive fire power. Tonight, can the Bruins be able to pressure their opponents or will we see some glaring weaknesses?

Speaking of weaknesses, to finish up quickly, UCLA shot 26 of 40 from the free throw line (65.0%). That is the one thing the Bruins need to get better at. They are surely more physical getting to the basket this season, so if they are going to be sent to the line, they NEED to improve this part of their game.