UCLA Basketball vs. Liberty 2018: Gameday info and preview

UCLA Basketball closes out the non-conference season with a home game against Liberty. Can the Bruins get back on track as they head into Pac-12 play?

The UCLA Basketball team returns home to try and snap a bad three-game losing streak which started at home a few weeks ago against Belmont. From there, the Bruins went on to have two double-digit, nationally broadcasted loses against the likes of Cincinnati and Ohio State. Can they right the ship before things get out of hand?

That is what we are going to find out today. Does UCLA have what it takes to pull themselves up by their bootstraps or is this going to be a long, painful stretch to the end of the season to where Steve Alford may get fired?

Here is everything you need to know about UCLA vs. Liberty…

After the Belmont loss, UCLA needs to move past Alford. light. Related Story

UCLA Basketball vs. Liberty Game Day Info

Records: UCLA Bruins 7-5 | Liberty Flames 10-4

Location: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA

Tipoff: 3:00 p.m. PT

TV: Pac-12 Network

Live Stream: Pac-12 Live

Radio: AM 570

Satellite Radio: Sirius – Ch. 136 | XM – Ch. 197

OnlineRadio: Tune-In

Odds: UCLA -7.5, O/U: 144

Last Game: Ohio State d. UCLA, 80-66 | Austin Peay d. Liberty, 75-66

ESPN Win Predictor: UCLA 60.1% – Liberty 39.9%

Projected Starters:

UCLA – G Jaylen Hands, G Prince Ali, F Kris Wilkes, F Cody Riley, C Moses Brown

Liberty – G Elijah Cuffee, G Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz, G Caleb Homesly, G Lovell Cabbil, Jr., F Scottie James

Head Coaches: UCLA – Steve Alford | Liberty – Ritchie McKay

Rosters: UCLA | Liberty

UCLA Basketball vs. Liberty: Stats, Final Word and Prediction

UCLA Key Individual Stats :

Kris Wilkes – 17.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, .456 FG%
Moses Brown – 11.8 ppg, 8.8 rpg, .667 FG%
Jaylen Hands – 11.8 ppg, 7.4 apg, 3.9 rpg

Liberty Key Individual Stats:

Scottie James – 12.4 ppg, 9.0 rpg, .759 FG%
Darius McGhee – 11.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg, .429 FG%
Lovell Cabbil, Jr. – 10.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, .458 FG%

Team Stats

Team	Avg Pts	Opp. Pts	FG%	Rebs	Asts
UCLA	78.0	73.6	.455	42.2	14.8
Liberty	79.1	61.5	.502	34.2	17.0

Player to Watch

Jaylen Hands – As the floor general, he has to get the Bruins going.

Last Word

The UCLA basketball team is not doing very well. Their three-game losing streak is the first since, well, last year. It is not the fact that the Bruins actually have a losing streak of this nature but the way it happened.

More from Go Joe Bruin

First off, the Bruins losing at home to Belmont after leading by 12 is something that should never happen, but it got worse. UCLA went out to Cincinnati and got beat by 29, the third-worst loss in the Alford era. A week ago they played a solid game against Ohio State but came up short, especially since no adjustments were made (again) and the Buckeyes were able to pull ahead and get the double-digit win (four of UCLA’s five losses were by double-digits).

So what does UCLA do now? It is apparent that Alford needs to start collecting wins or he will be out of a job by season’s end, but is this attainable?

Alford is a coach that pretty much sticks to his guns and does not change much in-game. He also has not made defense a priority, which will be interesting in this game as Liberty is a high-scoring team that averages more points than the Bruins. Liberty also allows fewer points than the Bruins, so their defense is sustainable.

Though Liberty have not had a quality win, that could change today when they step into Pauley Pavilion.

Yes, Liberty is a team that UCLA should properly dispose of, but that has not been the case in the last several games, especially since the Bruins have been digressing. Since the start of the season, UCLA has seen a decrease in points, rebounds and field goal percentage, all the while those numbers for their opponents have gone up.

Next. The 25 Greatest UCLA Basketball Players of All-Time. dark

Will this trend continue or will UCLA wake up from their winter slumber just in time for Pac-12 play?

Prediction: UCLA 87 – Liberty 84