The UCLA Basketball team is back home after a rough trip to the Bay Area as they welcome Oregon State to Pauley Pavilion.
Time is running out on the UCLA Basketball team as their season is quickly coming to an end. WIth the Bruins two games out of fourth place (which gives that team a first-round Pac-12 Tournament bye) and five games left, there is little hope that they will have an extended post-season.
It gets worse. Their last five games come against teams that have already beaten them (some pretty badly). So if the Bruins want a chance to dance, they have to pull it together and rattle of a few wins like UCLA fans know they can. Or we head to the off-season earlier than usual.
Here is everything you need to know about UCLA vs. Oregon State…
UCLA Basketball vs. Oregon State Game Day Info
Records: UCLA Bruins 13-13, 6-7 (9th) | Oregon State Beavers 16-8, 8-4 (2nd)
Location: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA
Tipoff: 7:00 p.m. PT
TV: FS1
Live Stream: Fox Sports Go
Radio: AM 570 or AM 1150 (Los Angeles)
Satellite Radio: Sirius – Ch. 84 | XM – Ch. 84
OnlineRadio: Tune-In
Odds: UCLA -3 | O/U 154
Last Game: Stanford d. UCLA, 104-80 | Oregon State d. Oregon, 72-57
ESPN Win Predictor: UCLA 64.0% – Oregon State 26.0%
Projected Starters:
UCLA – G Jaylen Hands, G Prince Ali, F Kris Wilkes, F Jalen Hill, C Moses Brown
Oregon State – G Stephen Thompson, Jr., G Zach Reichle, G Ethan Thompson, F Kylor Kelley, F Tres Tinkle
Head Coaches: UCLA (interim) – Murry Bartow | Oregon State – Wayne Tinkle
Rosters: UCLA | Oregon State
UCLA Basketball vs. Oregon State: Stats, Final Word and Prediction
UCLA Key Individual Stats :
- Kris Wilkes – 17.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, .444 FG%
- Moses Brown – 10.5 ppg, 8.4 rpg, .633 FG%
- Jaylen Hands – 13.0 ppg, 6.2 apg, 3.6 rpg
Oregon State Key Individual Stats:
- Tres Tinkle – 20.1 ppg, 7.6 rpg, .489 FG%
- Stephen Thompson, Jr. – 16.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg
- Ethan Thompson – 13.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg, .500 FG%
UCLA vs. Oregon State Team Stats
| Team | Avg Pts | Opp. Pts | FG% | Rebs | Asts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA | 78.0 | 76.5 | .461 | 41.3 | 15.2 |
| OSU | 74.1 | 69.0 | .470 | 36.2 | 15.2 |
Pac-12 Standings
| Team | Avg Pts | Opp. Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | 12-1 | 21-5 |
| Oregon State | 8-4 | 16-8 |
| Arizona State | 9-5 | 18-8 |
| Utah | 8-6 | 14-12 |
| USC | 7-6 | 14-12 |
| Colorado | 7-7 | 16-10 |
| Stanford | 7-7 | 14-12 |
| Oregon | 6-6 | 15-10 |
| UCLA | 6-7 | 13-12 |
| Arizona | 5-8 | 14-12 |
| Washington State | 4-9 | 11-15 |
| California | 0-13 | 5-20 |
Player to Watch
- David Singleton – Singleton continues to develop to his potential as he has been a spark plug off the bench. Though he should be starting, he will give the Bruins good minutes whenever he is on the floor (if he is not sleeping on it!).
Last Word
It is quite interesting that the UCLA basketball team is not only favored to beat Oregon State according to ESPN, but the betting odds also have the Bruins as a three-point favorite.
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Considering the fact that Oregon State manhandled UCLA last month up in Corvallis and the Bruins just gave up the most points in a game (104) this season against Stanford on Saturday, makes this a little hard to fathom.
At this point, UCLA needs to prove that they can beat these teams before sites can predict that they beat these teams, which they have not. Take these predictions with a grain of salt because the Bruins find new ways to stand in their own way and it is quite disheartening. I am not trying to pile on more negativity on top of this team, but there is a reason they are 6-7 and 9th place in the conference.
I will say that the Bruins often have stretches where they can be the most dominant team in the Pac-12, the problem is that they cannot sustain that success and more often than not, they allow their opponents back into games or allow runs which gives the opposition a healthy lead, to which the Bruins then have to come back from behind.
It is the patterns they fall into and it is unfortunate that they are so predictable.
But let us say the Bruins can play a full 40 minutes, which is quite possible, they have to find a way to beat a team that has a lot of veteran leadership and a lot of talented players. In the last game, OSU’s leading scorer Tres Tinkle did not play because of an injury. In this game, expect him to have a big game, especially since the Beavers are second in the conference and looking to boost their resume for the NCAA Tournament. They may not shoot too much from the outside, but they will move the ball around and find the holes in the defense to penetrate and score.
To avoid this, UCLA has to clog the middle and make them earn every shot inside. UCLA also has to focus on bringing down rebounds. In a rarity last Saturday at Stanford, the Bruins lost the rebounding battle and gave up a season-high 47 to the Cardinal. To beat Oregon State, UCLA needs to use their length and athleticism. There is no reason why the Bruins should not control the paint, but that will be a direct result of them being able to control the ball.
I know the Bruins can play efficiently, but they are going to have to play consistently if they want to beat this well-constructed OSU team.
Prediction: Oregon State 74 – UCLA 67