In Arizona’s recent memory, the thought of UCLA burns rather intensely.
The Wildcats had a terrific season in 2012-2013, finishing 27-8 and just one possession shy of defeating Aaron Craft and the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. They finished near the top of the Pac-12 standings in the regular season, and along with the Oregon Ducks, had the best NCAA tournament finish in the conference; but they could never seem to shake the Bruins.
In late January, UCLA came out of the gate at the McKale Center guns ablazing en route to an 11-point victory. A little more than a month later, a clutch defensive rebound in the final minute by Shabazz Muhammad allowed the Bruins to sweep their in-season series at Pauley Pavilion.
And on a neutral floor in the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas, then-freshman guard Jordan Adams took over, scoring 18 points in the second half for a 66-64 victory and breaking a bone in his foot in the game’s closing seconds.
“We beat them, so they’re coming here with a chip on their shoulder,” said sophomore forward/center Tony Parker. “They have a bigger chip on their shoulder probably than any other team has in Pauley because they have something to prove: that they can beat UCLA.”
When No. 1 Arizona (15-0, 2-0 Pac-12) visits Pauley Pavilion tonight, it does so as a team that plays with almost the exact opposite style of an up-tempo UCLA squad. The Wildcats like to smother teams, maintaining the best scoring defense in the Pac-12 by more than six points per game. Just last Thursday, they held the Cougars of Washington State to an embarrassing seven points in the first half.
The Bruins lie on the other end of the spectrum as the Pac-12’s No. 2 scoring offense and No. 8 scoring defense, setting up tonight’s game as a matchup between hurried and husky, velocity and a vacuum.
“They hang their hat at the defensive end,” said coach Steve Alford. “They held (WSU) to 25. Those are things that just don’t happen very often. We’ve got to figure out ways of scoring and we’ve got to do a good job on the backboard.”
Seven-foot center Kaleb Tarczewski, 6-foot-8 forward Brandon Ashley, both sophomores, and 6-foot-9 freshman forward Aaron Gordon all average more than six rebounds per game,making low foul totals a must for a UCLA (12-2, 1-0) team that only has three regular forwards.
Against USC on Sunday, size difference didn’t show on the scoreboard, but it did on the bench. Guarding two seven-footers, D.J. Haley and Omar Oraby, Parker struggled, committing five fouls in just 10 minutes on the floor.
The Wildcats love to stick with the frontcourt rotation of Gordon, Ashley, and Tarczewski— who all average more than 25 minutes per game – and only use four players 6-foot-7 or taller. UCLA freshman forward Wanaah Bail averages less than seven minutes per game and has played only sparingly in first halves this season, meaning the Bruins’ frontcourt depth goes no further than Parker and the Wear twins.
“It’s going to be big for me to stay on the floor so I can rebound and stay out of foul trouble,” Parker said. “That’s really going to be a key to the game is our rebounding.”
Thursday’s game has a strong chance of being UCLA’s most highly attended home game this season, but the Wildcats have already excelled in a number of big settings this year, including wins over Duke at Madison Square Garden and Michigan at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor.
“It’s a new year, they’re a better team,” said junior guard Norman Powell. “They’re No. 1 in the country for a reason. We’re just gonna go out there and play our game and compete.”