The Wildcats may not be at the top of the Pac-12 this season, but they are still at the top of the Bruins’ hit list.
UCLA men’s basketball (10-9, 3-3 Pac-12) will welcome Arizona (14-6, 5-2) to Pauley Pavilion on Saturday with a chance to break a three-game losing streak and avenge their loss to the Wildcats in last year’s Pac-12 tournament.
The last time Arizona came to Westwood, guard Lonzo Ball was running the point for the Bruins. He scored 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 from downtown.
This year’s UCLA squad hasn’t had a player score 24 or more points since sophomore guard Kris Wilkes dropped 27 against Purdue Fort Wayne in the season-opener. After averaging 92.3 points per game in interim coach Murry Bartow’s first three games on the bench, the Bruins have averaged 68.7 in their last three.
But those low scoring totals aren’t a result of poor field goal shooting.
UCLA outshot Arizona State 48.6 percent to 40 percent in the first half of its eventual loss Thursday night, but it entered halftime with just a one-point lead. What has hampered the Bruins in this three-game stretch has been what has hampered them all year long – turnovers and free throw shooting.
Bartow’s Bruins are shooting 44.4 percent from the line and averaging 16 turnovers per game during their losing streak. The Wildcats, on the other hand, force the most turnovers in the Pac-12.
The Wildcats’ second-leading scorer and top rebounder, center Chase Jeter, is a former top recruit and Duke transfer who will likely match up with freshman center Moses Brown down low. Brown is fourth on the conference rebounds leaderboard, but he pulled down just four boards Thursday.
Jeter missed Arizona’s matchup with USC on Thursday night due to a back injury, and his team got blown out 80-57 in the Galen Center.
The Bruins and Wildcats will both be looking to avoid weekend sweeps when the two teams tip off at 7 p.m. on Saturday night.