The road has not been kind to UCLA men’s basketball.
The Bruins are 2-6 away from Pauley Pavilion this season and were 5-5 in road games a year ago.
Now, as UCLA heads into the final leg of its five of seven road games to open Pac-12 play, it will look to turn its road woes around as it plays away games against Oregon State and Oregon this week.
“We’re trying to go out there and get two wins,” said sophomore guard Bryce Alford. “Last year, we didn’t have a single trip where we got two wins, so it’s one of those things where we gotta be ready to play and keep momentum going.”
The Bruins’ road struggles last year came on the second game of each Pac-12 road trip, losing all four of such games. Having lost both games of its first conference trip against Colorado and Utah, UCLA will look to end that pattern this week.
Parker injury
Much of the reason for UCLA’s success during its current three-game winning streak is credited to its frontcourt players, including junior forward/center Tony Parker, who averaged 16.3 points and nine rebounds during that stretch.
As the Bruins look to build on their streak, they may have to do it without their man in the middle. Coach Steve Alford said Parker will be a game-time decision against Oregon State Thursday as he deals with back spasms.
Alford said Parker’s back spasms, which he also suffered from as a freshman, initially flared up over the weekend during individual drills. Parker is currently listed as day-to-day.
Should Parker be forced to sit out Thursday’s game, the Bruins will need to lean more heavily on freshman center Thomas Welsh to replace Parker in the starting lineup. Despite averaging under four points per game and being held scoreless in two of his past three games, Welsh is coming off one of his strongest performances of the season against USC, in which he scored eight points and hit four of his five shots.
“Tom’s been really good. He’s getting more confident and the game’s starting to slow down for him,” said freshman forward Kevon Looney. “In an open gym and in practice he’s been great all year, he just needs to translate it to the game and the past few games he’s been really good at that.”
Jonah Bolden update
UCLA’s depth has been one of its main issues this year, and a big reason for its lack of bodies is the ineligibility of freshman guard/forward Jonah Bolden, a former four-star recruit.
In September, Bolden was ruled a partial qualifier and forced to sit out the season due to eligibility problems stemming from his transfer from Australia to Findlay Prep in Las Vegas after his senior season had begun, according to ESPN.
Alford said before the season that he anticipated Bolden would be allowed to rejoin the team for practices in winter quarter but Bolden has not yet done so as he awaits clearance by the NCAA.
“Hopefully we get some news very quickly. He’s done everything he was supposed to do,” Alford said. “We’re hopeful we’re gonna get good news here anytime but we’re waiting on the NCAA … and hopefully he’ll be cleared for practice.”