The Bruins have yet another non-Power Five matchup on their slate.
No. 20 UCLA men’s basketball (2-0) will face off against Saint Francis (1-1) on Friday night in the third game of the Bruins’ four-game season-opening homestand. The Red Flash, on the other hand, will be playing in their second road game of the young season.
Saint Francis forced 13.7 turnovers per game last season, and after UCLA gave the ball away 15 times against Long Beach State on Nov. 9, redshirt freshman power forward Jalen Hill said fixing the press-break will be key to coming out on top.
“We have to rep it more in practice,” Hill said. “It was kind of going to be trouble just because it was the beginning of the season. But we just have to slow down, make better passes, just basketball stuff.”
Of Saint Francis’ first five games, four are on the road, and all four will come against ranked opponents. The Red Flash lost to now-No. 25 Buffalo Bulls 82-67 in their season opener, but coach Steve Alford said he is taking his opponent very seriously.
“Very talented, and a scary opponent,” Alford said. “Guard play that is very attack-minded. They shoot it well, they drive it well, they put a lot of pressure on your defense because they like to score the basketball. …. (Purdue Fort Wayne) and Long Beach (State), they wanted to play up-tempo, and I think Saint Francis is the same way.”
Saint Francis will play No. 7 North Carolina and No. 16 Virginia Tech in its next two games, but now it will have guard Isaiah Blackmon at its disposal.
Blackmon tore his ACL in 2017 and was only able to play in three games last season. He missed the Red Flash’s matchup with Morgan State on Nov. 9 after violating team rules, but the guard will be back on the court against UCLA.
Blackmon averaged 13.7 points per game in the 2016-2017 season – compared to just 1.4 assists – and Alford highlighted him as one of the players that spearheaded Saint Francis’ aggressive offensive attack.
“They get to the line a lot,” Alford said. “That’s gonna be a huge key in this game, because we’re the bigger, taller, more athletic team. And to be able to use that, we’ve got to be able to keep people in front of us.”
Freshman guard Jules Bernard recorded four steals in his two appearances this season, and he said that defense is something that has been engrained into his game.
“I think my high school coach, Colin Pfaff, did a great job of preparing me,” Bernard said. “A lot of times in high school, defense isn’t really sought after and people don’t really take pride in it, but I think my high school coach did a good job of instilling that defense is important.”
UCLA and Saint Francis will tip off at 8 p.m. on Friday night.