It was Bruins versus Wildcats – No. 7 versus No. 3 nationally and second place versus first place in the Pac-12 – a week and a half ago.
Nine days later, history will repeat itself.
No. 3 UCLA men’s basketball (16-2, 8-1 Pac-12) will take on No. 7 Arizona (17-2, 7-1) on Thursday for the second time in two weeks, with the then-No. 7 Bruins defeating the then-No. 3 Wildcats on Jan. 25 to claim the top spot in the Pac-12 via a head-to-head tiebreaker. With sole possession of first place in the conference on the line in Tucson on Thursday, the matchup will also mark the shortest period separating games between the two schools since 2010.
“We’re expecting some adjustments from them,” said redshirt senior forward Cody Riley. “I can’t really tell the future, but I know we are looking forward to it, and we can’t wait.”
In the first matchup between the two programs, Arizona was held to a season-low 59 points, shooting just over 30% from the field.
The Wildcats’ leading scorer, guard Bennedict Mathurin, made five of his 22 field goal attempts against the Bruins, and guard Kerr Kriisa went scoreless for the first time all season in an 0-for-12 shooting game, missing all nine of his shots from downtown.
Coach Mick Cronin said he isn’t optimistic that the Bruins will get the same shooting luck Thursday with regards to Kriisa, who enters the matchup as the Pac-12’s most prolific 3-point shooter.
“There’s zero chance that happens again,” Cronin said.
Arizona followed up its season-worst offensive performance by scoring 67 points against in-state rival Arizona State – its second-worst offensive output of the season – while shooting 3-of-23 on 3-pointers.
Even with the recent downtick on the offensive end of the floor, the Wildcats still rank third nationally with 86 points per game.
Regardless if Arizona rounds back into form offensively, Cronin said it is imperative UCLA protects the paint and limits its opponent’s second-chance opportunities. The Bruins tied a season high with eight blocks against the Wildcats last week but lost the rebounding battle 49-34.
“(There are) two things you can control – we’ve got to somehow limit their opportunities at the rim, … and then we’re going to have to find a way to keep them off the glass with a tremendous job of team rebounding and team blocking out,” Cronin said.
UCLA’s defensive rhythm continued past Arizona, as it held California and Stanford to 100 combined points in the two matchups following the win over the Wildcats.
During the two contests against the Golden Bears and the Cardinal, the Bruins stole the ball 25 times and forced 39 opponent turnovers – both season-best marks across any two-game stretch.
Senior guard Jules Bernard said the increased defensive play correlates to the Bruins’ improved effort level on that end.
“I would say we’ve played more aggressive on defense, … blasting through screens and things of that nature,” Bernard said. “We have a better mental state of where we need to be defensively if we want to keep winning throughout the year.”
Junior guard Johnny Juzang has missed the past two games because of COVID-19 protocols, while junior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. did not play the second half in the matchup against Stanford after sustaining a right ankle injury in the first period.
Although Juzang will make his return to the floor Thursday, Cronin said Jaquez’s situation was less clear as of Tuesday morning. Sophomore guard Jaylen Clark – who has missed the last three games with a concussion – will not play Thursday.
“We’re going to have plan A, B and C on Thursday night due to our situation,” Cronin said. “Maybe Jaime’s going to play. Maybe he wants to try to give it a go and he feels good and then he gets out there and he doesn’t feel good. (We have) a lot of stuff we’re dealing with as far as what we have to plan on.”
Another difference from the first matchup will be the venue. With the last matchup taking place in Westwood, the Bruins will travel to Tucson to play in the McKale Memorial Center – a venue they have not lost in since 2016.
Playing in his seventh and possibly final game against the Wildcats in his career, Riley said he is prepared for the high-intensity atmosphere in enemy territory.
“We know it’s going to be a hostile environment – we’re looking forward to it,” Riley said. “When things get hard, cause I feel like they will be, especially on the road, we can’t break or fold. We’ve got to keep persevering, push through it.”
UCLA will play Arizona State (6-12, 2-6) on Saturday in Tempe to finish off its Grand Canyon State road trip.
The Sun Devils are on pace to finish their season with the worst record in coach Bobby Hurley’s tenure, but they held multiple second-half leads against the Wildcats a week ago before ultimately falling by 11 points.
Tipoff between UCLA and Arizona will be at 5 p.m. on Thursday, while the Bruins and Sun Devils will square off at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
