Arizona vs UCLA: 2019-20 college basketball game preview, TV schedule
Coming off a tough loss, Arizona has to now face one of the hottest teams in the country in the UCLA Bruins. Will the Wildcats have enough offense to compete?
TV schedule: Saturday, Feb 29, 10:00 pm ET. ESPN
Arena: Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA
It’s now six wins in a row for UCLA (18-11, 11-5 Pac-12) after a hard-earned win over Arizona State on Thursday night. Jake Kyman had a superb performance off the bench, scoring 21 points with five made three-pointers, while point guard Tyger Campbell effectively paced the offense with 14 assists.
From being left for dead to now at least in the at-large discussion for the NCAA Tournament, the Bruins have to continue winning heading into the Pac-12 Tournament. And considering that they’re in the tie with Oregon for first place in the standings, a regular-season title is also on the line this weekend.
The Bruins take on Arizona (19-9, 9-6 Pac-12) who are coming off their worst offensive performance of the season on Thursday, scoring a season-low 48 points in a 57-48 loss at the USC Trojans. Zeke Nnaji had 15 points and 10 rebounds but everyone else struggled, with the Wildcats shooting just 28% from the field overall. Part of the issues was not having their third-leading scorer Josh Green (back) for the game but Arizona will have to find a way to beat UCLA without him, as he’s expected to miss this upcoming matchup as well.
These two teams faced off earlier in the season, with UCLA getting the impressive 65-52 road win in Tuscon. Nico Mannion had a tough game, scoring just five points on 2/14 shooting. The projected top-10 NBA Draft pick has seen his numbers decline in recent weeks, likely due to the freshman wall hitting. But especially with Green out, Arizona just doesn’t have a lot of scoring options along the perimeter. Mannion’s performance will likely show how much of a shot the Wildcats have winning.
Top end of regular-season league races. dark. Next
There is a lot of momentum for the Bruins, taking on a hurt Wildcat team at home. Quite frankly, UCLA wants this game more than Arizona and as long as they continue to play hard on both ends of the court, look for the home squad to pull out a gritty win.