Buckle up for another Thursday night filled with hoops action, as the No.1 Kentucky Wildcats look to stretch their unbeaten run to eight games this season when they pay the UCLA Bruins a visit at the Pauley Pavilion this evening. Will the ‘Cats emerge victorious once again? Or will the Bruins pull off the improbable upset?
Read on below for a full breakdown of this appetizing matchup. And if you’re craving for some NFL action, you can check out our in-depth preview of the Monday Night Football game between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins.
The Kentucky Wildcats are clearly not the same without their beloved point guard in Tyler Ulis, who missed his team’s previous game opposite Illinois State due to an elbow injury. In that game, the Wildcats were sluggish and careless with the basketball. They trailed for nearly 10 minutes in the first half and tallied 15 turnovers in total. But fortunately, they recovered from their mistakes and eventually captured their seventh win.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ] Now, the No. 1-ranked Wildcats set their focus on their next opponents—the 4-3 UCLA Bruins – tonight. They are 7-4 all-time against the Bruins and will be striving to pick up where they left off during their previous meeting last year. In that game, the Wildcats trounced the Bruins from the get-go, going on a 24-0 run to open the game and never looked back since then.
A replication of this dominant performance isn’t that far-fetched since the Bruins are allowing a staggering 75.1 points per game this year, which is among the highest in the nation. That being said, expect the Wildcats to be very aggressive in racking up the points later.
Ulis’ status remains questionable though, but it’s a good thing that they still have a number of capable offensive options to choose from. For one, there is Jamal Murray, who has been exceptional through five games. He’s scored in double-figures in that stretch and is averaging a team-best of 15.0 PPG. Their other newcomers, Isaiah Briscoe and Skal Labissiere, have also made their presence felt. The two are posting almost 13.0 points per game apiece this season.
Kentucky has won its last 38 regular-season games.
Having lost their previous two games, the UCLA Bruins needed to beat visiting Cal State Northridge and give themselves a little bit of momentum when they take on the Kentucky Wildcats. They did just that in convincing fashion and it was all thanks to Tony Parker and Bryce Alford.
Parker helped his team snap their two-game skid by recording his fifth double-double in seven games this season. He had 14 points and 11 boards under his belt to lead the Bruins to the 77-45 victory. Leading scorer Bryce Alford was held to just eight points but he was able to efficiently facilitate their offense with his season-high and game-high of 10 dimes.
Both Parker and Alford will now hope that they can make it back-to-back wins when they lock horns with the No.1 Wildcats at the Pauley Pavilion. In order to do so, their defense needs to be as solid as possible against a team that’s averaging almost 80 points per contest.
As for the offense, the Bruins certainly have enough fire power to matchup with Kentucky. Their starting unit of Alford (15.3 PPG), Parker (14.1 PPG), Aaron Holiday (13.0 PPG), Thomas Welsh (12.0 PPG) and Isaac Hamilton (11.9 PPG) are all averaging in double figures this season. But the Bruins will have to really work hard for their points opposite a formidable Wildcats defense (62.3 points allowed per game).
