Men’s basketball to face Oregon State in homestand shortened by COVID-19 concerns

Instead of playing three games in five days, the Bruins had a full week of practice leading up to their matchup with the Beavers.

“The kids would much rather play than practice,” said coach Mick Cronin. “Coaches, we want to practice, all we want to do is prepare.”

No. 23 UCLA men’s basketball (12-3, 8-1 Pac-12) was supposed to play Oregon (9-3, 4-2) on Thursday and Monday, but the Bruins’ schedule got a bit lighter when both games were postponed because of COVID-19 concerns in the Ducks’ program. Instead, UCLA’s lone game of the weekend will be against Oregon State (8-6, 4-4) on Saturday at Pauley Pavilion.

The Beavers are dead last in the conference with a 40.8% field goal percentage, a far cry from the Bruins’ top-ranked 47.6% clip through its nine conference games. But while UCLA owns a conference-best 42.9% 3-point percentage, Oregon State’s opponents have shot 31.0% from downtown – good for best in the conference.

The rest of the Beavers’ conference stats are around the middle of the pack in the Pac-12, and they don’t have someone at the level of guard Chris Duarte, a Pac-12 Player of the Year favorite for the Ducks.

Cronin said Tuesday that preparing to play a future NBA player like Duarte would be a tall task, and now, the leading scorer UCLA is slated to face this weekend is guard Ethan Thompson and his 16.4 points per game.

The Bruins’ defense has allowed a 20-point scorer in each of its last six games, a mark Thompson has reached four times this season. Junior guard Jules Bernard said UCLA has struggled to lock down opponents’ go-to scorers because of surrounding shooters, but it’s still an area the Bruins need to improve in.

“Our focus is just making the best players try to have the hardest games, play the hardest defense against them and make their night tough,” Bernard said. “If they make tough shots, then we can live with that.”

Thompson and junior guard David Singleton were both four-year letter winners at Bishop Montgomery High School in Torrance, California, meaning the two are set for a reunion on the court Saturday. Said reunion will take place less than 20 miles away from their old home gym, although no one will be in the crowd to see it.

The statistical home court advantage around the country has faded a bit this season, with home teams winning 57.3% of Division I games entering last weekend – the lowest since KenPom started recording the national home-road records in the 1996-1997 season. Baylor coach Scott Drew and Kentucky coach John Calipari are a few of the many coaches who have spoken about the impact of not having fans in the stands, but Cronin said playing in Pauley Pavilion still gives the Bruins a leg up on whoever comes to town even in an unorthodox season.

“I still think a home game’s a home game,” Cronin said. “I’m not a believer in that you should be scared of the other team’s crowd.”

Despite having its seven-game winning streak snapped against Stanford last week, UCLA still boasts a 15-game winning streak at Pauley Pavilion that dates back to Jan. 19 of last season.

That streak will be on the line when the Bruins and Beavers tip off Saturday at 4 p.m.