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‘Defending our home court’: UCLA men’s basketball hopes to hold home win streak

Fifth-year guard David Singleton dribbles on the perimeter. Singleton and No. 4 UCLA men’s basketball will have a chance to extend their 21-game home winning streak Thursday against Stanford and Saturday against California. (Anya Yakimenko/Daily Bruin staff)

Men's basketball


Stanford
Thursday, 8 p.m.

Pauley Pavilion
ESPN2
California
Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

Pauley Pavilion
Pac-12 Networks

By Grace Whitaker

Feb. 16, 2023 2:13 p.m.

With a 13-0 record at home, it’s no secret the Bruins love playing in Pauley Pavilion.

“I really like the crowd, the energy in Pauley,” said freshman forward Adem Bona. “It’s an amazing feeling.”

No. 4 UCLA men’s basketball (21-4, 12-2 Pac-12) will put its home winning streak, the longest in the country, to the test with its upcoming contests against Stanford (11-14, 5-9) and California (3-22, 2-12) on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.

After being asked about the Bruins’ undefeated streak in Westwood, senior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. knocked on wood in a superstitious fashion before replying that their luck on the home front comes as a result of the team’s love for the fans.

“We enjoy defending our home court. We take it as an advantage for sure,” Jaquez said. “We’re comfortable there, and we just love playing in Pauley.”

In addition to their home victories, the Bruins have also seen success on enemy territory, as they advanced to 21-4 overall after two victories against Oregon State and Oregon on the road last weekend. Freshman guard Amari Bailey had a dominant performance in Friday’s victory over the Beavers, leading the team in scoring with a career-high 24 points.

Coach Mick Cronin credited the freshman’s mentality as his greatest strength.

“The reason why Amari’s here is that he saw the big picture,” Cronin said. “Never asked me a question about NIL, never asked me a question about how I was going to use him, what position he was going to play. He wanted to go to UCLA since he came here.”

The Cardinal were the first Pac-12 team the blue and gold faced this season, which resulted in an 80-66 victory for UCLA in December. Cronin emphasized the importance of entering Thursday’s game with fresh eyes.

“We try to train our guys to look at what teams are capable of on their best night, like Stanford in their last five is shooting over 40% from 3,” Cronin said. “They’re just a totally different team from when we played them two months ago, totally different.”

Stanford took down then-No. 4 Arizona on Saturday in an 88-79 win off a 22-point performance from guard Michael O’Connell. But, when the Bruins faced the Wildcats on Jan. 21, they were unable to emerge victorious and were handed one of their four losses of the season by a score of 58-52.

“Taking out (then-)No. 4 Arizona is not an easy task to do, so props to them,” Jaquez said.

Stanford currently averages 69.2 points per game on 33.9% 3-point shooting and is headlined by forward Spencer Jones, who puts up 13.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. California, the lowest-ranked team in the conference, collects 59.2 points per game and shoots just 30.8% from deep.

UCLA’s string of undefeated home contests could result in the first undefeated season at Pauley Pavilion for the blue and gold since 2006-2007. Fifth-year guard David Singleton credited the Bruins’ pride for their Westwood success.

“We defend our home court,” Singleton said. “Coach is always preaching that real teams, you’re not trying to lose at home. You can’t do that. So we’re really trying to implement that in our culture.”

This weekend’s contests will begin the home stretch of the regular season as six games remain, bookended by four games in Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins will tip off against the Cardinal at 8 p.m. on Thursday and against the Golden Bears on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

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Grace Whitaker | Sports senior staff
Whitaker is currently a senior staff writer on the football, men's basketball and women's basketball beats. She was previously an assistant Sports editor on the women's basketball, women's soccer, beach volleyball and cross country beats and a contributor on the women's basketball and beach volleyball beats.
Whitaker is currently a senior staff writer on the football, men's basketball and women's basketball beats. She was previously an assistant Sports editor on the women's basketball, women's soccer, beach volleyball and cross country beats and a contributor on the women's basketball and beach volleyball beats.
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