The UCLA Bruins begin their final home weekend of the season by hosting the struggling Arizona State Sun Devils tonight at Pauley Pavilion. The Sun Devils snapped a nine-game losing streak last weekend against Washington State, but is just 2-12 in Pac-10 play this season, last in the conference. UCLA defeated Arizona State 73-72 in overtime in Tempe on January 29.
The Bruins had their seven-game winning streak snapped on Sunday with an overtime loss to Cal. In the loss, Malcolm Lee scored 19 points, leading the Bruins in scoring for the third time in the last four games. The loss dropped UCLA to two games behind conference leader Arizona with four Pac-10 games remaining, meaning the Bruins have to win out and get some help in order to win the regular season conference championship.
The Sun Devils have used 10 different starting lineups this season, their most since the 2006-2007 season. They are led in scoring by Sophomore guard Trent Lockett, who is averaging 13.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game this season. Lockett scored 17 points against UCLA on January 29. Senior guard Ty Abbott averages 13.0 points per game for Arizona State, and leads the team with 61 three-pointers made and a 38.9% success rate from distance.
UCLA leads the all-time series 58-17 against ASU, including 30-6 at home. Tonight's 8 p.m. PST game will be televised on Prime Ticket. Steve Physioc, Marques Johnson, and Rebecca Haarlow will call the game.
For more information on tonight's game, be sure to read Bruins Nation.