The UCLA Bruins close out the first half of their Pac-12 Conference schedule by hosting the Colorado Buffaloes in an afternoon affair at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. This is the first meeting between the two schools as Pac-12 foes. The Bruins are 4-1 all-time against Colorado, but their last meeting was 34 years ago, a 104-70 UCLA win over the Buffaloes at Pauley Pavilion on December 2, 1977.
The Bruins (11-9, 4-4) beat Utah handily on Thursday night, coming away with a 76-49 win over the Utes. Center Joshua Smith led UCLA in scoring with 14 points, the fourth time the center has led the team in scoring this season. In his last 84 minutes on the court, spanning five games, Smith has scored 54 points, grabbed 22 rebounds and has made 19 of his 28 field goal attempts (67.9%).
Colorado (14-6, 6-2) has won three straight games to move into a four-way tie atop the Pac-12 Conference. The Buffaloes are led by four players scoring in double figures, led by Carlon Brown at 13.4 points per game. Andre Roberson is leading the Pac-12 in rebounding by a large margin, pulling down 11.0 boards per contest.
Game Notes
Coach Ben Howland won his 200th game at UCLA with Thursday's win over Utah. Howland is 200-92 (.685) in his ninth season at UCLA. The Bruins have shot 40.6% from three-point range (39 for 96) in conference play. Jerime Anderson has made six of his 12 shots from beyond the arc, and David Wear has made five of his seven shots from three-point range.
Saturday afternoon's 1 p.m. PST game will be televised by Prime Ticket. For more news and notes on UCLA basketball, be sure to read Bruins Nation.