[11:05 PM] Portland v. #14 UCLA: 1H

Will UCLA LEAD by 15+ POINTS at ANY POINT in the 1st Half?

Yes: UCLA leads by 15 pts in 1H

No: UCLA never leads by 15 pts in 1H

 

• No teams have found a way to slow UCLA’s offense through the first four games this season; it’s now Portland’s turn when the Pilots meet the No. 13 Bruins in Thursday’s opening round at the Wooden Legacy at Cal State Fullerton. UCLA is averaging a nation-leading 105.8 points after one-sided victories against Pacific, Cal State Northridge, San Diego and Long Beach State, and the resistance doesn’t figure to get much stiffer against Portland.

• The Pilots ran into UCLA at this tournament in 2009, then knows as the 76 Classic, and walked away with a 74-47 win, the Bruins’ largest margin of defeat in nearly seven years. Alec Wintering is the main weapon for Portland this season, averaging 19 points, eight assists and 4.7 rebounds, and has already played all 40 minutes in a 79-66 win last week against San Jose State.

• In order to average triple digits in points, a team needs to shoot the ball well – and the Bruins have done that, converting 57.1 percent of their shots entering the tournament. Leaf, Ball, forward Isaac Hamilton and guards Bryce Alford and Aaron Holiday, the top five UCLA players in terms of minutes, are all shooting 50 percent or better. Welsh is the only regular who hasn’t reached that clip, but the 7-footer shot 59 percent from the floor last season, so it seems only a matter of time before he joins the others.

• Ball has twice recorded 11 assists this season, one shy of UCLA’s single-game freshman record.

 

StreakSmarts Pick: No: UCLA never leads by 15 pts in 1H

Confidence: 4/10

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