Austin, TX (My Sportsbook) - In what promises to be an outstanding battle of non-conference heavyweights, the eighth-ranked Texas Longhorns play host to the 12th-ranked UCLA Bruins this evening in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series.
UCLA opened the season with back-to-back victories before falling to Michigan by three points. Fortunately, the Bruins bounced back strong from that setback with two more wins, including an 89-54 romp over FIU last Saturday. Clearly, however, tonight's matchup with Texas marks a monumental leap in competition level.
Speaking of the Longhorns, they have won five of their first six games to open this new campaign and have yet to play a true road tilt. The lone loss to date came against a tough Notre Dame squad by one point on a neutral floor. Since then, Texas has posted back-to-back wins, including a 77-56 triumph over Rice last Sunday.
UCLA has won two of its three all-time meetings with Texas, but the Longhorns prevailed in last season's matchup by a 63-61 final.
Through five outings, UCLA is scoring 72.8 ppg on 50.7 percent shooting from the floor. At the defensive end, where the squad excels, it is limiting the opposition to a mere 57.2 ppg. The Bruins are pulling down nearly 10 rebounds per game more than the competition, but they are averaging 15 turnovers per contest while shooting only 64.1 percent from the foul line. Darren Collison has been solid for UCLA as expected, as the standout guard is netting 15.0 ppg on 63.4 percent shooting from the field. He has dished out nearly five assists per contest and has made 16-of-17 three-pointers. Highly-regarded freshman guard Jrue Holliday is the only other double-digit scorer on the roster, as he is pouring in 11.6 ppg. In the romp over FIU last time out, UCLA forced 17 turnovers and limited its overmatched opponent to 34.9 percent shooting from the floor. Holliday hit all eight of his shots from the field and finished with 20 points, while Collison added 11 points and seven assists.
Five players scored in double figures for Texas in the victory over Rice on Sunday. Justin Mason led the way with 14 points, while both Damion James and Gary Johnson pitched in 12 points. Connor Atchley contributed 11 points, and A.J. Abrams rounded out the group with 10 points. The Longhorns only committed eight turnovers in the tilt and limited the Owls to 33.3 percent shooting from the floor. So far this season, Texas is scoring 73.2 ppg while limiting opponents to 55.5 ppg on 34.0 percent field goal efficiency. Abrams averages 15.8 ppg on the strength of his 42.2 percent shooting from three-point range, and he is hitting nearly 90 percent of his free throws as well. James, a tremendously athletic and energetic forward, adds 14.5 ppg and 8.0 rpg to the mix, while Johnson provides 10.8 ppg and 7.8 rpg.
