UCLA MEN’S BASKETBALL March 11, 2006 Marc Dellins/Bill Bennett/310-206-7870 For Immediate Release UCLA Men’s Basketball/Between Game Notes No. 13 UCLA PLAYS CALIFORNIA SATURDAY IN PAC-10 TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP GAME AT STAPLES CENTER; BRUINS DEFEAT ARIZONA 71-59 IN FRIDAY SEMIFINAL CONTEST No. 13/No. 12 UCLA (26-6/14-4, Regular Season Champion/No. 1 Seed) vs. CALIFORNIA (20-9/12-6, 3rd-place/No. 3 Seed) - Saturday, March 11/Los Angeles, CA/Staples Center/3:15 p.m. PT/TV-CBS, Dick Enberg and Bob Wenzel /Radio-570AM, with Chris Roberts and Don MacLean Tentative UCLA Starters (RPI Ranking 13/last week 15) F- 21 Cedric Bozeman 6-6, Sr., 7.8, 3.1 F-23 Luc Richard Mbah a Moute 6-8, Fr., 8.7, 8.3 C- 15 Ryan Hollins 7-01/2, Sr., 6.0, 4.4 G-1 Jordan Farmar 6-2, So., 13.5, 2.7 G-4 Arron Afflalo 6-4, So., 16.9, 4.3 UCLA vs. California – The Golden Bears advanced with a 91-87 (2OT) victory over Oregon on Friday and an 82-67 win over USC on Thursday. California’s Leon Powe has led the Golden Bears, setting a Pac-10 Tournament scoring record (41) on Friday and Tournament rebounding mark (20) on Thursday. Series History – The Bruins lead it 123-93. The teams have split the regular season series the last four consecutive seasons. UCLA and UC have met twice before in the Pac- 10 Tournament – in 2002, the Golden Bears defeated the Bruins 67-61 in a quarterfinal game and in 1987 (the first Pac-10 Tournament/held in Pauley Pavilion), the Bruins defeated UC 75-68 in a semifinal contest. Last UCLA/UC GAMES - March 2 – No. 15 UCLA 67, at California 58 (OT) – The Bruins overcame a 31-20 halftime deficit, outscored the Golden Bears 12-3 in overtime and Arron Afflalo scored 21 of his game-high 25 points after halftime as UCLA defeated California 67-58 (OT). The UCLA victory clinched a share of the 2006 Pac-10 regular season title for UCLA (it’s first since 1997), it was UCLA’s first overtime game of the season and the Bruins have now won two years in a row at Haas Pavilion. Leon Powe led the Golden Bears with 20 points, but scored only five points (2-6) after halftime. Dec. 31 – California 68, at No. 11 UCLA 61 – California had four of five starters score in double figures as the Golden Bears beat the Bruins for the second consecutive season in Pauley Pavilion, 68-61. The loss snapped UCLA’s eight-game winning streak and 11- game Pauley Pavilion winning streak (dating back to 2005). The Golden Bears had four starters in double figures, led by Ayinde Ubaka’s 18 points, 12 points from guards Omar Wilkes and Richard Midgley and 10 points/eight rebounds from forward DeVon Hardin. Forward Leon Powe added five points and a game-high 12 rebounds for California. UCLA had two players in double figures – Arron Affalo’s 19 points (fourth straight game he’s led the Bruins in scoring) and 10 points from Josh Shipp. UCLA’S LAST GAME March 10 – No. 13 UCLA 71, Arizona 59 – UCLA used runs of 21-5 in the first half and 19-6 in the second half to defeat the Wildcats in a Pac-10 Tournament semifinal contest. The Bruins’ biggest lead of the game was 22 points (60-38, 8:31 remaining, layup by Alfred Aboya). The Bruins were led by Darren Collison’s season-high 15 points and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute’s 12 points and team-high tying seven rebounds. UCLA held Arizona to 59 points, its lowest in Pac-10 Tournament history and lowest total this season. It was UCLA’s sixth consecutive victory and the first time in the series’ single season history the Bruins had a 3-0 sweep vs. the Wildcats. UCLA in the Pac-10 Tournament – This will be the third time in the Championship Game – 1987 (first Pac-10 Tournament in Pauley Pavilion), defeated Washington 76-64; 1990 (at Tempe), lost to Arizona 94-78. The Bruins – In the Pac-10 Tournament, have averaged 75.0 points (and held opponents to 53.0), outshot opponents from the field (.514/.370) and three-point range (.441/.381) and outrebounded opponents (35.5/27.5). In UCLA’s six-game winning streak, the Bruins are averaging 73.3 points (holding opponents to 55.2), outshooting opponents from the field (.510/.407) and three-point range (.436/.400) and outrebounding opponents (33.0/25.5). UCLA’s 26 wins is its highest since UCLA’s 1995 NCAA Championship season (32-1, the 32 wins is a school record). On Saturday, UCLA will be playing its 33rd game, tying a school record for most games in a season (set eight times prior, last in 2002, 21-12). Arron Afflalo – In two games vs. California this season, the first-team All-Pac-10 performer averaged 22.0 points and 6.0 rebounds, and shot .500 from the field (13-26) and three-point range (7-14) and .786 (11-14) from the foul line. Cedric Bozeman – After missing all of the second half vs. Oregon State on Thursday with a sprained left ankle, Bozeman came back Friday to start vs. Arizona, playing 27 minutes, with nine points, four rebounds and two assists, with a career-high tying three steals and no turnovers. The Bruins are 21-3 with him in the lineup (20-3 with Bozeman as a starter). Darren Collison – In 23 minutes vs. Arizona, the freshman point guard led the Bruins for the first time this season in scoring, with 15 points, a season-high. Collison is an Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 Freshman. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute – In 31 minutes vs. Arizona, the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year contributed 12 points and a team-high tying seven rebounds (the 26th time this season he’s led UCLA in rebounding). Ryan Hollins –In the Pac-10 Tournament, he’s averaging 24.0 minutes, 12.0 points (second-leading scorer) and 7.5 rebounds (leading rebounder) and shooting .667 (8-12) from the field. .