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2015–16 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

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2015–16 UCLA Bruins men's basketball
ConferencePac-12 Conference
Record15–17 (6–12 Pac-12)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaPauley Pavilion
Seasons
2015–16 Pac-12 Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 5 Oregon † 14 – 4   .778 31 – 7   .816
No. 13 Utah 13 – 5   .722 27 – 9   .750
No. 17 Arizona 12 – 6   .667 25 – 9   .735
No. 23 California 12 – 6   .667 23 – 11   .676
Colorado 10 – 8   .556 22 – 12   .647
USC 9 – 9   .500 21 – 13   .618
Oregon State 9 – 9   .500 19 – 13   .594
Washington 9 – 9   .500 19 – 15   .559
Stanford 8 – 10   .444 15 – 15   .500
UCLA 6 – 12   .333 15 – 17   .469
Arizona State 5 – 13   .278 15 – 17   .469
Washington State 1 – 17   .056 9 – 22   .290
† Pac-12 Tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 2015–16 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles, during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They finished the season with a 15–17 record, the fourth time the program finished with a losing record since 1948, when John Wooden became their coach.[1] The Bruins were led by third-year head coach Steve Alford and played their home games at Pauley Pavilion as members in the Pac-12 Conference. Isaac Hamilton earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors, the only Bruin named to the all-conference team.[2]

With Kevon Looney having moved on to the National Basketball Association (NBA), sophomore Thomas Welsh was promoted to UCLA's starting lineup at center, while center Tony Parker moved to forward.[3][4] Freshman guard Aaron Holiday also opened the season as a starter, teaming with Hamilton and Bryce Alford to form a three-guard lineup.[5] The Bruins lost their season opener to Monmouth and lost consecutive games in the Maui Invitational to Kansas and Wake Forest.[6][7] However, they recovered to upset then-No. 1 Kentucky 87–77 at home and defeated then-No. 20 Gonzaga 71–66 on the road.[8] UCLA finished their non-conference schedule winning six of their last seven games, and entered Pac-12 play at 9–4 and ranked No. 25 in the nation.[6] They were comparatively better than a year earlier, when they entered conference play with five losses and a three-game losing streak.[8]

The Bruins had an early conference win against then-No. 7 Arizona,[9] but they were 4–5 halfway through the Pac-12 schedule, including 0–4 against the three teams with the quickest pace in the conference, Washington, USC, and Oregon.[10] Their defense was weakened without comparable replacements for Looney and Norman Powell, a senior from the prior season, and sophomore György Golomán had been out for much of the season with a stress fracture in his leg.[11] UCLA coach Steve Alford believed his big front court was "slow" and had sophomore Jonah Bolden start in place of the senior Parker.[12] While Bolden was 1 inch (25 mm) taller than Parker, he was also 40 pounds (18 kg) lighter.[13] UCLA began their second half with a loss to USC, who swept the Bruins for the first time since 2010.[14][15] The Bruins lost both games in their crosstown rivalry by double digits for the first time since 1938.[14] In their next game, UCLA blew a 10-point halftime lead to Arizona en route to their fifth loss in seven games. The loss dropped them out of all major NCAA tournament projections and mired in 10th place in the Pac-12.[16][17] The Bruins were eliminated from the Pac-12 tournament after a 95–71 loss to USC, losing three consecutive times in the same season to the Trojans for the first time in 74 years. UCLA missed the NCAA Tournament for just the third time in 10 years.[18]

Previous season

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Main article: 2014–15 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

The Bruins finished in fourth place (11–7) in the Pac-12 conference. They earned a No. 11 seed in the NCAA Championship tournament, and advanced to the Sweet 16, becoming the lowest-seed UCLA team to ever reach the regional semifinals. They defeated SMU 60–59 in the second round and UAB 92–75 in the third round. Then the Bruins lost to Gonzaga for the second time of the season, 74–62 in the Sweet Sixteen. The program produced its 49th 20-win season. Norman Powell led the team in scoring with 16.4 points per game, followed by Bryce Alford with 15.4 points per game.

Off-season

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Norman Powell 4 G 6'4" 215 Senior San Diego, California Graduated
David Brown 13 G 6'3" 185 Senior Anaheim Hills, California Walk-on; Graduated
Kory Alford 2 G 6'4" 185 RS Junior Albuquerque, New Mexico Walk-on; Graduated
Nick Kazemi 0 G 6'3" 210 RS Junior Santa Ana, California Walk-on; Graduated
Wanaah Bail 1 F 6'9" 215 Sophomore Houston, Texas Transferred[19]
Kevon Looney 5 F 6'9" 220 Freshman Milwaukee, Wisconsin Declared for 2015 NBA draft[20]

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Ikenna Okwarabizie 34 C 6'10" 245 Sophomore Lagos, Nigeria Junior college transfer from Tyler Junior College

2015 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Aaron Holiday
#15 PG 		North Hollywood, CA Campbell Hall School 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Mar 3, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Prince Ali
#12 SG 		Pembroke Pines, FL Sagemont School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Aug 16, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Alex Olesinski
F 		Roswell, NM La Lumiere School 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Mar 4, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2015 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  • "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 13, 2015.

Roster

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2015–16 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Alex Olesinski 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr La Lumiere School Roswell, New Mexico
G 1 Wonder Smith (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Windward School Los Angeles, California
G/F 2 Noah Allen 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Palma HS Pacific Grove, California
G 3 Aaron Holiday 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Campbell Hall School North Hollywood, California
G 5 Prince Ali 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Sagemont School Pembroke Pines, Florida
G 10 Isaac Hamilton 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr St. John Bosco HS Los Angeles, California
F 14 György Golomán 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So The Sagemont School Körmend, Hungary
G 15 Jerrold Smith (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr St. Bernard HS Los Angeles, California
G 20 Bryce Alford 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr La Cueva HS Albuquerque, New Mexico
G 21 Alec Wulff (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Laguna Beach HS Laguna Beach, California
G 22 Gabriel Bell-Williams (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Campbell Hall School Toronto, Ontario
F/C 23 Tony Parker 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Sr Miller Grove HS Atlanta, Georgia
G 24 Justis Bell-Williams (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Campbell Hall School Toronto, Ontario
C 34 Ikenna Okwarabizie 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) So East HS/Tyler Junior College Lagos, Nigeria
C 40 Thomas Welsh 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) So Loyola HS Redondo Beach, California
G/F 43 Jonah Bolden 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Brewster Academy Sydney, Australia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: November 13, 2015

Schedule

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UCLA's 2015–16 schedule includes home games against Kentucky, Long Beach State, Pepperdine, Cal Poly, Louisiana-Lafayette, Monmouth, Cal State Northridge, and McNeese State. UCLA will travel to play at Gonzaga and face off against North Carolina at a neutral venue. The Bruins will also make a trip to play three of the following in the Maui Invitational: Kansas, Indiana, St. John's, UNLV, Vanderbilt, and Wake Forest.[21]

During the Pac-12 Conference schedule, UCLA will play 18 games (9 home and 9 away) and will have home-and-homes with the following teams: Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, Oregon State, USC, Washington, and Washington State. The Bruins will only play the Rocky Mountain teams (Colorado and Utah) at home. UCLA will also only play the Bay area teams (California and Stanford) on the road.[22]

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
Oct 30*
7:30 pm 		Cal State Los Angeles W 95–57  –
  20 – Hamilton   11 – Bolden   7 – Alford  Pauley Pavilion (6,930)
Los Angeles, CA
Non-conference regular season
Nov 13*
8:00 pm, P12N 		Monmouth L 81–84 OT 0–1
  22 – Alford   19 – Parker   5 – Alford  Pauley Pavilion (6,674)
Los Angeles, CA
Nov 15*
7:00 pm, P12N 		Cal Poly
Maui Invitational Opening Round 		W 88–83  1–1
  22 – Welsh   14 – Parker   8 – Alford  Pauley Pavilion (6,595)
Los Angeles, CA
Nov 19*
7:30 pm, P12N 		Pepperdine W 81–67  2–1
  19 – Alford   15 – Parker   5 – Tied  Pauley Pavilion (6,063)
Los Angeles, CA
Nov 23*
8:30 pm, ESPN2 		vs. UNLV
Maui Invitational Quarterfinals 		W 77–75  3–1
  20 – Tied   8 – Welsh   4 – Bolden  Lahaina Civic Center (2,400)
Maui, HI
Nov 24*
7:00 pm, ESPN 		vs. No. 5 Kansas
Maui Invitational Semifinals 		L 73–92  3–2
  19 – Hamilton   8 – Parker   3 – Holiday  Lahaina Civic Center (2,400)
Maui, HI
Nov 25*
4:30 pm, ESPN2 		vs. Wake Forest
Maui Invitational 3rd Place Game 		L 77–80  3–3
  18 – Tied   15 – Parker   7 – Alford  Lahaina Civic Center (2,400)
Maui, HI
Nov 29*
4:00 pm, P12N 		Cal State Northridge W 77–45  4–3
  14 – Tied   11 – Parker   10 – Alford  Pauley Pavilion (6,193)
Los Angeles, CA
Dec 3*
6:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 1 Kentucky W 87–77  5–3
  21 – Welsh   11 – Welsh   7 – Holiday  Pauley Pavilion (12,202)
Los Angeles, CA
Dec 6*
6:00 pm, P12N 		Long Beach State W 83–76  6–3
  24 – Alford   10 – Tied   7 – Holiday  Pauley Pavilion (6,443)
Los Angeles, CA
Dec 12*
7:00 pm, ESPN2 		at No. 20 Gonzaga W 71–66  7–3
  20 – Hamilton   11 – Bolden   5 – Holiday  McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
Dec 15*
6:00 pm, P12N 		No. 22 Louisiana–Lafayette W 89–80  8–3
  27 – Alford   9 – Parker   7 – Alford  Pauley Pavilion (5,460)
Los Angeles, CA
Dec 19*
10:00 am, CBS 		No. 22 vs. No. 11 North Carolina
CBS Sports Classic 		L 76–89  8–4
  23 – Hamilton   11 – Parker   4 – Alford  Barclays Center (16,311)
Brooklyn, NY
Dec 22*
8:00 pm, P12N 		McNeese State W 67–53  9–4
  18 – Hamilton   14 – Welsh   8 – Alford  Pauley Pavilion (6,499)
Los Angeles, CA
Pac-12 regular season
Jan 1
8:00 pm, FS1 		No. 25 at Washington L 93–96 2OT 9–5
(0–1) 		 30 – Alford   15 – Welsh   5 – Hamilton  Alaska Airlines Arena (6,920)
Seattle, WA
Jan 3
6:30 pm, P12N 		No. 25 at Washington State L 78–85  9–6
(0–2) 		 27 – Hamilton   10 – Welsh   5 – Alford  Beasley Coliseum (1,912)
Pullman, WA
Jan 7
6:00 pm, ESPN2 		No. 7 Arizona
Rivalry 		W 87–84  10–6
(1–2) 		 25 – Alford   12 – Parker   6 – 3 tied  Pauley Pavilion (12,026)
Los Angeles, CA
Jan 9
2:00 pm, P12N 		Arizona State W 81–74  11–6
(2–2) 		 26 – Hamilton   16 – Welsh   5 – Tied  Pauley Pavilion (9,973)
Los Angeles, CA
Jan 13
8:00 pm, ESPN2 		USC
Rivalry 		L 75–89  11–7
(2–3) 		 27 – Parker   12 – Parker   8 – Hamilton  Pauley Pavilion (12,993)
Los Angeles, CA
Jan 20
8:00 pm, ESPNU 		at Oregon State W 82–73  12–7
(3–3) 		 25 – Hamilton   5 – Alford   12 – Welsh  Gill Coliseum (5,321)
Corvallis, OR
Jan 23
1:00 pm, CBS 		at Oregon L 72–86  12–8
(3–4) 		 19 – Holiday   8 – Welsh   6 – Alford  Matthew Knight Arena (10,525)
Eugene, OR
Jan 28
7:00 pm, FS1 		Washington L 84–86  12–9
(3–5) 		 28 – Alford   11 – Bolden   6 – Alford  Pauley Pavilion (6,843)
Los Angeles, CA
Jan 30
4:00 pm, P12N 		Washington State W 83–50  13–9
(4–5) 		 22 – Hamilton   10 – Welsh   6 – Hamilton  Pauley Pavilion (9,024)
Los Angeles, CA
Feb 4
7:30 pm, P12N 		at USC
Rivalry 		L 61–80  13–10
(4–6) 		 15 – Holiday   12 – Welsh   7 – Alford  Galen Center (10,258)
Los Angeles, CA
Feb 12
6:00 pm, ESPN 		at No. 17 Arizona
Rivalry 		L 75–81  13–11
(4–7) 		 24 – Hamilton   10 – Parker   4 – Tied  McKale Center (14,644)
Tucson, AZ
Feb 14
5:30 pm, ESPNU 		at Arizona State W 78–65  14–11
(5–7) 		 16 – Bolden   9 – Bolden   11 – Alford  Wells Fargo Arena (6,710)
Tempe, AZ
Feb 18
7:00 pm, ESPN2 		Utah L 73–75  14–12
(5–8) 		 25 – Hamilton   6 – Welsh   6 – Holiday  Pauley Pavilion (7,249)
Los Angeles, CA
Feb 20
8:00 pm, FS1 		Colorado W 77–53  15–12
(6–8) 		 22 – Hamilton   6 – Tied   9 – Alford  Pauley Pavilion (8,492)
Los Angeles, CA
Feb 25
6:00 pm, ESPN2 		at California L 63–75  15–13
(6–9) 		 15 – Tied   16 – Welsh   5 – Holiday  Haas Pavilion (11,858)
Berkeley, CA
Feb 27
1:30 pm, FOX 		at Stanford L 70–79  15–14
(6–10) 		 20 – Alford   9 – Welsh   6 – Holiday  Maples Pavilion (6,364)
Stanford, CA
Mar 2
6:00 pm, ESPN2 		No. 9 Oregon L 68–76  15–15
(6–11) 		 19 – Hamilton   7 – Welsh   6 – Hamilton  Pauley Pavilion (6,578)
Los Angeles, CA
Mar 5
3:30 pm, P12N 		Oregon State L 82–86  15–16
(6–12) 		 21 – Hamilton   12 – Welsh   5 – Alford  Pauley Pavilion (7,940)
Los Angeles, CA
Pac-12 Tournament
Mar 9
6:00 pm, P12N 		No. (10) vs. (7) USC
First round 		L 71–95  15–17
  12 – Welsh   6 – Welsh   6 – Hamilton  MGM Grand Garden Arena (12,916)
Paradise, NV
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific Time.

Ranking movement

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See also: 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movement
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. RV = Received votes. NV = Received no votes.
Poll Pre Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Wk 15 Wk 16 Wk 17 Wk 18 Post Final
AP RV NV NV NV RV 22 RV 25 NV RV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV N/A
Coaches RV NV NV NV RV RV RV RV NV RV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV

See also

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Notes

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  • December 7, 2015 – Thomas Welsh was named Pac-12 Player of the Week
  • January 11, 2016 – Bryce Alford was named Pac-12 Player of the Week
  • March 5, 2016 – Forward/center Tony Parker was honored on Senior Day
  • March 24, 2016 – Sophomore center Thomas Welsh was named to the second-team Pac-12 All-Academic team

References

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  1. ^ Helfand, Zach (March 9, 2016). "USC earns third straight win over UCLA, 95-71, in Pac-12 tournament". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 18, 2016.
  2. ^ Wang, Jack (March 7, 2016). "UCLA guard Isaac Hamilton makes All-Pac-12 second team". Inside UCLA. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016.
  3. ^ Kaufmann, Joey (November 12, 2015). "UCLA basketball preview: It's Thomas Welsh's turn to be center of attention". The Orange County Register. Archived from the original on November 16, 2015.
  4. ^ Kaufman, Joey (November 18, 2015). "UCLA basketball: Freshman guard Aaron Holiday proves a quick study". The Orange County Register. Archived from the original on December 11, 2015.
  5. ^ Helfand, Zach (November 22, 2015). "UCLA has a chance to prove itself in Maui Invitational". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 11, 2015.
  6. ^ a b Caple, Christian (December 31, 2015). "Huskies men's basketball gameday: UCLA". The News Tribune. Archived from the original on February 15, 2016.
  7. ^ Helfand, Zach (December 18, 2015). "UCLA's nonconference schedule gives them strength, despite some snickers". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 11, 2016.
  8. ^ a b Wang, Jack (December 31, 2015). "UCLA enters Pac-12 play hoping to build on impressive start". Los Angeles Daily News. Archived from the original on February 15, 2016.
  9. ^ "UCLA vs. #17 Arizona". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on February 17, 2016.
  10. ^ Kaufman, Joey (February 4, 2016). "USC to try for a rare sweep of rival UCLA". The Orange County Register. Archived from the original on February 10, 2016.
  11. ^ Wang, Jack (January 19, 2016). "What's ailing UCLA men's basketball on defense?". Los Angeles Daily News. Archived from the original on February 16, 2016.
  12. ^ Shultz, Alex (January 30, 2016). "UCLA's juggled lineup results in big win over Washington State". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016.
  13. ^ Wang, Jack (January 30, 2016). "UCLA benches Tony Parker against WSU, starts Jonah Bolden". Inside UCLA. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016.
  14. ^ a b Kaufman, Joey (February 4, 2016). "USC dominates from outset to complete first sweep of UCLA since 2009-10". The Orange County Register. Archived from the original on February 8, 2016.
  15. ^ Wang, Jack (February 3, 2016). "UCLA hopes lineup changes pay off in USC rematch". Los Angeles Daily News. Archived from the original on February 9, 2016.
  16. ^ Helfand, Zach (February 13, 2016). "For UCLA, it's deja vu in the middle of Pac-12 play". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 15, 2016.
  17. ^ Wang, Jack (February 13, 2016). "UCLA visits Arizona State hoping to snap losing streak". Los Angeles Daily News. Archived from the original on February 26, 2016.
  18. ^ Plaschke, Bill (March 9, 2016). "Bruins' many weaknesses are exposed by the Trojans in Pac-12 Conference tournament". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  19. ^ Helfand, Zach. "Wanaah Bail transfers from UCLA after missing second half of season". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  20. ^ "UCLA's Kevon Looney Declares for NBA Draft". UCLABruins.com. UCLA Athletics. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  21. ^ "UCLA Basketball Announces 2015-16 Non-Conference Schedule". June 8, 2015.
  22. ^ "Pac-12 Provides Opponent, Date Windows for 2015-16 Schedule". June 8, 2015.
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