UK vs. UCLA | TV, lineups and storylines
UCLA (8-3)
VS. NO. 1 KENTUCKY (11-0)
Game time: 3:30 p.m., Saturday
Site: United Center (20,500), Chicago
Favorite: Kentucky by 15
Series: UNC leads 6-4. Last meeting: UCLA won 73-68 on Nov. 21, 2006, in Maui
Television: CBS (Verne Lundquist, Greg Anthony, Allie LaForce)
Radio: WHAS-AM 840 (Tom Leach, Mike Pratt, Matt Jones)
UCLA
Pos. Player Ht. Cl. Rb. Pts.
G-Bryce Alford 6-3 So. 6.7* 18.0
G-Norman Powell 6-4 Sr. 4.3 17.4
G-Isaac Hamilton 6-4 So. 3.8 11.6
F-Kevon Looney 6-9 Fr. 10.9 13.9
F-Tony Parker 6-9 Jr. 8.2 10.8
* assists per game
Key reserves – Thomas Welsh, C, 7-0, Fr., 4.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg; Wanaah Bail, F, 6-9, So., 1.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg; Noah Allen, G/F, 6-6, So., 2.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg
KENTUCKY
Pos.Player Ht. Cl. Rb. Pts.
G-Andrew Harrison 6-6 So. 3.8* 7.6
G-Aaron Harrison 6-6 So. 2.1* 10.2
F-Trey Lyles 6-10 Fr. 5.6 7.8
F-Karl-Anthony Towns 6-11 Fr. 6.3 8.5
C-Willie Cauley-Stein 7-0 Jr. 6.8 10.7
* assists per game
Key reserves –Dakari Johnson, C, 7-0, So., 9.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg; Tyler Ulis, G, 5-9, Fr., 4.8 ppg, 3.0 apg; Devin Booker, G, 6-5, Fr., 9.1 ppg, 1.6 apg; Marcus Lee, F, 6-9, So., 3.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg; Derek Willis, F, 6-9, So., 3.2 ppg, 1.2 rpg.
STORYLINES
1. Power programs collide. UCLA and Kentucky rank 1-2 in NCAA titles (the Bruins with 11, the Cats 8) and both are top-five all-time in NCAA Tournament appearances, wins and Final Fours. Former UCLA coach John Wooden and UK's Adolph Rupp would both be on college basketball's Mount Rushmore. The new CBS Sports Classic has brought the two together — and North Carolina-Ohio State as the first half of a tradition-rich doubleheader. There are 26 national titles between the four programs.
"This event is something that we've looked forward to and I personally looked forward to," Cats coach John Calipari said. "You're talking more national titles than any four schools in the country, in this building. You're talking about storied programs with great histories that are always a player or two away with a chance to win the national title – all the programs."
UK guard Tyler Ulis remembers reading all the motivational quotes from Wooden's famous "Pyramid of Success," which hung on a wall at his father's house growing up. "He's just legendary in basketball," Ulis said. "Everybody knows about him."
2. Without depth, can the Bruins hang? UCLA has five strong starters, all of them averaging double-figure points. Freshman Kevon Looney, a McDonald's All-American, and sophomore Bryce Alford have scored 10-plus in every game this season. Looney is a projected top-10 NBA draft pick averaging a double-double. Senior Norman Powell is a scoring machine and Tony Parker is a 260-pound force in the paint. But after that? Not much. Freshman Thomas Welsh, another McDonald's All-American, is the only Bruins reserve averaging more than two points.
UCLA lost three first-round draft picks – Zach LaVine, Jordan Adams and Kyle Anderson – from last year's team. How, then, will the not-so-deep Bruins handle the historically deep Wildcats and their nine projected pros? "We obviously have to do a lot of good things," coach Steve Alford said. "We've got to take care of the basketball (and) Kentucky is as good as it gets throughout our country defensively, so that's a tall order. Can we get the shots that we need? When you're playing a team like this you're going to have to make shots. It's not going to be easy if we're shooting 35 percent."
Calipari downplayed the depth issue this week, though, saying he only played six guys major minutes on the three best teams he's ever coached (1996 Massachusetts, 2008 Memphis and 2012 Kentucky). "You don't need to play eight, nine, 10 guys. You play your six. Old-school coaches played six guys," Calipari said. "Steve probably has a really happy team right now. Really excited team. A team that probably comes to practice jacked up because they know who's playing and they know who's not playing. … The UCLA game's gonna be a really hard game for us. And the main reason is they play loose and they can make shots."
– Kyle Tucker