Probable starters
ARIZONA
G Kerr Kriisa (6-3 junior)
G Courtney Ramey (6-3 senior)
F Cedric Henderson (6-6 senior)
F Azuolas Tubelis (6-11 junior)
C Oumar Ballo (7-0 junior)
UCLA
G Tyger Campbell (5-11 senior)
G Amari Bailey (6-5 freshman)
F David Singleton (6-4 senior)
F Jaime Jaquez Jr. (6-7 senior)
C Adem Bona (6-10 freshman)
How they match up
How they got here: Arizona went 14-6 in the Pac-12 to finish in a second-place tie with USC, earning the Pac-12 Tournament’s No. 2 seed based on its season sweep of the Trojans, and then beat Stanford 95-84 in a quarterfinal game Thursday and ASU 78-59 in the semifinals Friday.
UCLA went 18-2 in the Pac-12 to win the conference title outright by four games, then beat Colorado 80-69 in the quarterfinals and Oregon 75-56 in the semifinals.
The season series: Arizona and UCLA split the regular-season series, with the home team winning each time.
On Jan. 21 at McKale Center, Arizona won its first game scoring in the 50s in seven years, beating UCLA 58-52 by holding the Bruins to just 31.3% shooting. Oumar Ballo (16) and Azuolas Tubelis (14) combined for 30 points, while Courtney Ramey added another 11 while hitting 3 of 5 3-pointers.
On March 4 in Los Angeles, UCLA spotted Arizona a 13-2 lead but came back to dominate most of the time in an 82-73 win. Arizona shot 47.4%, but the Wildcats were outrebounded 38-32 and coughed up 17 turnovers that led to 16 UCLA points.
Arizona center Oumar Ballo (11) goes to the basket in front of Arizona State guard Devan Cambridge (35) during the first half of their game in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament, Friday, March 10, 2023, in Las Vegas.
Pac-12 Tournament history: Arizona took a 6-5 lead over UCLA in the conference tournament by beating the Bruins 84-76 in last season’s championship game. Bennedict Mathurin led the Wildcats with 27 points, seven assists and four rebounds, while Christian Koloko had 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks, including a dunk and a block in the final two minutes to help clinch the game.
The Wildcats and Bruins had only met in the Pac-12 Tournament championship game once before, when UCLA won 75-71 in 2014 in a game that was decided at the line. Arizona made just 6 of 16 free throws, while UCLA hit 21 of 25.
Overall series history: Arizona beat UCLA three straight times before losing at Pauley Pavilion last weekend. But UCLA leads the all-time series 63-47 heading into its final Pac-12 season in 2023-24.
What’s new with the Bruins
UCLA has been forced to adjust in the Pac-12 Tournament without wing Jaylen Clark, the Pac-12’s Defensive Player of the Year. UCLA has said only that he’s out this week after suffering a lower-leg injury against Arizona last Saturday, but several reports said Clark is out for the rest of the season with an Achilles' injury.
Whatever the case, the Bruins have adjusted by moving fifth-year wing David Singleton into the starting lineup while sprinkling more minutes to Dylan Andrews, Will McClendon and Abramo Canka. But freshman wing Amari Bailey took the offensive lead on Thursday against Colorado, scoring a career-high 26 points, while point guard Tyger Campbell led the Bruins with 28 points on Friday.
However, the Bruins suffered another potential blow when freshman center Adem Bona went down with an apparent shoulder injury in the second half of UCLA’s win over Oregon on Friday. Bona stayed on the floor for several minutes and then walked slowly to the locker room afterward.
The scout says
“I don't know what is going on with Bona, but I know that they're a really good team. When he went out, they were up eight, Oregon cut it to three and then UCLA took off.
"Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez are two of the best players in college basketball, not just in our conference, and the rest of the team is playing with great enthusiasm and a lot of confidence.
“(Without Clark) they're still playing tough on the glass, and defensively they’re still pressuring the basketball. Bona was amazing before he got injured, but (backup Kenneth) Nwuba had a couple of big blocks, (Mac) Etienne really protected the paint and Bailey spreads you out defensively a lot because he's such a good scorer.”
— UA associate head coach Jack Murphy, who has scouted UCLA all season
Arizona guard Kerr Kriisa, left, and forward Azuolas Tubelis, right, trail UCLA guard Tyger Campbell, center, during the second half of their game Saturday, March 4, 2023, in Los Angeles.
Key players
UCLA
Tyger Campbell
How much can the Bruins’ engine keep giving? Campbell averaged 34 minutes over the Bruins’ first two Pac-12 Tournament games, dropping 28 points on Oregon while soaking up even more responsibility in UCLA’s effort to replace the injured Clark on both sides of the floor.
ARIZONA
Courtney Ramey
Since he plays for a team that apparently loves to make up for bad times, Ramey’s dreary evening at Pauley Pavilion a week ago suggests he could be on fire this time. Ramey scored just four points while shooting 2 for 11 from the field and turned the ball over six times at UCLA.
Sidelines
Next man up
Already adjusting to life without Clark, who is reportedly out for the season with an Achilles' injury, UCLA did not blink when Bona went down with 16 minutes left in Friday's win over Oregon.
The Bruins arguably played their best down the stretch without Bona, replacing him initially with Etienne and, after a six-minute adjustment, built leads as high as 20 points over the final five minutes.
After Friday's game, UCLA coach Mick Cronin indicated that's exactly the sort of thing he is looking for.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin calls to his team during the second half of the Bruins’ game against Colorado in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament, Thursday, March 9, 2023, in Las Vegas.
“People say you don't have this guy or that guy. It would be different if you didn't have anybody to put in,” Cronin said. “We got guys on scholarship for a reason. They practice hard, we prepare them for a reason. We tell them all year, `Your moment's going to come in March, and we're going to need you.’ "
Mind over matter
After spending last postseason in and out of rehab with his severely sprained ankle, Kerr Kriisa found himself in a familiar place Thursday night and all day Friday: Hanging out with UA athletic trainer Justin Kokoskie and company.
“I saw some (rehab) machines for the first time, and I’ve gotta give a huge credit to J-Rock (Kokoskie), our medical staff, our doctors, everybody," Kriisa said. "We’ve been putting in work, and obviously these painkillers are pretty good things sometimes.”
Kriisa said he didn’t take an injection but underwent rehab treatments and “took something stronger” than your everyday over-the-counter painkillers. He also said he’s tried not to think about the pain or what happened Thursday, when he had an upper-body collision with Stanford’s Brandon Angel.
“It went out of my ... I felt like a pop, and then it went right back in,” Kriisa said. “I don't know what it is. And I think it's better if I don't know. I don't need to think about these things. I just gotta think about hooping.”
Numbers game
0 — Arizona losses in eight games played in Las Vegas under second-year coach Tommy Lloyd.
0 — Arizona opponents this season that are undefeated against the Wildcats.
0 — UCLA losses in February and March so far.
Tommy Lloyd, Cedric Henderson and Azuolas Tubelis discuss Arizona's win over Arizona State in 2023 Pac-12 Tournament.
