WSU looks to sweep UCLA

The WSU’s men’s basketball team will face the UCLA Bruins on the road for its second matchup of the season. The game will start at 8 p.m. Thursday at the Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, California.

WSU (14-10, 5-6) has defeated UCLA (13-11, 6-5) on the road three
times in school history. UCLA ranks ahead of WSU in the Pac-12 standings at
sixth compared to WSU in ninth. UCLA also ranks 100th in the NCAA net rankings
while WSU sits at 105th.

In their previous matchup on Jan. 4, WSU defeated UCLA in overtime
79-71 in Beasley Coliseum. Junior guard Isaac Bonton led the way for WSU with
17 points, eight of which were scored in overtime.

In a press conference, head coach Kyle Smith said the Bruins
were a strong and physical team when the Cougars first played against them. He
said the Cougars should be able to play bigger against the Bruins with the
recent improvement by freshman center Volodymyr Markovetskyy.

Four UCLA players rank top-15 in the Pac-12 in field goal
percentage, most of any team from the conference up to this point.

UCLA junior guard Chris Smith had one of his best games this
season when he faced WSU earlier this year. He scored 22 points and grabbed
seven rebounds.

His 6-foot-9 frame at guard will lead the Cougars to adjust their
matchups frequently, sophomore forward CJ Elleby said.

“I’m sure I’ll guard him a little; I’m sure Noah will get a
crack at him,” Elleby said. “Just try to make his catches tough and make it
hard for him.”

Since the loss, UCLA has a 5-4 record, with all five coming from the last seven games. Head coach Kyle Smith said he thinks the Cougars will visit a different-looking UCLA squad on Thursday.

“They were playing real big early with Smith as their 3-man,”
Smith said. “I think they’re kind of maturing.”

A handful of WSU’s past games show the Cougars coming out
hot offensively to start the game and then battling a multi-minute scoreless
stint. Freshman guard DJ Rodman said the difference between maintaining their
lead or fighting to come back comes down to the team’s defense.

The team needs more of a scoring presence coming off the
bench in order to avoid these dry spells, Rodman said.

“Our bench guys, Aljaž, Marvin, including myself, we
need to get more involved in scoring,” Rodman said. “We’re out there for a reason.”

Some of WSU’s inactive players made it back into the
rotation recently including junior forward Tony Miller and junior forward
Marvin Cannon. Miller played in the last matchup against UCLA and contributed
11 points and six rebounds off the bench.

Cannon, on the other hand, did not play against UCLA earlier this season. His return to play will give the Cougars a needed spark off the bench, Smith said.

“I think he gets back into our quickness and our depth,”
Smith said. “And hopefully he is just getting more comfortable out there.”

Elleby said the healthy roster will help the team finish out
the season strong.

“We need bodies; we need to give certain players breaks,”
Elleby said. “Just being able to rotate out guys and bring fresh bodies off the
bench is essential at this time in the year.”

Smith throughout his career hasn’t coached in the Pauley
Pavilion. He said he’s excited to witness the Pavilion as a coach and looks to
give WSU a win on the road against UCLA for the first time in over a decade. 

WSU will tip off against UCLA at 8 p.m. Thursday at the Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. The game will air on the Pac-12 Networks.