The Oregon State Beavers play host to UCLA Bruins on Thursday night from Gill Coliseum in a PAC 12 showdown between two teams on opposite sides of the standings. The Bruins sit in first place, while the Beavers sit in second-to-last place, with seven games separating the two. For UCLA, the Bruins also bring in a two-game winning streak, while the Beavers have lost back-to-back games themselves. This will be the first and only meeting between the two on the season, though it could be a preview of a PAC 12 Tournament game, come March.
A slight mid-season lull saw the Bruins lose back-to-back games to close out January, though they haven't wasted any time getting back into the win column. Last weekend, they welcomed the Washington-based schools to town, as they came away with a sweep to get their new winning streak up and running. The trip to Oregon is never an easy one but getting to face the Beavers first, is definitely preferred. The Bruins bring a 5-2 record in true road games into this one, while their fifth-place standing in the NET Rankings has them eyeing one a top-two seed come March. The Bruins have one of the easiest schedules to close out the season and Thursday's game against the Beavers should be just the start of an impressive run of games over the next few weeks. With their talent alone, grabbing the win in this one and extending their winning streak to three games, shouldn't be a problem.
UCLA comes into this one with on ly one injury, though it shouldn't be a meaningful one. Evan Manjikian (arm) remains out indefinitely but after appearing in only two games, it's clear that the Bruins can find success without his presence in the frontcourt.
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Revisit UCLA's back-to-back home victories (over Washington & Washington State), as broadcasters Josh Lewin and Tracy Murray recap the action.
APPLE: https://t.co/JLkyCUdtuX
SPOTIFY: https://t.co/TSWQbPzgPm pic.twitter.com/clYpxN6h6s— UCLA Men's Basketball (@UCLAMBB) February 5, 2023
The Bruins have plenty of advantages in this one but the defense is likely to be the key. They rank ninth in scoring defense while sitting near the top of the PAC 12 in every other defensive category. With an Oregon State team on the other side that has struggled to find consistency on the offensive end, this is a matchup that the Bruins will relish. Not to be forgotten is some scoring experience as well. Jaime Jaquez Jr. (16.3 ppg) is coming off of an impressive weekend and should find some success, especially with Tyger Campbell (13.2 ppg, 4.9 apg) leading the charge. Add in another two double-figure scorers and one averaging 9.8 ppg, they have plenty of depth on the offensive end as well.
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