ARIZONA BASKETBALL

No. 3 Arizona basketball faces biggest Pac-12 test yet vs. No. 7 UCLA

Jan 25, 2022, 2:10 PM

Guard Dalen Terry #4 of the Arizona Wildcats celebrates during the first half of the NCAAB game at ...

Guard Dalen Terry #4 of the Arizona Wildcats celebrates during the first half of the NCAAB game at McKale Center on January 03, 2022 in Tucson, Arizona. The Arizona Wildcats lead 32-28 against the Colorado Buffaloes. (Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

(Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

The No. 3 Arizona Wildcats face their toughest Pac-12 test of the season thus far on Tuesday night against the No. 7 UCLA Bruins.

Coming into the first matchup of the year between the two teams, Arizona (16-1; 6-0) is the only squad remaining in the conference that is undefeated in Pac-12 play.

UCLA (13-2; 5-1) is the next best team in the conference standings and will have fans back in the stands for the 9 p.m. tip-off at Pauley Pavilion.

The Bruins have gone 7-1 at home. Led by senior center Myles Johnson (2.7), UCLA is fifth in the Pac-12 in offensive rebounds per game with 9.8.

Arizona is the Pac-12 leader with 40.4 rebounds per game led by junior center Christian Koloko averaging 7.2.

UCLA junior guard Johnny Juzang is averaging 18.3 points for the Bruins. He scored 23 points in UCLA’s 71-65 win against the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday.

Senior guard Jules Bernard is averaging 7.9 points over the last 10 games for UCLA.

For Arizona, Koloko is averaging 13.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.2 blocks, while sophomore guard Bennedict Mathurin is averaging 12.3 points over the last 10 games.

Wildcats sophomore forward Azuolas Tubelis is questionable for Tuesday night’s game due to a sprained ankle that he suffered in the 85-57 win over Stanford on Thursday. Tubelis missed the 96-71 win over Cal on Sunday and is listed as day-to-day.

Over the last 10 games, Arizona 9-1, averaging 86.9 points, 38.1 rebounds, 20.1 assists, 6.6 steals and 6.5 blocks per game while shooting 50.8% from the field. The Wildcats’ opponents have averaged 68.3 points in that span.

As for UCLA’s last 10 outings, the Bruins are also 9-1 while averaging 72.8 points, 33.0 rebounds, 12.5 assists, 6.0 steals and 3.4 blocks per game while shooting 43.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 65.3 points per game.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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