San Jose St. @ UCLA preview

Although first-year UCLA coach Mick Cronin couldn't have been overly thrilled about how his team's trip to Hawaii went earlier this week, it appears he has found at least one player who has fully bought into his program. The Bruins hope to get another inspired effort from Jaime Jaquez Jr. after his strong showing at the Maui Invitational on Sunday when they host San Jose State.

Jaquez saw limited action through UCLA's first five games - including a season-low two minutes in a Nov. 21 loss to Hofstra and 11 minutes in an opening-round setback against BYU - before catching his coach's eye with his heart and hustle to play the entire second half in Tuesday's 74-48 rout of host Chaminade. The 6-6 freshman guard set season highs across the board the next day with 17 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and three steals in that contest and was rewarded with 35 minutes, pulling down a game-high eight rebounds in a loss to Michigan State. “Hard to take him off the floor. ... He goes after the ball. … He's our leading rebounder again today. We just played Michigan State. I don’t think we’ll play anybody that rebounds the way they do with the bodies that they have," Cronin said. San Jose State has already played two Pac-12 schools and not fared well either time, falling 87-39 to No. 14 Arizona on Nov. 14 and 83-48 to Oregon State at the Las Vegas Invitational on Wednesday.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, Pac 12 Network

ABOUT SAN JOSE STATE (3-4): Wake Forest transfer Samuel Japhet-Mathias made his first start for the Spartans against Oregon State, finishing with 10 points and five rebounds in 26 minutes after seeing no more than 16 minutes in five of his first six games. Sophomore forward Christian Anigwe made just one of his eight field-goal attempts Wednesday but pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds while tying another personal best with three blocks. Leading scorers Seneca Knight (team-high 11.9 points, 5.6 rebounds) and Richard Washington (10.1, 6.0) shot a combined 2-of-15 from the field - including 1-for-11 beyond the arc - contributing to San Jose State's 30 percent mark from the field and 15.4 percent effort from 3-point range versus the Beavers.

ABOUT UCLA (5-3): Jaquez (4.3 points, 3.5 rebounds) impressed with his offensive efficiency as well during the Maui Invitational, going 11-for-17 from the field while also becoming the fifth Bruin this season to score at least 10 points off the bench in the win against Chaminade. While Jaquez made his push for playing time off the mainland, 6-10 sophomore forward Jalen Hill (11.6 points, team-high 7.4 rebounds, team-high 1.6 blocks) saw his time on the court take a hit, averaging 21.3 minutes in Hawaii after averaging 28.6 over the first five contests. Sophomore forward Cody Riley (11.1 points, 5.4 boards) was one of only two UCLA players to reach double figures in all three games in Hawaii, doing so while shooting 16-of-31 from the floor.

TIP-INS

1. UCLA outrebounded Michigan State 33-32 and ranks second in the Pac 12 in rebound margin (plus-8.3).

2. The Spartans are one victory away from matching last season's win total (4-27).

3. After opening the season by playing eight games in 22 days, the Bruins will only play five times over a 35-day stretch that began after the Michigan State loss on Wednesday.

PREDICTION: UCLA 71, San Jose State 48