CSU Fullerton @ UCLA preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 3, 2014 ) Cal St. Fullerton 45, UCLA 73

UCLA remains very much a work in progress under new coach Mick Cronin, whose team concludes non-conference play on Saturday against visiting Cal State Fullerton. The Bruins are looking to close the year on a winning note following back-to-back losses to Notre Dame and North Carolina by a combined 24 points.

Freshman wing Jaime Jaquez Jr. recorded 14 points and 10 rebounds last Saturday as the Bruins committed a season-high 22 turnovers and shot 4-of-21 from 3-point range in a 74-64 loss to the Tar Heels in Las Vegas. “We've got to get better at executing some things, of being able to score from a screening and strategy standpoint,” Cronin told reporters. “Whatever we are trying to execute, we've got to make sure that we execute it. We just don’t have enough, we don’t have four first-round picks running around getting their own. We have got to maximize our possessions.” Jaquez Jr. has averaged 13.5 points and 7.8 rebounds in the last six games for the Bruins, who lead the Pac-12 in rebounding margin at plus-8.5 but need more production from forwards Cody Riley and Jalen Hill. The duo has combined for 17 points on 6-of-21 shooting over the past two contests.

TV: 5 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network

ABOUT CAL STATE FULLERTON (3-10): Picked to finish fifth in the Big West preseason poll, the Titans have lost seven straight following a 64-57 win over Southeast Missouri State on Nov. 27. One bright spot has been the play of senior guard Austen Awosika, who is averaging 14 points, five rebounds and 3.6 assists while shooting 41.7 percent from the field. Senior forward Jackson Rowe missed the team’s first 11 games due to injury but made his first start in last Sunday’s 53-46 loss to Loyola Marymount and recorded 15 points and five rebounds in 30 minutes.

ABOUT UCLA (7-5): Sophomore guard Jules Bernard returned after missing one game due to a shoulder injury and scored a team-high 16 points in 18 minutes off the bench against North Carolina. Junior guard Chris Smith averages 11.3 points while shooting 90 percent from the foul line for the Bruins, who open Pac-12 play at Washington on Jan. 2. Cronin is exercising patience with freshman point guard Tyger Campbell, who has started all 12 games and is averaging 7.8 points and 3.8 assists while shooting 42.3 percent from the field but has committed a team-high 26 turnovers.

TIP-INS

1. UCLA holds a 10-1 lead in the all-time series against Cal State Fullerton – including a 73-45 win in the last meeting on Dec. 3, 2014.

2. The Titans are shooting just 39.1 percent from the field against Division I opponents.

3. UCLA is 60-8 when leading at halftime since the start of the 2016-17 season.

PREDICTION: UCLA 78, Cal State Fullerton 63