UCLA @ Washington St. preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 30, 2019 ) UCLA 87, Washington St. 67

Buried on the UCLA depth chart throughout non-conference play, freshman guard Jake Kyman has likely earned a greater role moving forward. After scoring a career-high 21 points on seven 3-pointers in Thursday’s 66-64 upset of Washington, Kyman looks to build on his breakout performance when the Bruins visit Washington State on Saturday.

Coach Mick Cronin removed the UCLA logo from his players’ clothes in practice following losses to Notre Dame, North Carolina and Cal State Fullerton, and the motivational tactic paid off with an inspired effort at Washington. Junior guard Chris Smith added 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Bruins, who outrebounded the Huskies by a 38-27 margin. “Sometimes you have to go through despair to come out on the other side. The group has to experience pain,” Cronin told reporters. “They kept thinking they’re just going to win because of our recruit rankings or you’re at UCLA, whatever. You win because you grind out wins, so I was really proud of them today. No matter what the result would have been, I was proud of them.” The Bruins hope to carry the momentum into Saturday’s matchup against Washington State, which saw its six-game winning streak come to an end with Thursday’s 65-56 loss to USC.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: Pac-12 Network

ABOUT UCLA (8-6, 1-0 Pac-12): Freshman point guard Tyger Campbell recorded five points and seven assists against Washington and has started all 14 games for the Bruins, who are allowing 67.6 points per contest. Cronin has been pleased by the development of freshman wing Jaime Jaquez Jr., who played a team-high 37 minutes against the Huskies and is averaging 7.7 points and 4.9 rebounds while shooting 48.9 percent from the field. Senior guard Prince Ali was held to five points on 2-of-10 shooting against Washington and is shooting 33.3 percent from the field over his last four games.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE (9-5, 0-1): Sophomore forward CJ Elleby entered Thursday’s game as the league’s third-leading scorer at 20.3 points per game but finished with a season-low nine points on 3-of-22 shooting in the loss to USC. The injury-depleted Cougars received a boost from Montana transfer Tony Miller, who recorded his first double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench. The Cougars posted season lows in points and shooting percentage (27.8) and struggled to contain USC forward Onyeka Okongwu, who finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. UCLA owns a 108-17 lead in the all-time series against Washington State – including 57-3 at home.

2. Washington State senior PG Jaylen Shead has missed the last three games due to an undisclosed injury and is listed as day-to-day.

3. UCLA is 8-0 this season when limiting opponents to 73 points or fewer.

PREDICTION: UCLA 73, Washington State 67