The Bruins will have one last shot to beat the Tar Heels before the decade comes to a close.
UCLA men’s basketball (7-4) and North Carolina (6-5) will tip off at the CBS Sports Classic in Las Vegas on Saturday, with the Tar Heels having won all four matchups against the Bruins so far in the 2010s. The last time the Bruins beat their fellow blue blood was on Jan. 15, 2000, and they hold a 3-9 record in the all-time head-to-head.
UCLA has been ranked entering each of its last three games against UNC, but the Tar Heels have been ranked higher every time and the Bruins’ average margin of defeat in those games was 17 points. Saturday will be a change of pace, however, with both teams entering the game unranked, and UNC will be doing so for the first time in the history of the matchup.
But in addition to coming to Las Vegas without a national ranking, the Tar Heels will also be without former McDonald’s All-American guard Cole Anthony. The projected top-five pick underwent surgery on his partially torn meniscus Monday, and UNC has since dropped out of the rankings after losing to Wofford at home and No. 2 Gonzaga on the road.
Anthony’s 19.1 points per game may be gone, but freshman guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. said the Tar Heels are still a fast-paced, physical team that needs to be taken seriously.
“I just know we’re going to have to box out and get back in transition,” Jaquez said. “Transition defense is going to be a huge one because I know they like to get out (on) the floor and run, and (we need to) make sure we keep them off the glass – I think we can do that.”
While he has not been the team’s most prolific rebounder on an everyday basis, redshirt freshman forward Shareef O’Neal led UCLA with 11 rebounds in its loss to Notre Dame on Saturday. O’Neal said his Hall of Famer father, Shaquille O’Neal, called him after the game to talk about his performance on the boards.
“(Shaquille O’Neal) said that’s how I need to play every game,” Shareef O’Neal said. “He’s not going to be in my ear too much, but he’s just going to keep giving me tips here and there.”
O’Neal said his father has yet to make it out to a UCLA game this season, but that he is planning on being in the crowd Saturday in Las Vegas.
Four of the Bruins’ five leading rebounders are underclassmen, led by redshirt sophomore forward Jalen Hill’s 7.7 boards per game. With the inexperience down low and all over the court, coach Mick Cronin said he has continued to put a lot of emphasis on player growth.
“When you have inexperienced players – I’ve had this before, I’m older than my looks show – you have to coach your guys,” Cronin said. “I know everybody in this day and age is the microwave society, that’s just the way it is, but the work we’re putting in now will pay off; sometimes it’s painful in the interim.”
The Bruins and Tar Heels also played in Las Vegas in November 2018 at the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational. Redshirt sophomore forward Cody Riley – who posted 11 points and nine rebounds against UNC last year – said the team has come a long way since the 94-78 neutral-site loss.
“I feel like we’re definitely more mature than when we played in Vegas last year,” Riley said. “I went through a lot in one season, so I’m looking forward to being able to come back in the same city, playing against a big team like North Carolina and being successful.”
The Bruins and Tar Heels will tip off at noon at T-Mobile Arena.