The 2016–17 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

during the

2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 11, 2016. The first early-season tournaments were the 2K Sports Classic, Charleston Classic, and Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The season ended with the 2017 NCAA Division I men' ...

. The

Bruins Bruin, (from Dutch for "brown"), is an English folk term for brown bear. Bruin, Bruins or BRUIN may also refer to: Places * Lake Bruin, ox-bow lake of the Mississippi River located in northeastern Louisiana ** Lake Bruin State Park * Bruin, K ...

were led by fourth-year head coach

Steve Alford Stephen Todd Alford (born November 23, 1964) is an American men's college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach for the Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball, Nevada Wolf Pack of the Mountain West Conference (MWC). ...

and played their home games at

Pauley Pavilion Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion, commonly known as Pauley Pavilion, is an indoor arena located in the Westwood Village district of Los Angeles, California, on the campus of UCLA. It is home to the UCLA Bruins men's and women's basketball teams. Th ...

as members in the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

. They rode their offense to a 28–3 regular season record, averaging 91 points per game with a 53 percent

field goal percentage Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Although three-point field goal percentage is often calculated separately, three-point field goals are included in the gene ...

. The talented squad featured five future players in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA), including three eventual first-round draft picks. UCLA entered the season ranked No. 16 in the preseason. After starting 13–0, the first time they were undefeated in non-conference play since they won a national championship in 1994–95, they moved up to No. 2 in the country. However, the Bruins suffered their first defeat in an 89–87 loss to No. 21

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

in the conference opener. UCLA won their next six games before losing at home to No. 14

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

for their first loss of the season at Pauley Pavilion. The Wildcats exposed the Bruins weaknesses on defense, which had to that point been obscured by their potent offense. They suffered their second consecutive defeat after falling to

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

, who won for the fourth straight time in their crosstown rivalry. They won their last nine games of the regular season to tie the school record for most regular season wins. The Bruins struggled uncharacteristically with their offense during the Pac-12 tournament. They beat USC 76–74 while shooting just 41.2 percent before shooting a season-low 40.7 percent in an 86–75 loss to Arizona in the semifinals. UCLA entered the NCAA tournament as a third seed in the South region. They advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the third time in four years, where they lost 86–75 to

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Previous season

The Bruins finished the season 15–17 overall; and 6–12 in the conference. During the season, the Bruins were invited and participated in the

Maui Invitational The Maui Invitational is an annual early-season college basketball tournament that takes place Thanksgiving week, normally in Lahaina, Hawaii, at the Lahaina Civic Center on the island of Maui. It is hosted by Chaminade University of Honolulu, a ...

Maui, Hawaii Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

. UCLA defeated Cal Poly and

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. ...

but lost against

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

and Wake Forest to earn 4th place. UCLA also lost to

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

in the

CBS Sports Classic The CBS Sports Classic is an annual American men's college basketball event that began in 2014. Four teams take part annually in the event. From the inception of the classic through 2024, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio State, and UCLA each partici ...

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. In the postseason, the Bruins lost to

in the first round of the 2016 Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament in

Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an Unincorporated towns in Nevada, unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the ...

Off-season

Departures

2016 recruiting class

Roster

* Guard Prince Ali out since July with a torn meniscus. In early January, Ali decided to redshirt for the 2016–17 season. * Forward Alex Olesinski out since early November with left foot injury. In early January, Olesinski decided to redshirt for the 2016–17 season. * Oct 25, 2016 – Forward/Center Ike Anigbogu out 4–6 weeks with torn meniscus in right knee. Made return at Nov. 25 game against Nebraska.

Schedule

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Rankings

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

Player statistics

Notes

* Dec. 21, 2016 – First time a UCLA team went undefeated in non-conference play since the 1994–95 season * March 24, 2017 – Ball told reporters after the Regional semi-final game that he will not return next season to play for the Bruins

Honors

Preseason award watchlists

* Lonzo Ball –

Bob Cousy Award The Bob Cousy Award, sponsored by the College of the Holy Cross, is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate point guard. It is named after six-time National Basketball Assoc ...

Watchlist * Isaac Hamilton – Jerry West Award Watchlist * T. J. Leaf –

Karl Malone Award The Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate power forward. Following the success of the Bob Cousy Award which had been awarded s ...

Watchlist * Thomas Welsh –

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate center. Following the success of the Bob Cousy Award which had been awarded sinc ...

Watchlist

Midseason awards

* Lonzo Ball – Wooden Legacy MVP (Nov. 27) * Lonzo Ball – Pac-12 Player of the Week (Nov. 28) * T. J. Leaf – Pac-12 Player of the Week (Dec. 5) * T. J. Leaf – Pac-12 Player of the Week (Dec. 19) * Bryce Alford – Pac-12 Player of the Week (Jan. 16) * Lonzo Ball – Pac-12 Player of the Week (Feb. 13)

Postseason awards

Lonzo Ball Lonzo Anderson Ball (born October 27, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, he played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins, earni ...

- Unanimous first-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

* First-team All-Pac-12: Bryce Alford, Lonzo Ball and T. J. Leaf *Lonzo Ball - Wayman Tisdale Award

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2016-17 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team UCLA Bruins men's basketball seasons

Ucla The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...