The 2019–20 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I season. The Bruins were led by first-year head coach Mick Cronin 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. The men ...

as members in the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

. UCLA finished the season with a 19–12 record. After starting slowly at 8–9, they went 11–3 and finished second in the Pac-12 at 12–6. Cronin was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year, while junior Chris Smith earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors and was voted the Pac-12 Most Improved Player. Due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, the Pac-12 tournament was canceled before the Bruins' first scheduled game in the quarterfinals, and the NCAA tournament was called off as well. UCLA started the season 7–6 in non-conference play, including home losses to

mid-major Mid-major is a term used in American NCAA Division I college sports, particularly men's basketball, to refer to athletic conferences that are not among the "Power Five conferences" (the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC), which are alternativ ...

programs

Hofstra Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of New ...

and

Cal State Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

. After beginning 1–3 in the Pac-12, they won seven of their next nine, including an upset win on the road against

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

followed by consecutive 12-point second-half comebacks against

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. Still, the Bruins needed a strong finish to offset their early-season struggles and become contenders for an NCAA tournament bid. Their late-season surge continued with their fifth straight win, defeating No. 18

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

on the road to sweep the season series. UCLA erased a nine-point deficit in the second half with a 14–0 run and recorded 14 deflections in the final 13 minutes against the Buffaloes, which largely contributed to the Bruins' rise up 25 spots that week to No. 76 on the

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, one metric used by the NCAA tourney selection committee. UCLA extended its winning streak to seven after home wins against

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

and Arizona. It was the Bruins' first regular season sweep in their rivalry with the Wildcats since

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

. In their regular-season finale, UCLA lost 54–52 at

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

after the Trojans made a game-winning

three-point field goal A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two poi ...

with one second remaining. The Bruins earned a No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the Pac-12 Tournament. On March 12, the Pac-12 canceled the tournament prior to its quarterfinals due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the NCAA Tournament was canceled later that day as well. UCLA's roster consisted of mostly role players. For the first time since 1977–78, it did not include a

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger ...

; the honor began in 1977. The team's most high-profile player—

Shareef O'Neal Shareef Rashaun O'Neal (born January 11, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the NBA G League Ignite of the NBA G League. The son of Hall of Fame player Shaquille O'Neal, he attended Crossroads School in Santa Monica, Califo ...

, the son of Hall of Fame player

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greates ...

—transferred midseason after failing to earn regular playing time. Smith, who averaged 13.1 points per game, was the only Bruin to average in double figures.

Previous season

The Bruins finished the 2018–19 season 17–16, 9–9 in Pac-12 play. They were led by sixth-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 of the Mountain West Conference (MWC). Born and raised in Indiana, he was a ...

until he was fired mid-season and assistant

Murry Bartow Murry Linn Bartow (born August 18, 1961) is an American college basketball coach who most recently was the interim head coach for the UCLA Bruins. As the head coach of the East Tennessee State Buccaneers, he was twice named the conference coach o ...

was named the interim head coach. Their lineup featured three former McDonald's All-Americans: sophomores

Jaylen Hands Jaylen Joseph Hands (born February 12, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for PAOK Thessaloniki of the Greek Basket League. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. As a high school senior in 2017, he was selected to pla ...

and

Kris Wilkes Kristafer Aaron Wilkes (born September 18, 1998) is an American basketball player. As a high school senior, he was a McDonald's All-American and named Indiana Mr. Basketball. Wilkes played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins in the Pac-12 Confe ...

were both named second-team All-Pac-12, while first-year player

Moses Brown Moses Brown (September 23, 1738 – September 6, 1836) was an American abolitionist and industrialist from New England, who funded the design and construction of some of the first factory houses for spinning machines during the American industr ...

was voted to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. UCLA finished the season 17–16, and lost in the second round of the Pac-12 tournament. They missed the postseason for the second time in four years.

Off-season

Departures

2019 recruiting class

Roster

Schedule and results

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Honors

* February 3, 2020 – Jaime Jaquez Jr. was selected as Pac-12 Freshman of the Week. * February 24, 2020 - Tyger Campbell was selected as Pac-12 Freshman of the Week. * March 9, 2020 – Head coach Mick Cronin was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year; Chris Smith, Jr was named Pac-12 Most Improved Player of the Year and first-team All-Pac-12.

References

External links

2019–20 UCLA Bruins Roster and Stats
at Sports-Reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:2019-20 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. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

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