The 2022–23 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 2022–23 NCAA Division I season. The Bruins were led by fourth-year head coach Mick Cronin, and they 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 of 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 ...

. Guard/forward

Jaime Jaquez Jr. Jaime Jaquez Jr. (, ; born February 18, 2001) is an American college basketball player for the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference. He was named a consensus second-team All-American and voted the Pac-12 Player of the Year as a senior in 2023. ...

was named a second-team All-American. He was voted the Pac-12 Player of the Year, and received first-team All-Pac-12 honors along with guard

Tyger Campbell Tyger Campbell (born January 9, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for Saint-Quentin of the LNB Pro A. He played college basketball player for the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference. Three times he earned first-team All-Pac-12 ...

. Guard

Jaylen Clark Jaylen Bryce Clark (born October 13, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League. He played colle ...

was named to the second team and was voted the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. He was placed on the conference's all-defensive team along with forward

Adem Bona Adem Bona (born Ikechukwu Stanley Okoro; March 28, 2003) is a Turkish-Nigerian college basketball player for the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference. Named a McDonald's All-American in high school, he was named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team a ...

, who was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.

Amari Bailey Amari Bailey (born February 17, 2004) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League. Selected as a McDonald ...

joined Bona on the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team, and Cronin was voted the Pac-12 Coach of the Year. UCLA lost five players who were major contributors from their previous year's squad that went 27–8. However, the Bruins were also the only team in the power conferences whose roster consisted entirely of players who began their college careers at that school. With a 60–56 win over

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 February 26, 2023, the Bruins clinched their first Pac-12 regular season championship 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 ...

. UCLA ended the regular season with an 82–73 win over No. 8

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 ...

, extending their home winning streak to 25 games, the longest active streak in the nation. They won the conference by four games and finished the season undefeated at home for the first time since 2006–07. Clark left the game with a lower leg injury, and was ruled out for the Pac-12 tournament. The top-seeded Bruins advanced to the tournament finals before losing 61–59 to No. 2-seed Arizona, ending their 12-game winning streak. UCLA played without its top two defenders, as Bona also missed the game with an injured left shoulder, which he suffered in the semifinals against

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. The Bruins, who were vying for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, received a No. 2 seed in the West Region. It was their highest seeding since they were placed No. 1 in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. However, Clark was ruled out for the season. Bona was cleared to return in their opener, but he did not play in the 86–53 rout over No. 15-seed UNC Asheville. He played in the second round against Northwestern, which UCLA won to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the third straight season. The Bruins were eliminated 79–76 by third-seeded Gonzaga. UCLA led by 13 points at halftime, but were down by 10 in the second half with 2:40 remaining. They outscored the Bulldogs 14–3, culminating with a

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 ...

by Bailey to take a one-point lead. However, Gonzaga's

Julian Strawther Julian Lee Strawther-Cordero (born April 18, 2002) is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. High school career S ...

made a basket with six seconds remaining, and they held on for the win. Bona sat out the game due to his shoulder. The game was rematch of the schools' Final Four matchup from

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, also won by the Bulldogs, on a

buzzer beater In basketball and other such timed sports, a buzzer beater is a shot that is taken before the game clock of a quarter, a half (if the half is the second one, then, a game), or an overtime period expires but does not go in the basket until after t ...

Jalen Suggs Jalen Rashon Suggs (born June 3, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. He was selected by the Magic with the ...

to end the game. It was the Bruins' third consecutive loss to the Bulldogs in as many seasons.

Offseason

Departures

Source:

2022 recruiting class

Preseason

Preseason rankings

* October 17 – No. 8 AP Top 25 poll * October 26 – Pac-12 Men's Basketball Media Day in San Francisco

Preseason All-Americans/All-conference

, first-team preseason All-American, Field of 68’s Almanac * Jaime Jaquez Jr., first-team All-America selection, CBS Sports *

, Jaime Jaquez Jr. first team Media Preseason All-conference;

, honorable mention

Preseason award watchlists

, Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award watch list *

, Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award watch list *

, Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award watch list *

, the

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 ...

(center) watch list * Jaime Jaquez Jr.,

NABC Player of the Year The NABC Player of the Year is an award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top player in men's college basketball. The award has been given since the 1974–75 season to National Collegiate Athl ...

Award watch list

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=12 style=, Exhibition , - !colspan=12 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=12 style=, , - !colspan=12 style=, Source:

Statistics

;''Updated through Mar 6, 2023''

Rankings

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings

Awards and honors

* November 15, 2022 – Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez Jr. named to the

John R. Wooden Award The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award, and recognizing the ...

watch list * February 17, 2023 – Head coach Mick Cronin named to the 2023 Werner Ladder Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year candidates list * March 8, 2023 – Jaime Jaquez Jr. named a finalist for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award * March 10, 2023 – Jaime Jaquez Jr. named a semifinalist for the

Naismith College Player of the Year The Naismith College Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the top men's and women's collegiate basketball players. It is named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball. History an ...

; Head coach Mick Cronin named a semifinalist for the

Naismith College Coach of the Year Naismith College Coach of the Year Award is an award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to one men's and one women's NCAA Division I collegiate coach each season since 1987. The award was originally given to the two winning coaches of the NCAA Divis ...

* March 14, 2023 – Jaylen Clark named a finalist for the

Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award The Naismith College Defensive Player of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given to the most outstanding defensive player in men's and women's college basketball. It has been awarded by the Atlanta Tipoff Club since 2018. It is named in ...

* March 28, 2023 – Jaylen Clark named the

NABC Defensive Player of the Year The NABC Defensive Player of the Year is an award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches to recognize the top defensive player in United States college basketball. The award has been given since 1987 and was previously kn ...

* April 2, 2023 – Jaylen Clark is the

Naismith Defensive Player of the Year The Naismith College Defensive Player of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given to the most outstanding defensive player in men's and women's college basketball. It has been awarded by the Atlanta Tipoff Club since 2018. It is named in ...

Award winner * April 4, 2023 – Jaylen Clark is the

Award winner * July 20, 2023 – Russell Stong is named to the NABC's Honors Court

Team players drafted in the NBA

* Tyger Campbell signed a Summer League contract with the NBA Orlando Magic * David Singleton signed a free agency contract with the NBA Atlanta Hawks

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2022-23 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 ...

UCLA Bruins basketball, men UCLA Bruins basketball, men