The 2012–13 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

2012–13 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2012–13 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 2012 with the Empire Classic, 2K Sports Classic and ended with the 2013 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four on April 6, 2013 and 2013 NCAA Divis ...

. 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 ...

competed 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 ...

and were led by head coach

Ben Howland Benjamin Clark Howland (born May 28, 1957) is an American college basketball coach who most recently served as the men's head coach at Mississippi State University from to 2015 to 2022. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Northern Ar ...

. Prior to the start of the season, the Bruins took a Goodwill Tour of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in late August. The Bruins reopened the newly renovated

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 ...

on November 9, 2012 in front of a then record crowd of 13,513. On March 9, 2013, the Bruins clinched the regular season championship of the Pac-12 Conference by defeating

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, 61–54, to finish conference play with a record of 13–5. They were seeded as the No. 1 team in the Pac-12 Conference tournament in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. They were defeated by Oregon in the championship game. A week later, the Bruins were eliminated in the second round of the 2013 NCAA tournament by Minnesota 83–63 to finish the season 25–10. After the season, on March 25, 2013, coach

was fired by UCLA.

Recruiting class

The Bruins also received a notable walk-on this season in the form of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

frontcourt project Adrià Gasol, the younger brother of NBA stars Pau and Marc.

Roster

Season

Before the season's opening game, freshman

Shabazz Muhammad Shabazz Nagee Muhammad (born November 13, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Hangtuah Jakarta of the Indonesian Basketball League (IBL). He played one season of college basketball for the UCLA Bruins before being selecte ...

was declared ineligible to participate by the NCAA. He was ruled to have received improper benefits for travel expenses and lodging during unofficial visits to Duke and

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 ...

. After missing three games and an appeal by UCLA, he was reinstated, and his family was required to repay approximately $1,600. He scored 15 points off the bench in his debut in a 78–70 loss to Georgetown in the semifinals of the Legends Classic. Jordan Adams added 22 points in the game, extending his school record to four games of 20-point games by a freshman to start a season. Muhammad became a starter in the next game against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, and he scored a game-high 21 points in a 60–56 win in the Classic's consolation game. The following game, UCLA led Cal Poly by 18 points with 12 minutes remaining before they were upset, 70–68. Earlier in the year, the Bruins needed overtime to defeat another

Big West The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

team,

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Education In the United States * University of California system * University of Charleston, West Virginia * University of Chicago, Illinois * University of Cincinnati, Ohio * Upsala College, East Orange, New Jersey (''defunct ...

. UCLA dropped out of the AP Poll after being ranked No. 11. UCLA lost 78–69 in the John R. Wooden Classic to the

San Diego State Aztecs The San Diego State Aztecs are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San Diego State University (SDSU). The university fields 17 varsity teams (6 men's, 11 women's) in National Collegiate Athle ...

, the Bruins' first ranked opponent of the year. Although it was a neutral-site game in nearby

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...

, the crowd favored the Aztecs. UCLA won its next 10 games, including an upset win over #7 Missouri, before losing to No. 16

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 ...

. It followed with an 84–73 road win over No. 6

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 ...

behind Muhammad's game-high 23 points. After losing their next two games, to

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...

and

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 * ...

, the Bruins won seven of their final nine games, clinching the regular season

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

title in their final regular season game, with a win over

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on March 9. During the game,

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

Larry Drew II broke Pooh Richardson's school record for single-season assists.

Schedule

, - !colspan=9 style=, Exhibition , - !colspan=9 style=, Regular Season , - !colspan=9 style=, Pac-12 Tournament , - , - !colspan=9 style=, NCAA tournament

Notes

* August 22–29, 2012 — The team participates in a China goodwill tour, sponsored by FUSC (the Federation of University Sports of China) :: August 25, 2012 — UCLA defeated

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (THU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Constructio ...

, 116-68 :: August 27, 2012 — UCLA defeated

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) is a public university in Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 98 ...

, 72-31 :: August 28, 2012 — UCLA defeated

Shanghai Sharks The Shanghai Sharks ( zh, s=上海久事大鲨鱼, t=上海久事大鯊魚, p=Shànghǎi Jǐushì Dàshāyú) are a Chinese Basketball Association team based in Shanghai. The Sharks, who share their colors with the New York Knicks, are best know ...

, 92-63 * October 26, 2012 – An eight-foot high bronze statue of Coach

John Wooden John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed "the Wizard of Westwood", he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, nati ...

by sculptor

Blair Buswell Blair Buswell (born 1956) is an American artist who specializes in sports sculptures and has created almost 100 of the Pro Football Hall of Fame busts.Swensen, Jason"Mormon sculptor/former BYU athlete remains a familiar figure at NFL Hall of Fame" ...

was dedicated.Chris Erskine
Sculptor 'tries to catch the essence of Coach' John Wooden
''Los Angeles Times'', October 23, 2012 * October 31, 2012 – Kyle Anderson was cleared by the NCAA to play this season * November 2, 2012 – ''Pauley Opening Madness'' was held with the men and women basketball teams participating. * November 9, 2012 – "First Ticket Ceremony" was held at Pauley Pavilion's North Plaza at 6:10 p.m. followed by the New Pauley Grand Opening ceremony at 7:30 p.m. * November 9, 2012 – ISU's Justin Gant scored the first three points and Travis Wear scored the first two points for the Bruins in the new Pauley Pavilion. * November 25, 2012 – Junior guard Tyler Lamb left the basketball program. * November 28, 2012 – Junior center Joshua Smith left the program. * March 2, 2013 – New attendance record of 13,727 was set at Pauley Pavilion * March 15, 2013 – Jordan Adams broke his right foot at the end of the game where he scored a game-high 24 points against Arizona; his season ended * March 16, 2013 – Former player Lucius Allen was inducted into the Pac-12 Basketball Hall of Honor * March 24, 2013 – Ben Howland was relieved of his duties. * March 30, 2013 – Steve Alford was named the Bruins' 13th head men's basketball coach * June 27, 2013 –

was drafted in the

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

in the 1st round (#14 overall) by the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

then was traded to

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

Honors

All-Pac-12

;First team * Larry Drew II *

;Second team * Kyle Anderson

Pac-12 All-Freshman

* Kyle Anderson *

References

External links

2012–13 Season notes and stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:2012-13 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

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 Bruins men's basketball seasons

UCLA Bruins men's bask UCLA Bruins men's bask