The 2014–15 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 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bruins were led by second-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 ...

. The team featured two All-Pac-12 performers in Norman Powell and

Kevon Looney Kevon Grant Looney ( ; born February 6, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a freshman playing college basketball with the UCLA Bruins men's basketball ...

. Although the freshman Looney was seen as a potential NBA lottery pick, the senior Powell became the Bruins' most consistent performer. After numerous non-conference losses to start the season, UCLA finished in fourth place (11–7) in the Pac-12. They earned a No. 11

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

in the NCAA tournament, and advanced to the Sweet 16, becoming the lowest-seed UCLA team to ever reach the regional semifinals. The program produced its 49th 20-win season. The Bruins began the season 4–0 and ranked No. 22 before losing two of three games at the

Battle 4 Atlantis The Battle 4 Atlantis is an early-season college basketball tournament. It takes place at Atlantis Paradise Island on Paradise Island in The Bahamas, on the week of the US holiday of Thanksgiving. For sponsorship purposes, the tournament is of ...

tournament. According to some pundits, the Bruins had the toughest non-conference schedule in the Pac-12. However, it did not net any signature wins, losing to ranked

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 ...

, Gonzaga, and

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 ...

. Beginning with their December loss at home to Gonzaga, the Bruins lost five consecutive games, their longest streak since 2009–10. Losses included a 39-point defeat to No. 1 Kentucky—they fell behind 24–0 and trailed 41–7 at halftime—and by 32 points against

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

. After Gonzaga, UCLA went 25 days without a home game, the longest in the school's history since

1972–73 Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 197 for this y ...

. They recovered to win eight of their next 11. After getting swept in a road trip to Arizona, UCLA closed out the regular season with three straight home wins to finish undefeated (9–0) at home in the conference for the first time since 2006–07. However, UCLA had few wins against notable teams during the season, and experts widely predicted that they needed a strong performance in the Pac-12 tournament to qualify for the NCAA tournament. The Bruins went 1–1, and were eliminated by

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 ...

. Although they were 0–2 for the season against the Wildcats, both games were competitive until the end. Proving most major projections wrong, UCLA received an invite to the NCAA tournament, earning a No. 11 seed. Selection committee chairman Scott Barnes cited the Bruins'

strength of schedule In sports, strength of schedule (SOS) refers to the difficulty or ease of a team's/person's opponent as compared to other teams/persons. This is especially important if teams in a league do not play each other the same number of times. Computatio ...

and improved play, even in their tournament loss to Arizona, as factors in their inclusion. In the Bruins' opener, Bryce Alford was credited with the game-winning

three-point field goal A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or triple) 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 ...

after a

goaltending Goaltending is a violation of the rules in the sport of basketball. It consists of certain forms of player interference with the ball while it is on its way to the basket. It is goaltending if a player touches the ball when it is (a) in downwar ...

call with 13 seconds remaining in a 60–59 win over sixth-seeded SMU. He finished with a game-high 27 points and made 9 of 11 three-point attempts. They advanced to the Sweet 16, where they lost again to Gonzaga, 74–62.

Previous season

The

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

finished the season with a record of 28–9 after advancing to the

2014 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2014 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2013-14 ...

. At the Pac-12 Conference tournament, the Bruins defeated the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

75–71 for the tournament championship. Kyle Anderson was voted the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after scoring 21 points and grabbing 15 rebounds in the championship game. The Bruins advanced to the Sweet 16 of the 2014 NCAA tournament—their first regional semifinal appearance since

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

—before falling to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, who improved to 4–0 all-time against UCLA in the NCAA tournament.

Offseason

Departures

2014 recruiting class

Roster

Schedule

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Rankings

Awards and honors

Pac-12 Conference Player of the Week * November 24, 2014 – Norman Powell * January 12, 2015 –

* February 2, 2015 – Norman Powell * March 2, 2015 – Norman Powell All-Pac-12 Teams * Norman Powell – First-team All-Pac-12, honorable mention All-Defensive Team * Kevon Looney – Second-team All-Pac-12, Pac-12 All-Freshman Team * Bryce Alford – Honorable mention All-Pac-12 USBWA All-District IX Team *Norman Powell NABC All-District 20 Team *Norman Powell – Second-team *Kevon Looney – Second-team UCLA Team Awards * Norman Powell – the Coach John R. Wooden Award as the team's Most Valuable Player *Kevon Looney – the Gerald A. Finerman Award as the team's rebounding leader and the Seymour Armond Memorial Award as the most valuable freshman * Bryce Alford – the UCLA Alumni Association Award as the team's leader in assists (4.9 apg)

Notes

* January 14, 2015 – Norman Powell becomes the first since Toby Bailey to win four games in a row at USC. * January 15, 2015 – Pac-12 Conference announced that Dave Meyers will be inducted into the

Pac-12 Conference Men's Basketball Hall of Honor The Pac-12 Conference Hall of Honor recognizes former athletes and coaches who have made a significant impact to the tradition and heritage of the Pac-12 Conference. Established in 2002, one honoree is selected by each member institution in the co ...

at the 2015 Pac-12 Basketball tournament. * January 31, 2015 –

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

and 1965 NCAA Championship teams were honored at halftime during the Colorado game. * February 14, 2015 – The 1995 NCAA Championship team was honored at halftime. Former head coach Jim Harrick, players

Ed O'Bannon Edward Charles O'Bannon Jr. (born August 14, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a power forward (basketball), power forward for the UCLA Bruins men's basketball, UCLA Br ...

Charles O'Bannon Charles Edward O'Bannon Sr. (born February 22, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball with the UCLA Bruins men's basketball, UCLA Bruins. He was a two-time first-team List of All-Pac-12 Conferen ...

, Toby Bailey,

Tyus Edney Tyus Dwayne Edney Sr. (born February 14, 1973) is an American basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Pepperdine Waves men's team of the West Coast Conference (WCC). Listed at , he played point guard. He played coll ...

and Kris Johnson attended the game. * March 1, 2015 – The 1975 National Championship team celebrated its 40th anniversary at halftime . * March 4, 2015 – Play-by-play announcer Chris Roberts broadcast his final game at Pauley Pavilion, retiring after 23 seasons; Four seniors—Powell, Kory Alford, David Brown, and Nick Kazemi—were honored before the game on Senior Day. * March 10, 2015 – UCLA announced the construction of the

Mo Ostin Mo Ostin (born Morris Meyer Ostrofsky; March 27, 1927 – July 31, 2022) was an American record executive. The chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Records from 1972 to 1994 and co-founder of DreamWorks Records, he was inducted into the Rock an ...

Basketball Center.UCLA Athletics Introduces the Mo Ostin Basketball Center
UCLABruins.com, March 10, 205 * April 6, 2015 – Kevon Looney foregoes his remaining collegiate eligibility and enters the 2015 NBA Draft.

References

External links

2014–15 Season notes and stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:2014-15 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