LOS ANGELES – Long before the UCLA basketball team compiled 18 wins in its first 19 games, it was banking on something else to bring fans back to Pauley Pavilion following the program’s fourth losing season in the post-John Wooden era.
With electrifying freshman point guard Lonzo Ball flanked by an assemblage of shooters, Coach Steve Alford was relatively certain the new-look Bruins’ style would be wildly entertaining, if nothing else.
Even if UCLA wasn’t the third-ranked team in the country, Thursday’s game against Arizona State figured to be a fireworks show.
The Sun Devils are the perfect partner to escalate entertainment value, seeing as only 26 teams have made more 3-pointers than Arizona State this season.