No. 4 UCLA hopes to shake off travel scare and welcome back Cody Riley

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If you’re wondering however overmuch amended the fourth-ranked UCLA men’s hoops squad is with Cody Riley successful the lineup, conscionable inquire manager Mick Cronin.

“Until we person Cody backmost to afloat speed, it’s an accidental for others to turn and get better,” Cronin said past week. “We’re 10 points oregon much amended with (Cody). That’s conscionable a fact.”

Riley has been retired each twelvemonth with a near genu injury. Cronin said it was imaginable for Riley to instrumentality against Marquette connected Saturday night, but helium didn’t. The Bruins didn’t request his services anyhow arsenic they bushed the Golden Eagles 67-56 successful Milwaukee successful a crippled successful which the borderline got arsenic wide arsenic 23 points successful the archetypal half.

The show was awesome considering the team’s question plans were diverted owed to the plane’s cracked windshield, which resulted successful an unscheduled landing Friday nighttime successful Denver.

Now UCLA is backmost location to big Alabama State astatine 8 p.m. Wednesday successful Pauley Pavilion.

“We’re similar the Blues Brothers now, we’re connected a ngo from God,” Cronin said Tuesday morning.

UCLA (8-1) shouldn’t person a occupation with Alabama State (1-9), which is finishing a West Coast travel that started with a 79-62 nonaccomplishment astatine Pepperdine connected Saturday.

The instrumentality of Riley seems imminent present that he’s backmost successful signifier each day. While he’s been away, different aspects of the squad person improved.

“That’s ever the metallic lining, erstwhile you person to play without idiosyncratic that you trust on,” Cronin said. “It forces you to find different ways to beryllium effective, and past erstwhile you bring that feline back, you add. You don’t spell backmost and change. Hopefully, that’s the lawsuit for us.”

UCLA has 4 players averaging successful treble figures: Johnny Juzang (16.6 points per game), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (14.8), Jules Bernard (13.0) and Tyger Campbell (12.6).

Juzang (4.9), Jaquez (6.6) and Bernard (4.3) are among the team’s apical rebounders, on with halfway Myles Johnson, who brings successful a team-best 6.9 per game. Even with a four-guard offense, the Bruins are outrebounding teams by an mean of 9.6 per game.

“The happening that’s been the astir accordant for america is our rebounding,” Cronin said. “We’re astir plus-10 connected the solid and we lone play 1 large guy. And played without Cody (Riley). We rebound astatine 4 (positions), which has truly helped us.”

Alabama State is being outrebounded by 4.6 per game. Look for that to beryllium a large vantage for the Bruins.

THREE PAC-12 TEAMS IN TOP 10

It was a bully time for the Pac-12 connected Monday, erstwhile the AP Top 25 canvass was released and revealed 3 men’s hoops teams were successful the apical 10: UCLA astatine No. 4, Arizona astatine No. 8 and USC astatine No. 10.

The Wildcats (9-0) jumped 3 spots aft an 83-79 triumph astatine Illinois past week. The Trojans (10-0) climbed six spots, but doesn’t person a caller marquee triumph aft victories implicit Eastern Kentucky and Long Beach State astatine home.