Nov. 21, 2006

LAHAINA, Hawaii -

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GAMEDAY CENTRAL
DATE: Nov. 21, 2006
SITE: Lahaina Civic Center (2,400)
TIP-OFF: 6:30 p.m. PST
TV: ESPN
TALENT: Bill Raftery, Jay Bilas and Sean McDonough
RADIO: AM 570 (KLAC)
TALENT: Chris Roberts (play-by-play)
WEB: www.uclaBruins.com
SERIES: Kentucky leads 6-3

BRUINS IN MAUI
This marks the third time UCLA has competed in the EA Sports Maui Invitational (4-3 record). The first was in 1995 when the Bruins finished sixth with a 1-2 record. UCLA opened that tournament with a 78-69 defeat to Santa Clara and then beat Wisconsin 68-57 in the consolation bracket. Vanderbilt later won the fifth place game 75-71. The second trip to Maui came in 2001 with UCLA finishing in third place (2-1). The Bruins opened the tournament with a 71-60 victory over Houston before losing to Ball State 91-73 in the semifinals. UCLA won the third place game 89-77 over South Carolina.

UCLA vs. KENTUCKY
Kentucky leads the all-time series 6-3, winning the last meeting 52-50 on Dec. 6, 2003 in the 10th Annual John Wooden Classic. The ninth-ranked Wildcats were led by Erik Daniels' 14 points. UCLA, which played only seven players (no current Bruins played in the game), was led by Dijon Thompson's 14 points.

NATIONAL POLLS
UCLA was preseason rated No. 5 (tied with Pittsburgh) in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 6 in the Associated Press poll, marking the second straight season that the Bruins were ranked in the preseason polls. The Bruins are currently ranked fifth in both polls.

TWO BRUINS NAMED BEST DEFENDERS IN THE COUNTRY
UCLA junior guard Arron Afflalo and sophomore forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute were named by Jay Bilas to his top 20 "Best Defenders" list on ESPN.com on Nov. 16, 2006. UCLA and Florida (Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah) were the only two teams with more than one player on his list.