# 2012–13 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

The 2012–13 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 2012–13 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bruins competed in the Pac-12 Conference and were led by head coach Ben Howland. Prior to the start of the season, the Bruins took a Goodwill Tour of China in late August. The Bruins reopened the newly renovated Pauley Pavilion 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, 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. 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 63–83 to finish the season 25–10.
After the season, on March 25, 2013, coach Ben Howland was fired by UCLA.

## Recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Tony Parker C | Lithonia, GA | Miller Grove HS | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 270 lb (120 kg) | Apr 23, 2012 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 96 ||||||
| Kyle Anderson SF | Fairview, NJ | St. Anthony HS | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Sep 19, 2011 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 97 ||||||
| Shabazz Muhammad SF | Las Vegas, NV | Bishop Gorman HS | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Apr 11, 2012 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 98 ||||||
| Jordan Adams SF | Lawrenceville, GA | Oak Hill Academy | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Jun 20, 2011 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 95 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: #2 Rivals: #2 ESPN: #1 ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2012 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||
The Bruins also received a notable walk-on this season in the form of Spanish frontcourt project Adrià Gasol, the younger brother of NBA stars Pau and Marc.

## Season

Before the season's opening game, freshman Shabazz Muhammad 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. 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, 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 team, UC Irvine. 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 Bruins' first ranked opponent of the year. Although it was a neutral-site game in nearby Anaheim, the crowd favored the Aztecs.
UCLA won its next 10 games, including an upset win over #7 Missouri, before losing to No. 16 Oregon. It followed with an 84–73 road win over No. 6 Arizona behind Muhammad's game-high 23 points. After losing their next two games, to Arizona State and USC, the Bruins won seven of their final nine games, clinching the regular season Pac-12 title in their final regular season game, with a win over Washington in Seattle on March 9. During the game, point guard Larry Drew II broke Pooh Richardson's school record for single-season assists.

### Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 4, 2012* 7:30 pm | No. 13 | Cal State San Marcos | W 83–60 | – | Pauley Pavilion (4,174) Los Angeles, CA |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 9, 2012* 8:00 pm, FSN | No. 13 | Indiana State | W 86–59 | 1–0 | Pauley Pavilion (13,513) Los Angeles, CA |
| November 13, 2012* 8:30 pm, P12N | No. 13 | UC Irvine Legends Classic Opening Round | W 80–79 $^{OT}$ | 2–0 | Pauley Pavilion (7,254) Los Angeles, CA |
| November 15, 2012* 8:00 pm, P12N | No. 13 | James Madison Legends Classic Opening Round | W 100–70 | 3–0 | Pauley Pavilion (7,554) Los Angeles, CA |
| November 19, 2012* 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 11 | vs. Georgetown Legends Classic seminfinals | L 70–78 | 3–1 | Barclays Center (10,071) Brooklyn, NY |
| November 20, 2012* 4:30 pm, ESPNU | No. 11 | vs. Georgia Legends Classic 3rd place game | W 60–56 | 4–1 | Barclays Center (10,478) Brooklyn, NY |
| November 25, 2012* 7:00 pm, P12N | No. 11 | Cal Poly | L 68–70 | 4–2 | Pauley Pavilion (8,317) Los Angeles, CA |
| November 28, 2012* 9:00 pm, P12N | | Cal State Northridge | W 82–56 | 5–2 | Pauley Pavilion (5,751) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 1, 2012* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. No. 23 San Diego State John R. Wooden Classic | L 69–78 | 5–3 | Honda Center (17,204) Anaheim, CA |
| December 8, 2012* 2:15 pm, ESPN | | vs. Texas | W 65–63 | 6–3 | Reliant Stadium (2,797) Houston, TX |
| December 15, 2012* 6:00 pm, P12N | | Prairie View A&M | W 95–53 | 7–3 | Pauley Pavilion (6,351) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 18, 2012* 8:00 pm, P12N | | Long Beach State | W 89–70 | 8–3 | Pauley Pavilion (8,356) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 22, 2012* 8:00 pm, P12N | | Fresno State | W 91–78 | 9–3 | Pauley Pavilion (8,259) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 28, 2012* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 7 Missouri | W 97–94 $^{OT}$ | 10–3 | Pauley Pavilion (11,854) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 3, 2013 8:00 pm, FSN | | California | W 79–65 | 11–3 (1–0) | Pauley Pavilion (9,406) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 5, 2013 12:00 pm, P12N | | Stanford | W 68–60 | 12–3 (2–0) | Pauley Pavilion (10,266) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 10, 2013 6:30 pm, P12N | | at Utah | W 57–53 | 13–3 (3–0) | Jon M. Huntsman Center (9,510) Salt Lake City, UT |
| January 12, 2013 11:00 am, P12N | | at Colorado | W 78–75 | 14–3 (4–0) | Coors Events Center (9,696) Boulder, CO |
| January 17, 2013 6:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 24 | Oregon State | W 74–64 | 15–3 (5–0) | Pauley Pavilion (8,721) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 19, 2013 1:00 pm, CBS | No. 24 | No. 21 Oregon | L 67–76 | 15–4 (5–1) | Pauley Pavilion (12,254) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 24, 2013 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 6 Arizona | W 84–73 | 16–4 (6–1) | McKale Center (14,617) Tucson, AZ |
| January 26, 2013 1:00 pm, FSN | | at Arizona State | L 60–78 | 16–5 (6–2) | Wells Fargo Arena (9,337) Tempe, AZ |
| January 30, 2013 7:00 pm, P12N | | USC | L 71–75 $^{OT}$ | 16–6 (6–3) | Pauley Pavilion (12,821) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 7, 2013 6:00 pm, ESPN | | Washington | W 59–57 | 17–6 (7–3) | Pauley Pavilion (8,075) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 9, 2013 7:00 pm, P12N | | Washington State | W 76–62 | 18–6 (8–3) | Pauley Pavilion (10,090) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 14, 2013 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at California | L 63–76 | 18–7 (8–4) | Haas Pavilion (9,854) Berkeley, CA |
| February 16, 2013 1:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Stanford | W 88–80 | 19–7 (9–4) | Maples Pavilion (6,562) Stanford, CA |
| February 24, 2013 12:30 pm, FSN | | at USC | W 75–59 | 20–7 (10–4) | Galen Center (7,984) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 27, 2013 8:30 pm, P12N | | Arizona State | W 79–74 $^{OT}$ | 21–7 (11–4) | Pauley Pavilion (9,305) Los Angeles, CA |
| March 2, 2013 6:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 11 Arizona ESPN College GameDay | W 74–69 | 22–7 (12–4) | Pauley Pavilion (13,727) Los Angeles, CA |
| March 6, 2013 6:30 pm, P12N | No. 23 | at Washington State | L 61–73 | 22–8 (12–5) | Beasley Coliseum (4,268) Pullman, WA |
| March 9, 2013 11:00 am, CBS | No. 23 | at Washington | W 61–54 | 23–8 (13–5) | Alaska Airlines Arena (8,747) Seattle, WA |
| Pac-12 Tournament ||||||
| March 14, 2013 12:00 pm, P12N | (1) No. 21 | vs. (9) Arizona State Quarterfinals | W 80–75 | 24–8 | MGM Grand Garden Arena (12,915 ) Paradise, NV |
| March 15, 2013 6:00 pm, P12N | (1) No. 21 | vs. (4) No. 18 Arizona Semifinals | W 66–64 | 25–8 | MGM Grand Garden Arena (13,151) Paradise, NV |
| March 16, 2013 8:00 pm, ESPN | (1) No. 21 | vs. (3) Oregon Championship | L 69–78 | 25–9 | MGM Grand Garden Arena (11,101) Paradise, NV |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 22, 2013* 6:57 pm, truTV | (6 S) No. 24 | vs. No. 11 S Minnesota Second Round | L 63–83 | 25–10 | Frank Erwin Center (13,825) Austin, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. (#) during NCAA Tournament is Seed with Region S=South. ||||||