For the first time ever Azusa Pacific will play UCLA, visiting the Bruins’ and famed Pauley Pavilion for an exhibition contest Friday, Nov. 2. Tip-off time is yet to be determined, but the game matches California’s 2 winningest programs over the past 15 years, and will be the collegiate debut of Bruin incoming-freshman Kevin Love, the Gatorade National High School Male Athlete of the Year.
Azusa Pacific, which is 437-98 (.816) since 1993, has advanced to the NAIA Elite Eight each of the past 3 seasons, playing for the NAIA championship in 2005. UCLA, which has captured a record 10 NCAA Division I national championships, made back-to-back Final Four appearances the past 2 seasons, playing for NCAA title in 2006.
“Obviously this is a great opportunity for our program,” said Azusa Pacific coach Justin Leslie. “We’re honored that UCLA would consider us an appropriate opponent to prepare them for the season ahead. We’re excited about going to Pauley and playing one of the best, if not the best college basketball team in the nation this year.”
To prepare for the UCLA game Azusa Pacific will take on another NCAA Division I team, hosting UC Riverside in a scrimmage Saturday, Oct. 27. Starting time for that game has yet to be determined. It will be the first-ever NCAA Division I team to visit Azusa Pacific’s Felix Event Center in the 7-year history of the facility.
Less than 24 hours after the UCLA game, Azusa Pacific begins play for keeps. The Cougars fly to Billings, Mont., the morning of Saturday, Nov. 3, and will take on University of Montana-Western later in the day at 3:30 p.m. (MST) in the opening round of the Rocky Mountain Tournament. The Cougars then play tournament host Rocky Mountain College, Monday, Nov. 5 at 7:30 p.m. (MST).
“As great as it is to play UCLA and UC Riverside, it’s more important that we come out of that first weekend 2-0,” said Leslie, “and that won’t be easy considering the travel and time challenges we’re facing.”
The Rocky Mountain Tournament is 1 of 3 tourneys the Cougars will compete in during the 2007-08 campaign. They’ll visit Cal State Stanislaus in Turlock, Calif., for a 2-game set during Thanksgiving weekend, and then they’ll host 21st Annual Cougar Classic, Dec. 28 and 29, entertaining Warner Pacific University (Ore.), MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.) and Hope International University.
Azusa Pacific, which has won 14 of the past 16 Golden State Athletic Conference championships, opens GSAC play Nov. 20, at home against Point Loma Nazarene University and concludes the 20-game conference schedule March 3 against arch-rival Biola University in what is expected to be another sellout contest in La Mirada, Calif.
“This is going to be a great race for the GSAC this year,” said Leslie, “and the championship may very well come down to the final night of the season. Hopefully, the Azusa Pacific-Biola game, which is always the best game in the conference year in and year out, will be a factor in the championship outcome.”
Including the scrimmage with UC Riverside, Azusa Pacific has 16 home dates. The game with UC Riverside is Azusa Pacific’s first meeting with an NCAA Division I school since visiting Pepperdine in 2005. The UCLA contest is the first vs. a Pac-10 team since Azusa Pacific played Washington State in 1992 in a tournament at San Diego State.
Azusa Pacific returns 6 reserves from last year’s 29-7 team and is hoping to reap the fruits of an outstanding recruiting class which features 6-foot-10 transfer Dave Burgess (Gonzaga) and fellow transfer Davon Roberts (Sacramento State).
