The race is getting tighter in the Pac-12. UCLA men’s basketball (15-13, 8-7 Pac-12) has won three of its last four games to vault back up into the thick of things within the conference standings, but its biggest game of the season to this point – a date with the crosstown rival USC (15-13, 8-7) – awaits Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. Read more...

Photo: Sophomore guard Jaylen Hands tied for the team lead with 15 points in UCLA men’s basketball’s first matchup with USC. Hands went 0-of-3 from deep with six turnovers, but led the team with three steals. (Kristie-Valerie Hoang/Daily Bruin senior staff)

UCLA is a “basketball school,” USC is not. Or at least, that’s been the narrative for the past 50 or so years. “Everyone’s aware that (the Trojans) have a great class coming in,” said Daily Trojan Sports writer Julia Poe. Read more...

Photo: Freshman center Moses Brown was UCLA men’s basketball’s lone five-star recruit last season, a mark that USC matched. The Trojans now boast the nation’s No. 3 2019 class, while the Bruins’ is ranked No. 59. (Daniel Leibowitz/Daily Bruin staff)

Leadership was always going to be a question mark for the Bruins this season. Aside from two redshirt juniors, UCLA men’s basketball’s rotation consists entirely of freshmen and sophomores. Read more...

Photo: Redshirt junior Alex Olesinski missed UCLA men’s basketball’s first 13 games of the season after suffering a foot injury in the offseason. Olesinski logged a season-high 19 minutes against Oregon on Saturday. (Kristie-Valerie Hoang/Daily Bruin senior staff)