Davidson-UCLA at the Wooden Classic: pregame

The Bruins (7-1) take on Davidson (3-4) in the second half of the Wooden Classic today at the Honda Center in Anaheim. The highlights:

>> Although Bruin Coach Ben Howland has noted Davidson’s 29-5 record last season (all five starters are back!), the Wildcats are 3-4 so far this season but lost very close games to North Carolina (72-68) and Duke (79-73) earlier this season.

>> Although guard Stephen Curry is the Wildcats’ star (49.2% FG, 44.7% 3-pt. FG, 90.9% FT) averaging 26 points a game, look out for 6-2 guard Jason Richards, who averages 11.6 points a game and a terrific 9.4 assists a game. The other starters figure to be 6-6 Max Paulhus Gosselin (2.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg), 6-8 Boris Meno (8.9 ppg, 8.4 ppg) and 6-8 Thomas Sander (9.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg) in the front court.

>> Davidson hasn’t beaten a ranked team under Coach Bob McKillop, now in his 17th year. The Wildcats last beat a ranked team on Jan. 12, 1974, when Davidson topped 15th-ranked South Carolina, 70-59.

>> The Bruins are a 13-point favorite to take the series record with Davidson to 2-0. UCLA defeated the Wildcats, 91-64, in what turned out to be Wooden’s last season, on Jan. 3, 1975.

>> Thinking about seeing the Bruins live at Pauley Pavilion? A few upper-level tickets for Bruin conference games will be put on public sale at 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 10. Check Ticketmaster.com for availability on Monday morning.