UCLA head coach Steve Alford is in the postseason for the 19th time and making the ninth NCAA Tournament appearance in his coaching career (photo by UCLA athletics).

UCLA enters ThursdayΓÇÖs game against SMU with a record of 20-13 (11-7 in regular-season games against Pac-12 teams), having been bounced from the Pac-12 Tournament by top-seeded Arizona, 70-64. That the game will not be a home game for the Bruins is a good thing for the Mustangs, as UCLA went 16-1 at home this year. The Bruins were not nearly as effective when they hit the road, though, finishing 2-8 on the road and 2-4 in games played on neutral courts.

UCLA has been a streaky team this season, with three winning streaks of four games (including four straight before getting bounced by Arizona from the conference tournament), and consecutive losses five times, including a five-game skid in December and January that included a 39-point pasting (83-44) by Kentucky. UCLA and SMU played one in 2014-15, with each team falling to Gonzaga. The teams have played twice, with UCLA beating SMU in 1973 and 1976.

The Bruins rely on their starting five as much as any team in the country; five players average double-digit points; no other player on the roster averages more than 3.9. The players who account for 65.1 of the teamΓÇÖs 72.0 points per game are:

ΓÇó Senior guard Norman Powell (6ΓÇÖ4ΓÇ¥): 16.4 points per game

ΓÇó Sophomore guard Bryce Alford (6ΓÇÖ3ΓÇ¥): 15.1 (yes, he is one of two sons of UCLA head coach Steve Alford on the BruinsΓÇÖ roster)

ΓÇó Freshman forward Kevon Looney (6ΓÇÖ9ΓÇ¥): 11.8

ΓÇó Junior forward/center Tony Parker (6ΓÇÖ9ΓÇ¥): 11.1

ΓÇó Sophomore guard Isaac Hamilton (6ΓÇÖ4ΓÇ¥): 10.7

Over the course of the season, UCLA outscored its opponents by an average of 72-68. The Bruins scored more than 100 points twice, putting up 113 and 107 in lopsided early-season wins over Montana State and Nicholls State, respectively. They were held to 50 or fewer points four times, in losses to Kentucky (83-44), Alabama (56-50), Utah (71-39) and Arizona (57-47).

The Bruins enjoyed an advantage of 3.8 rebounds per game more than their opponents: UCLA pulled down 38.0 per game, while its opponents averaged 34.1.

UCLA also outshot its opponents slightly from the floor ΓÇö .441 to .417 for opponents ΓÇö and from three-point range, where Bruins connected on 205 of 564 shots (.363), compared to .355 (259 of 729) by opponents. The Bruins are not an exceptional free throw-shooting team, hitting .676 from the line this season (opponents shot .700), but thatΓÇÖs not a great deal less than SMUΓÇÖs .705 mark.

Sophomore guard Norman Powell leads UCLA in scoring with an average 16.4 points per game (photo by UCLA athletics).

When SMU survived East Carolina, 74-68, in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Championship, the close score was due in large part to the fact that the Pirates drained 15 three-pointers. If the Bruins choose to follow suit and take aim at the Mustangs from long range, there are four players who should earn the most attention from the SMU defense: Looney is the most accurate three-point shooter among the UCLA regulars, shooting .458 (91 of 142) from long range. Bryce Alford has hit the most three-pointers (79) and taken the most (216) for a shooting percentage of .366; Hamilton hit 57 of 144 (.396) and Powell hit 36 of 114 (316) from long range.

Other statistics UCLA statistics also were fairly even. The Bruins had four more assists (459) than their opponents did over 33 games, and forced an average of 12.6 turnovers per game, while turning the ball over 11.9 times per game.

SMUΓÇÖs Larry Brown, universally considered one of the greatest coaches in basketball history, will be matched by UCLAΓÇÖs Steve Alford, whose career at Indiana gave him the reputation as one of the premier players in college basketball history. The most talked-about storyline of this game is the fact that Brown guided UCLA to the NCAA championship game in 1980.

But itΓÇÖs not as if Alford, now in his second season at UCLA, is some coaching novice. In his 24th season as a college head coach, he has compiled a record of 511-257. The BruinsΓÇÖ 28 victories last seasons tied the school record for the most in a coachΓÇÖs first season. This season markΓÇÖs AlfordΓÇÖs 19th postseason appearance, and ninth trip as a coach to the NCAA tournament.