David Singleton explains what it meant to him to win at Oregon

The UCLA Bruins have had one of the top teams in the country the past few seasons. Still, one thing alluded the Bruins up until Saturday’s matchup against the Oregon Ducks — a win in the Ducks’ hometown of Eugene, OR. UCLA, who is currently ranked No. 4 in the nation, was able to beat Oregon 70-63 Saturday night. And as the Bruins prepared for their Thursday night matchup against Stanford, senior guard David Singleton explained what it meant to him to pick up the victory against the Ducks on the road.

“It felt pretty good,” said Singleton. “A win is a win, but winning up there, that was a goal of not me, (but) the team too. So, it was a pretty good win.”

The last time the Bruins won in Eugene, OR, was in January of 2019 when they defeated the Ducks in overtime 87-84. Singleton was a member of that UCLA squad and contributed big off the bench with 14 points on 5-7 shooting from the field and 3-4 shooting from beyond the arc in 24 minutes. This time around, Singleton did not have the same impact on the game. He finished Saturday’s contest against Oregon with 9 points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals while going a perfect 2-2 on the floor and beyond the arc.

Mick Cronin explains why this UCLA team is special

UCLA head coach Mick Cronin know that he has a special team this year. He gives all the credit to the players.

“We got good players,” Cronin said ahead of Tuesday’s practice in Los Angeles. They care. Like I’ve said many times, our guys on our team have been extremely loyal to the school and to the program, especially the older guys on our team. It gives you a chance to build something, and they’re good players. All you got to do is turn on the TV. Most teams are constructed of multiple transfers. This team is special. We don’t have one because we didn’t need one. Because our guys didn’t transfer. Our guys didn’t go to free agency and the open market, and all that type of stuff that goes on today.”

One player that he highlighted was star Jamie Jaquez. He is averaging 16.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game this season and on the shortlist for Pac-12 Player of the Year as a leader for the 21-4 Bruins team.

Jaquez is not only a great player but also an old soul in the college basketball world, Cronin said.

“You have a rare guy like Jaime Jaquez, (who) values the college experience and wants to have a pro career,” Cronin said. “He didn’t want to just get NBA socks. That’s my terminology for you get the socks, get the summer league and then play in the G League. But you get the socks. A very mature guy, but he really valued just going to UCLA, the opportunity.”