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UCLA to face Washington schools while at crossroads of Pac-12 season

Steve Alford, the men's basketball coach at UCLA, had just finished his weekly news conference when he popped back toward a group of reporters.

"Hey," he said, excitement rising. "You guys want to talk to Jonah?"

Jonah Bolden, the forward from Australia, was walking by.

"It's Australia National Day today," Alford said.

It was a moment of levity in what Alford described as an increasingly tense Pac-12 Conference season.

UCLA will reach the midpoint of conference play after a game against Washington on Thursday followed by a game against Washington State on Saturday.