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Fabulous freshman Toby Bailey helped make 1995 Bruins unbeatable

Members of the 1995 UCLA NCAA championship team — coach Jim Harrick, left, Kris Johnson, Toby Bailey, Charles O'Bannon, Tyus Edney and Ed O'Bannon — are honored at during halftime of a game at Pauley Pavilion in 2015.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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UCLA began the 1994-95 college basketball season ranked No. 6 in the Associated Press poll. The Bruins quickly showed they were championship contenders, winning 18 of their first 20 games (a loss to California was later overturned by the NCAA), and were ranked No. 2 when freshman guard Toby Bailey was inserted into the starting lineup on Feb. 21, 1995, for a game against Stanford.

With the 6-foot-5 Bailey as a starter, the Bruins went 13-0 to finish the season on a 19-game win streak. In the NCAA title game against Arkansas, Bailey made 12 of 20 shots, scored 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

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The most iconic shot in UCLA history — by Tyus Edney with 4.8 seconds left in a 1995 March Madness game — originated on a makeshift driveway court.

March 21, 2020

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