Jack Freifelder | NCAA.com | January 6, 2017 UCLA's T.J. Leaf soars for one-handed dunk UCLA Bruins forward TJ Leaf (22) threw down a monster dunk in the first half against California. Share As the pace of conference play picks up, teams are beginning to look to separate themselves from the pack. And teams that have faltered already in conference are just looking to right the ship. For the UCLA Bruins, a little home cooking and a matchup with the Golden Bears of California seemed to be just what the doctor ordered as the Bruins rolled to a 20-point lead at halftime, 44-24. The battle for California supremacy was far less competitive than most would have hoped in the first half, as six players scored for head coach Steve Alford — led by guard Bryce Alford. Alford ended the night with 24 points to lead all scorers (5-of-7 from 3-point range). But, lost in the mix of a somewhat lopsided affair, was a T.J. Leaf dunk that sent Pauley Pavilion and the UCLA faithful into a frenzy. Leaf, the freshman forward, earned his seventh double-double of the year (18 points, 11 rebounds) on the night, but this thunderous dunk is definitely going to go down in his personal highlight reel. Plenty more Pac-12 action ahead in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. UCLA would end up staving off a hungry Cal team in this one, earning an 81-71 victory. Men's basketball rankings: UCLA headlines Andy Katz's final preseason Power 36 With the release of the preseason AP poll for DI men's basketball, Andy Katz has released his preseason Power 36. READ MORE College basketball rankings: Gonzaga, UCLA, Kansas lead men's basketball preseason AP Top 25 poll Here's everything you need to know about the preseason men's college basketball poll. READ MORE 7 men's college basketball teams that are best positioned to pick up where they left off in 2021 Keep an eye on these men's basketball teams, which could hit the ground running this fall. READ MORE