The fifth-ranked UCLA men’s basketball team has internal motivation carrying through the thick of the college basketball season, when minds can wander in mid-January with March still in the distance for programs with national championship aspirations.

In the midst of a 13-game winning streak, the Bruins (16-2, 7-0 Pac-12 Conference) will bring their junkyard dog defense to the desert for games against second-place Arizona State (Thursday) and Arizona (Saturday).

In fact, it’s an actual dog bone UCLA players strive for, with the player who finishes the season with the most deflections taking home the “award.”

Senior forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., who had 17 of the team’s season-high 55 deflections in Saturday’s comeback win over Colorado, said the player with the most deflections after each game signs the bone.

“We’ve had it since I’ve been here. … It’s literally a big dog bone,” said Jaquez Jr., who was awarded the treat after leading the team in deflections his first two seasons before teammate Jaylen Clark took the honor last season.

Bruins backup guard Will McClendon said he hopes to one day get his signature on the bone, but that moment has yet to come.

“Unfortunately, we have Jaylen Clark and Jaime Jaquez on the team,” McClendon joked. “It would be an honor with the names that are on there.”