Cal vs. Portland State
Thursday, Dec. 21 | 8 PM PT | Haas Pavilion | Berkeley, Calif.
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California men's basketball wraps up its non-conference slate Thursday when the Golden Bears host the Portland State Vikings, with a chance to finish the preseason slate with a winning record for the 14th consecutive season. The action begins at 8 p.m. from Haas Pavilion, airing live on the Pac-12 Network and on KGO 810 AM.Cal has finished above .500 through the non-conference slate every season since 2003-04, when the Bears went 4-5. Through their toughest stretch of the preseason, the young Bears fell as low as 2-4 with three consecutive losses at the Maui Invitational, but the squad has bounced back with four wins in their last six outings. Cal is currently on a three-game win streak and stands at 6-6 with an even .500 record.
A pair of Bears in Don Coleman and Marcus Lee have been pivotal in Cal's winning stretch, with the duo averaging above 20.0 points across the three games. McNeill enters Thursday's contest averaging 25.0 points in his last two appearances after pouring in a career-high 30 points against CSU Fullerton and adding 20 in Cal's win at Seattle. He's averaging 20.0 points in the three-game stretch. Meanwhile, Coleman is averaging 20.3 points and 5.3 rebounds, plus a team-high 13 assists, including a career-high six in his latest outing at Seattle. Justice Sueing has also been strong for the Bears as the other rookie in Cal's starting lineup, averaging 12.3 points during the streak.
As a team, Cal is outscoring opponents 79.7-70 in the last three games, with a +5.7 rebound margin.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION: Thursday's contest airs live on Pac-12 Networks, with the commentary and call from Jim Watson and Ben Braun. The California Golden Bears Sports Network will offer play by play and analysis, as well as post-game interviews, from Todd McKim and Jay John live on KGO 810 AM. Live stats, full broadcast details and more can be accessed via the Cal men's basketball schedule page on CalBears.com, and fans can follow the Bears on social media via @CalMBball on Twitter and Instagram, and at Facebook.com/CalMBball.
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
Last Meeting: The Golden Bears topped the Viks, 74-61, on Dec. 18, 1997Series Record: Cal leads, 1-0
Portland State's 2017-18 Record: 9-3
Portland State's Last Game: The Vikings trounced Linfield, 116-71.
• Deonate North leads the Vikings at 20.3 points per game, followed by Bryce Canda (17.7 ppg) and Holland Woods (11.2).
• Canda also leads Portland State in boards, averaging 7.0 per game.
• Traylin Farris, who was averaging 8.5 points in the first six appearances for the Vikings, has missed six games.
• The Viks lead the nation at 10.0 steals per game, logging 18 or more steals in five contests this season.
• Portland State's three losses have come against No. 1 Duke (99-81), Butler (71-69) and Oregon (95-84).
• The Vikings are 1-1 against the Pac-12, defeating Stanford 87-78 and losing to the Ducks.
LAST TIME OUT
The Bears raced past the Redhawks, 81-59, at Seattle's KeyArena• The Golden Bears posted their largest margin of victory this season, and fifth 80+ point game.
• Three Bears scored in double figures, led by 20 points from Darius McNeill, plus 17 from Justice Sueing and 16 from Don Coleman.
• McNeill scored all 20 of his points in the second half against the Redhawks, extending his three-pointer streak to 12 consecutive games.
• Coleman logged a new personal best for assists with 6.
• Cal tallied 9 steals.
• Cal was 1-7 from beyond the arc in the first half, but improved to 4-7 (57.1 percent) in the second half.
• The Bears' 47 points in the second half were the most in any second half by the Bears this season.
BEARS GIVE BACK
California men's basketball helped spread some holiday spirit this week when the Golden Bears banded together with Cal women's basketball at the UCSF Benioff Oakland Children's Hospital holiday party. Both Bear squads interacted with the oncology department, signing autographs, taking photos with patients and Santa and even participated in some dancing and photobooth fun.ROOKIES RISING TO THE CHALLENGE
With one of the youngest squads in the national, California's newcomers have been pushed to step up and contribute major minutes to the lineup. Two freshmen are averaging double figures for the Bears, with Darius McNeill (13.7 points per game) and Justice Sueing (11.8 ppg) averaging above 11.0 points.McNeill, a Houston, Texas product poured in back-to-back career-high point totals, starting with 18 points against Chaminade and improving to 22 points against CSUN, then topped it four games later with a 30-point outing against CSU Fullerton. McNeill became the 40th player in Cal basketball history to score 30 points in a game. Against the Titans, he also recorded career-high totals for assists (6), steals (5) and rebounds (6). Following his 30-point outing against the Titans, McNeill added 20 points -- all in the second half -- at Seattle. He's also hit a three-pointer in every game of the season for a 12-game streak, including nine games with multiple three-point makes.
Sueing scored a career-high 23 points against Chaminade, including 19 in the second half, and has scored in double figures in seven games this season. His output comes after missing most of the preseason due to a stress fracture.
Juhwan Harris-Dyson has also stepped up with solid minutes off the bench for the Bears, averaging 4.2 points and 3.4 rebounds. He came up clutch in Cal's 63-62 win at San Diego State, icing a pair of free throws with less than 8 seconds in the game to lift Cal to the win.
BIG KIDS ON THE BLOCK
California's senior big men are among the country's best players on the block, with Kingsley Okoroh and Marcus Lee combining for 59 blocks so far this season.The Bears rank among the Top 20 nationally for total blocks (9th, 73) and blocked shots per game (16th, 6.1 per game).Okoroh and Lee are both in the top 30 individually for total blocks and blocked shots per game. Lee is averaging 2.50 blocked shots per game, ranked 25th nationally, and is 19th nationally with 30 total blocks. Okoroh has 29 blocks, good for 22nd in the country, and is 28th with 2.42 blocks per game.
The Cal team record for blocked shots in a season is 161 blocks through 33 games in 2013, an average of 4.88 per game. The Bears are currently swatting shots at a pace of 6.1 blocks per game, with 73 total blocks.
IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Individually, Cal student-athletes rank in the Top 50 for:• Blocked Shots Per Game -- Marcus Lee (25th, 2.50) and Kingsley Okoroh (28th, 2.42)
• Free Throw Attempts -- Don Coleman (4th, 111)
• Free Throws Made -- Don Coleman (6th, 84)
• Offensive Rebounds Per Game -- Marcus Lee (42nd, 3.25)
• Points Per Game -- Don Coleman (37th, 20.7)
• Total Blocks -- Marcus Lee (19th, 30) and Kingsley Okoroh (22nd, 29)
• Total Field Goal Attempts -- Don Coleman (15th, 194)
• Total Points -- Don Coleman (25th, 248)