California men's basketball wraps up its regular-season home action this Saturday, hosting Utah at 3 p.m. in Haas Pavilion. The game airs live on the Pac-12 Networks.
The Golden Bears will honor their senior class of
David Serge,
Jacob Orender,
Kareem South and
Paris Austin in a special pre-game ceremony as the quartet bids farewell to their time on Pete Newell Court.
The Bears are coming off their first victory over a ranked opponent in the
Mark Fox era after stifling No. 21 Colorado, 76-62, on Thursday night. With just three games left to play before the start of the Pac-12 Tournament, Cal continues to jockey for strong positioning in Las Vegas with a crucial matchup against the Utes. Cal is currently 8th in the standings, followed by Utah at 9th.
Cal is also looking for its first home sweep of the Mountain schools since the 2016-17 season, and its second Pac-12 home sweep of the season. The Bears swept the Washington programs at home in January.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION:Â
Ted Robinson and Don MacLean have the call on the Pac-12 Networks, also available online at www.Pac-12.com/live or on the Pac-12 Now app. Rich Cellini and Todd McKim will deliver play-by-play and analysis for the California Golden Bears Sports Network on KGO 810 AM and via TuneIn. Live stats, broadcast info and links and more for each of Cal's games this season can be accessed via the Cal men's basketball schedule page on CalBears.com. Fans can follow the Bears on social media via @CalMBball on Twitter and Instagram, and at Facebook.com/CalMBball.
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BY THE NUMBERS
21-5 -- Cal outscored Colorado, 21-5, in points off turnovers and committed just 8 turnovers for the game. The Bears are 3-0 in Pac-12 play when committing fewer than 10 turnovers.
2017 -- Cal's last home sweep over the Mountain schools was in 2017, when Cal topped Utah 77-75 in 2OT on Feb. 2 and then beat Colorado 77-66 on Feb. 5.
19 -- Against Colorado,
Kareem South tallied 19 points, just one point shy of his Cal-best 20 points at USF. He also reached double digits for the first time since his 13 points vs. Oregon on Jan. 30.
5-7 --
Matt Bradley matched a career-high five 3-pointers against Colorado, going 5-for-7 from 3-point range to extend his streak to at least one 3-pointer in every Pac-12 game this season.Â
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MORE NUMBERS TO KNOW
• With the win over No. 21 Colorado, Cal earned its first victory over a top-25 team since the Bears defeated No. 25 Washington, 76-73, on Feb. 28, 2019.
•
Matt Bradley has reached double figures in all but one game this season (vs. Duke). He ranks 86th nationally with his 17.8 points per game. He ranks 87th nationally with 497 total points.
• Cal has two players in the Top 100 in free throw shooting. Bradley is ranked for his free throw shooting percentage (55th, 85.5) and free throws made (80th, 118), and
Paris Austin is 75th for his free throw percentage (84.0).
• Bradley has connected on at least one 3-pointer in each game of Pac-12 play (and at least two in 12 of the past 15 games).Â
• Anticevich is the lone Bear to start in every single game this season.
• Four Golden Bears have combined for a total of 13 20-point games this season:
Matt Bradley (10 games),
Grant Anticevich (1),
Andre Kelly (1) and
Kareem South (1). Bradley and Kelly's 26 points are team-highs this season.
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SCOUTING THE UTES
• Series Record: Utah leads, 17-16
• Last Meeting: Utah claimed the victory over California, 60-45, on Feb. 8 in Salt Lake City.
Matt Bradley was the lone Bear to score in double figures with 13 points, while Timmy Allen was the lone Ute in double figures with 21 points.
• Utah's 2019-20 Record: 15-13, 6-10 Pac-12
• Utah's Last Game: The Utes fell at Stanford, 70-62, on Wednesday night. Allen led 4 Utes in double figures with 17 points and 7 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to overcome two 20-point scorers from Stanford.
• Allen is the lone Ute averaging double-figure scoring at 17.4 ppg, but Both Gach and Rylan Jones are averaging 9.9 points apiece.
• Allen also leads the Utes in rebounding at 7.3 rpg.
• Allen leads the Pac-12 in free throws made and attempts, and ranks 19th nationally in shots made at the stripe.
• Utah's 427 fouls this season rank 34th nationally for fewest fouls committed.Â
• The Utes are 0-8 on the road in league play.Â
SERIES NOTES
Record at Cal: 8-4
Last 10 meetings: 3-7
Most points, Cal: 95, 1953-54
Most points, Utah: 99, 1964-65
Largest margin, Cal: 36, 2011-12
Largest margin, Utah: 34, 2017-18
Longest Cal win streak: 5, 2008-09 to 2012-13
Longest Utah win streak: 3, 1939-40 to 1945-46; 2017-18 to present
2012-13 to 2014-15
Current Streak: 3, Utah
RECORDS AGAINST UTAH
Points: 26, Justin Cobbs, March 14, 2013
Rebounds: 14,
Ivan Rabb, Feb. 2, 2017
14, Richard Solomon, March 5, 2014
FG: 10, Justin Cobbs, March 14, 2013
3P: 4,
Jabari Bird, twice, Feb. 2, 2017
and March 9, 2017
4, Allen Crabbe, twice, Jan. 24, 2013
and Feb. 28, 2013
FT: 8,
Jabari Bird, March 9, 2017
8,
Ivan Rabb, March 2, 2017
8, Jaylen Brown, Jan. 27, 2016
8, Justin Cobbs, Feb. 28, 2013
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LAST TIME OUT
The Result: Cal upset No. 21 Colorado, 76-62, Thursday night in Haas Pavilion.
•
Matt Bradley led 3 Bears in double figures with a career-high 26 points.Â
•
Kareem South scored in double figures for the first time since Jan. 30 by pouring in 19 points.
•
Paris Austin added 12 points for the Bears.
•
D.J. Thorpe and
Kuany Kuany both earned their first career starts.
•
Grant Anticevich dished out a career-high 4 assists.
• Cal led, 38-26, at halftime, tying for the Bears' largest halftime lead this season.
• The Bears committed fewer than 10 turnovers for the sixth time this season and are now 3-3 with 10 or fewer turnovers.
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NEXT UP
The Bears head to Oregon for the final weekend of regular-season action. Cal wraps up its series with Oregon on Thursday, March 5 at 8 p.m. PT, live on ESPN2. The regular-season finale is set for Saturday, March 7 in Corvallis as the Bears take on the Beavers at 1:30 p.m., live on Pac-12 Networks.
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