BERKELEY – California is back on the road for a Pac-12 Conference clash with No. 4 Arizona at the McKale Center in Tucson on Sunday afternoon. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. PST/3 p.m. MST with Ted Robinson and Matt Muehlebach on the call for the Pac-12 Network.
 
The Golden Bears (0-8, 0-1 Pac-12) are winless heading into their second early conference contest of the season, having most recently fallen short at home against USC, 66-51, on Wednesday. Arizona (6-1, 0-1) also enters Sunday's game with a loss most recently; the Wildcats were handed their first defeat of the season by Utah, 86-66, in Salt Lake City on Thursday.
 
GAME INFORMATION

• Date & Time: Sunday, Dec. 4 | 2 p.m. PST/3 p.m. MST
• Location: Tucson, Arizona | McKale Center
• Watch: Pac-12 Network | Ted Robinson (PxP) & Matt Muehlebach (Analyst)
• Listen: 810 AM & The Varsity App | Rich Cellini (PxP)
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

 
NOTEWORTHY

• Cal will play its second true road game and fourth game away from home on Sunday. It previously played at UC San Diego on Nov. 15 and battled with TCU and Clemson in a pair of neutral-site contests at the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Florida last week.
• Cal has lost 11 consecutive games to Arizona dating back to March 3, 2016. The Bears' last win against the Wildcats was a 74-73 thriller on Jan. 23, 2016 in Berkeley when Arizona was ranked 12th nationally. A win on Sunday would be Cal's first in Tucson since a 77-69 victory on Feb. 10, 2013. Additionally, Cal's last win against an AP top-5 team was on Feb. 1, 2014 when it knocked off top-ranked Arizona 60-58 in Berkeley on Justin Cobbs' game winner with 0.9 seconds remaining.
• Cal has been plagued with injuries early this season, as five scholarship players have missed a combined 27 games. Guards DeJuan Clayton (1,534 career points scored) and Jalen Celestine (Cal's leading returning scorer at 7.5 points per game last season) both have not played this season and were expected to be focal points of the Bears' offense. Sophomore forward Sam Alajiki has also missed the last two games with a concussion.
• Junior guard Devin Askew is the only Pac-12 player averaging at least 17 points (17.5), three rebounds (3.6) and three assists (3.1) through Dec. 1. The transfer newcomer has been asked to do plenty for the Bears so far, leading the team in scoring in every game while playing 33.6 minutes per game.
• Senior center Lars Thiemann has complimented Askew offensively, averaging 12.3 PPG and a team-best 6.6 rebounds per game. Since stepping into a starting role for Cal toward the end of last season – Thiemann has started 18 consecutive games since Feb. 1, 2022 – the 7-footer is averaging 9.1 PPG and 6.1 RPG (4.2 PPG and 3.1 RPG for career).
• Cal is the Pac-12 leader and 44th nationally in free throw percentage (76 percent), averaging 14.25 makes in 18.75 trips to the charity stripe. Kuany Kuany (85.7 percent), Devin Askew (85.0) and Lars Thiemann (77.8) are the only trio of Pac-12 teammates averaging 77 percent or better at the line.
• The Bears pulled down 19 offensive rebounds in their loss to USC on Nov. 30. It was the second most offensive rebounds recorded by Cal in a single game during the Mark Fox era (21 vs. Washington State on March 9, 2022 at the Pac-12 Tournament). In the past five games, including three against power-conference opponents, Cal owns a +7-rebounding margin.

 
UP NEXT
The Bears return to nonconference action next Wednesday when they host Eastern Washington at 7 p.m. PST in Haas Pavilion. It's the first of back-to-back home games for Cal next week and the contest will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.
 
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