BERKELEY – California will host Butler in a power-conference clash on Saturday afternoon at Haas Pavilion. Tipoff for the front end of Cal's men's and women's basketball doubleheader is slated for 2 p.m. PST and the game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network with Roxy Bernstein and Mike Montgomery on the call.
 
The injury-riddled Golden Bears (0-10) are coming off a 50-48 loss to Eastern Washington on Wednesday in which just eight scholarship players were active. Leading scorer Devin Askew (18.3 points per game) and freshman forward ND Okafor missed the game due to health and safety protocols and are questionable for Saturday's battle with the Bulldogs (7-3), who have won three straight games against Kansas State, Tennessee Tech and Yale.
 
Following the conclusion of the Cal-Butler contest, the Cal women's basketball team will host Pacific at 8 p.m. PST. Fans can show a Cal-Butler men's game ticket at the box office to receive a general admission ticket for the Cal-Pacific women's game.
 
GAME INFORMATION

• Date & Time: Saturday, Dec. 10 | 2 p.m. PST
• Location: Berkeley, California | Haas Pavilion
• Watch: Pac-12 Network | Roxy Bernstein (PxP) & Mike Montgomery (Analyst)
• Listen: 810 AM & The Varsity App | Rich Cellini (PxP)
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

 
NOTEWORTHY

• Saturday is the first meeting on the hardwood between Cal and Butler.
• Butler is the second power-conference opponent on Cal's nonconference schedule, along with Kansas State (54-63 loss on Nov. 11). It's the first time Cal has hosted two power-conference opponents during nonconference play in the same season since 1988-89 when it faced Villanova and Colorado.
• Seven of Cal's 13 scholarship players have missed a combined 35 games this season. Expected starters Jalen Celestine and DeJuan Clayton have yet to play while reserve guard Jarred Hyder underwent surgery on Dec. 6 and is expected to miss the remainder of the season. The trio of Celestine, Clayton and Hyder have missed 30 of those 35 combined games.
• If junior guard Devin Askew is cleared Saturday, his presence will be felt. The junior guard is the only Pac-12 player averaging at least 18 points (18.3), three rebounds (3.8) and three assists (3.0) per game. He averaged 24.0 points per game in Cal's pair of early Pac-12 games against USC and Arizona.
• Senior center Lars Thiemann continues to be a reliable presence in the paint, averaging career highs in points (13.2) and rebounds (6.4) per game. He's scored in double figures in eight consecutive games and nine of 10 this season, including a career-high 18 at No. 4 Arizona on Dec. 4.
• In 21 straight starts dating back to the later stages of last season, Thiemann is averaging 10 points and 6 rebounds per game (4.5 PPG, 3.2 RPG career).
• Cal is the Pac-12 leader and 40th nationally in free throw percentage at 76.1 percent. Kuany Kuany (88.9%) and Devin Askew (86.4%) are among the top six in the conference individually, while Lars Thiemann is at 77.2 percent.
• The Bears are 17-8 in nonconference home games under head coach Mark Fox.
• Cal will play host in five of the next six games through Jan. 6, including Saturday's contest against Butler.

 
UP NEXT
Cal will take a full week away from competition before taking a short trip south to face Santa Clara at 2 p.m. PST on Sunday, Dec. 18. It's Cal's third true road game of the season and the final contest away from home in the 2022 calendar year.  The game will be streamed live on the WCC Network.
 
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