BERKELEY – The California men's basketball team will make the trek east to Indianapolis for its first true road game of the season against Butler on Saturday. Tipoff from inside historic Hinkle Fieldhouse is scheduled for 9 a.m. PST/noon EST with FS1 televising the action.
 
GAME INFORMATION

• Date & Time: Saturday, Dec. 9 | 9 a.m. PST/Noon EST
• Location: Indianapolis, Indiana | Hinkle Fieldhouse
• Watch: FS1 | Dan Hellie (PxP) & Casey Jacobsen (Analyst)
• Listen: 810 AM & The Varsity Network App | Justin Allegri (PxP)
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

 
LAST TIME
Jalen Cone hit a career-best seven 3-pointers and scored a season-high 26 points and Jaylon Tyson had his third double-double of the season to help Cal snap a four-game losing streak by beating Santa Clara 84-69 on Dec. 2 at home. Cone hit three 3-pointers in a span of about 90 seconds to give Cal the lead for good and Tyson followed with another 3 to spark a 19-3 run that made it 23-9 with 11:54 left in the first half. Johnny O'Neil scored seven points in a 14-2 run that cut Santa Clara's deficit to six points when his 3-pointer capped the spurt with 7:37 to go. Tyson answered with a 3-pointer and followed with two layups, Cone hit a 3-pointer and Keonte Kennedy added two free throws before Grant Newell threw down a dunk to make it 79-59 with 1:58 remaining.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Cal and Butler met for the first time last season when the Bulldogs claimed an 82-58 victory in Berkeley on Dec. 10, 2022. Saturday's contest completes a home-and-home series between the two power-conference programs, and marks Cal's lengthiest road trip of the 2023-24 regular season, as nearly 2,000 miles separate Berkeley and Indianapolis. The Bulldogs (7-2) are 75-2 in their past 77 nonconference home games, including 13 straight wins in such games.

NOTEWORTHY

• Cal's clash with Butler is its first nonconference road game against a power-conference foe since a 63-62 overtime loss at Virginia on Dec. 22, 2015.
• The Bears' 84 points scored against Santa Clara were a season high and were their most scored against a nonconference opponent since scoring 86 vs. Northwest University on Nov. 26, 2020. Cal is averaging 74.6 points per game this season after averaging 64.3 PPG over the past six seasons.
• Keonte Kennedy provided a spark for Cal in his Golden Bear debut against Santa Clara after missing the first seven games of the season with a hand injury. The graduate transfer totaled 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists along with a thunderous dunk late in the contest.
• Cal has been without Devin Askew (foot) and Jalen Celestine (foot) for the past five games. The duo averaged a combined 20.7 PPG through three games played, while Askew added 5.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in a starting role.
• Fardaws Aimaq was the Pac-12 Player of the Week for Nov. 20-26 after averaging 18.3 PPG and 14.3 RPG in three games. He's fourth nationally with five double-doubles and leads the Pac-12 in the same category, as well as rebounds per game (10.0).
• Aimaq's presence on the glass has impacted Cal's 7.9 rebounding margin, which ranks fourth in the Pac-12 and 38th nationally. The Bears have out-rebounded all but one opponent this season, which was Santa Clara in their most recent victory.
• Jaylon Tyson has scored 24, 23 and 21 points in the past three games, respectively, making him the first Cal player to score 20-plus points in three straight contests since Matt Bradley did the same with 26, 21 and 24 between Jan. 28-Feb. 7, 2021. Tyson – who leads Cal with 20.4 PPG to go along with 8.6 RPG and 3.1 APG – has surpassed 20 points in five of seven games played.

 
UP NEXT
Cal will take on Ole Miss at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio on Dec. 16 as part of the 2023 Hall of Fame Series. Tipoff is at 4:30 p.m. PST on SEC Network.
 
STAY POSTED
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