SALT LAKE CITY – The California men's basketball team will look to end its three-game road swing on a high note as it faces Utah on Sunday afternoon at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. PST/4 p.m. MST on ESPNU.
 
The Golden Bears (3-19, 2-9 Pac-12) are trying to get on track amidst a six-game losing streak dating back to Jan. 11. They'll challenge a Utah (15-9, 8-5) squad that ranks among the nation's best in defensive field-goal percentage (sixth, .382) and defensive 3-point field-goal percentage (10th, .285). The Runnin' Utes have won four straight meetings with Cal since Feb. 11, 2021, including a 58-43 contest on Dec. 29 in Berkeley.
 
Dave Feldman and Adrian Branch will have the call for ESPNU.
 
GAME INFORMATION

• Date & Time: Sunday, February 5 | 3 p.m. PST/4 p.m. MST
• Location: Salt Lake City, Utah | Jon M. Huntsman Center
• Watch: ESPNU | Dave Feldman (PxP) & Adrian Branch (Analyst)
• Listen: 810 AM & The Varsity App | Rich Cellini (PxP)
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

 
NOTEWORTHY

• Cal announced on Thursday that junior guard and leading scorer Devin Askew (15.5 points per game) will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing a successful surgery on a sports hernia on Wednesday. Askew played in 13 games (all starts) in his first season with the Bears and averaged 15.5 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 3.0 APG, but had missed eight of 12 games leading up to the surgery.
• Cal was also without graduate guard DeJuan Clayton (illness) in its 59-46 loss at Colorado on Thursday. Clayton, who missed the first 13 games of the season, has recently missed two of the past four. He's averaged 9.6 PPG and 2.7 APG in seven games played, highlighted by 26 points and six assists in a win against Stanford on Jan. 6.
• Senior forward Kuany Kuany was the lone Bear with double-figure points on Thursday at Colorado, scoring 10. He's averaged 11.0 PPG on 46% shooting in the past 10 games since Dec. 21 and has scored 10+ six times in that span.
• Cal clamped down defensively in the first half of its loss at Colorado, holding the Buffaloes to 25% (6-of-24) shooting. The Bears also limited Colorado to just five made 3-pointers (5-of-18) in the contest, a 27.8% clip.
• Three Bears have totaled four combined double-doubles this season, including a pair by Grant Newell and one apiece from Lars Thiemann and Sam Alajiki. Newell, who is averaging 9.0 PPG and 4.5 RPG in 12 games since Dec. 10, is the first Cal freshman to tally multiple double-doubles in the same season since Ivan Rabb (12) and Jaylen Brown (4) did so in 2015-16.
• With Askew missing eight of 12 games before undergoing season-ending surgery on Wednesday and Clayton missing 15 of 22 total games, veteran Joel Brown has stepped up on the perimeter. The always-durable senior is playing a team-leading 32 minutes per game and has averaged 7.8 PPG in the 13 games since Askew missed his first game on Dec. 7, compared to 4.3 PPG in the first contests of the season.
• Cal's defensive effort was stout in the first meeting of the season with Utah; the Bears held the Runnin' Utes to 39.6% shooting from the floor and 15.7% from 3-point range. Utah enters Sunday's game ranked fourth among Pac-12 teams in 3-point field-goal percentage (34.9%).
• The Bears most recent win against Utah came on Jan. 16, 2021 in Salt Lake City when they used a 50-point second half to rally to a 72-62 victory.

 
UP NEXT
Cal will celebrate Filipino Heritage Night and 50 years of Title IX as the Bears play host to No. 5 Arizona on Thursday, Feb. 9. Tipoff inside of Haas Pavilion is scheduled for 8 p.m. PST and the contest will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.
 
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