BERKELEY – California will open Pac-12 Men's Basketball Tournament play against fifth-seeded Washington State on Wednesday afternoon at Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena. The first-round contest is scheduled to tip off at 2:30 p.m. PST on the Pac-12 Network.
 
Cal (3-28, 2-18 Pac-12) is the tournament's 12th seed and will be seeking a spot in the quarterfinal round for the third time in four seasons dating back to 2020. The Golden Bears enter the tournament on a 15-game losing streak while Washington State (16-15, 11-9) has won six consecutive games, including a narrow 63-57 victory against Cal on Feb. 25 in Berkeley.
 
Roxy Bernstein and Don MacLean will have the call for the Pac-12 Network.
 
GAME INFORMATION

• Date & Time: Wednesday, March 8 | 2:30 p.m. PST
• Location: Las Vegas, Nevada | T-Mobile Arena
• Watch: Pac-12 Network | Roxy Bernstein (PxP) & Don MacLean (Analyst)
• Listen: 810 AM & The Varsity App | Rich Cellini (PxP)
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

 
NOTEWORTHY

• Cal is 18-24 all-time and 2-2 under head coach Mark Fox in the Pac-12 Tournament. Its 18 tournament wins are tied for the sixth most among all current Pac-12 teams. The Bears' two most recent wins in tournament play came against Stanford in 2020 and 2021.
• The Bears were defensively sound in two regular-season meetings with Washington State, holding the Cougars to 36.5% shooting from the floor and 26.3% from 3-point range across the two contests.
• Joel Brown tied a career-high with nine assists and added 13 points and seven rebounds for a near triple-double against Washington State on Feb. 25. The senior guard scored a career-high 22 points in Cal's regular-season finale at Oregon State last week and is averaging 14.0 points, 5.3 assists and 4.0 rebounds in the past three contests.
• Kuany Kuany has scored 10-plus points in four of the past six games, including 10 at Oregon State last Saturday. Kuany is averaging 9.9 PPG in 19 games since Dec. 21 and has tallied 11 of his 17 double-figure scoring efforts in that span.
• Sam Alajiki is shooting 50% from 3-point range (11 of 22) in the past eight games and has scored in double figures in four of those contests.
• Grant Newell will look to translate a promising rookie season into postseason play. The freshman recorded two double-doubles this season and is averaging 8.7 PPG and 4.3 RPG in 21 games dating back to Dec. 10.
• Lars Thiemann is averaging 9.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in two games since returning from an injury. The senior center is averaging career highs of 9.5 PPG and 5.5 RPG in 30 games played this season.
• Cal is 1-1 against Washington State in Pac-12 Tournament play. The two programs met in the first round of the 2022 tournament, with the Cougars pulling out a wire-to-wire 66-59 victory. Washington State has won the last seven head-to-head meetings with Cal since Jan. 7, 2021.
• The Bears will try to become just the second 12th seed to earn a win at the Pac-12 Tournament (1-10 all-time). The only 12th seed to pull off the upset was USC with a 67-64 win against fifth-seeded Arizona State in the 2015 tournament.

 
UP NEXT
With a first-round win against Washington State, Cal would advance to the quarterfinals and face fourth-seeded Oregon on Thursday. Tipoff of the quarterfinal matchup would be at 2:30 p.m. PST on the Pac-12 Network.
 
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