BERKELEY – The California men's basketball team will look to turn the page on Thursday's buzzer-beater defeat when it hosts Washington State on Saturday afternoon inside Haas Pavilion. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. PST on the Pac-12 Network.
 
GAME INFORMATION

• Date & Time: Saturday, Jan. 20 | 2 p.m. PST
• Location: Berkeley, California | Haas Pavilion
• Watch: Pac-12 Network | Roxy Bernstein (PxP), Don MacLean (Analyst), Ashley Adamson (Reporter)
• Listen: 810 AM & The Varsity Network App | Justin Allegri (PxP) & Theo Robertson (Analyst)
• Live Stats: Statbroadcast

 
HAUPIAA (AAPI HERITAGE) DAY
In celebration of Cal's AAPI family, the first 1,000 fans at Saturday's game will receive a one-of-a-kind T-shirt, designed by Cal lacrosse student-athlete Caroline Roxas. Food trucks will be on site at Spieker Plaza as well, with the first 200 students in attendance eligible for free food vouchers.

In celebration of our AAPI Cal Family, the first 1,000 fans at Saturday's @CalMBBall game will receive this one-of-a-kind t-shirt, designed by @calwlax's Caroline Roxas!

See you at 2pm ??#GoBears pic.twitter.com/kwJ98dVXYB

— Cal Athletics (@CalAthletics) January 19, 2024

 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP

• The Golden Bears (6-12, 2-5 Pac-12) have lost eight straight meetings with Washington State since Jan. 7, 2021. Their last home win in the series was a 73-66 contest on Jan. 9, 2020.
• Washington State (13-5, 4-3) arrives in Berkeley riding a three-game win streak, having defeated USC, Arizona and Stanford in the past 10 days.
• Cal's 2022-23 campaign ended with a 69-52 loss to the Cougars in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas.
• Washington State is 44th nationally and second in the Pac-12 in field-goal percentage defense (40.2%).

 
LAST TIME
Keion Brooks Jr. fielded a long, high pass inside the Cal logo at center court, dribbled once before firing a quick pass to an open Moses Wood in the corner for a game-winning 3-pointer at the horn to lift Washington to a 77-75 win over Cal on Thursday. Washington took a 62-55 lead on a 3-pointer by Sahvir Wheeler with 10:13 left, but the Huskies went scoreless for a five-minute stretch that saw Cal take a 65-62 lead on a Keonte Kennedy 3-pointer with 5:33 left.

Anthony Kennedy ended the drought with a 3 to tie it at 65-65 with 5:04 left, but Fardaws Aimaq turned in a three-point play to put the Bears back in front. Wood hit two free throws near the three-minute mark to get Washington within three, but Jaylon Tyson knocked down a 3 to make it 73-67.

Wheeler scored at the basket to cut the deficit to four and Woods added two more free throws to make it 73-71 with 32 seconds left. Jalen Cone converted two free throws to push Cal's lead to 75-71, but Anthony Holland hit a 3 to get Washington within one point. Brooks' layup attempt was blocked out of bounds by Aimaq with four seconds left, but the Huskies executed the following in-bounds play with Wood hitting the game-winning shot.
 
NOTEWORTHY

• Cal has not committed more than seven turnovers in the past three games, marking its first time doing so since at least the 1996-97 season.
• Fardaws Aimaq tallied his Pac-12-leading 11th double-double of the season – tied for the third most nationally – against Washington with 18 points and 10 rebounds, as well as five assists. It's only the fifth time since at least the 1996-97 season that a Golden Bear has posted an 18-10-5 stat line, and Aimaq is the first to do so since Ivan Rabb on Jan. 1, 2017.
• In Thursday's clash of the Pac-12's top two scorers – Jaylon Tyson and Washington's Keion Brooks Jr. – Tyson saw his streak of six straight games with 20 or more points snapped as he scored 17. The Cal junior continues to lead the conference with 20.5 points per game and has totaled five double-doubles this season, four of which have been 20-point, 10-rebound efforts.
• Of Cal's 18 games played, 14 have been decided by nine points or fewer and eight have been decided by five points or fewer.
• Jalen Cone has made at least four 3-pointers in six games this season, including a 4-of-7 clip against Washington on Thursday. He's 17th nationally and second in the Pac-12 with an average of 3.17 3-pointers per game and leads the conference in makes (57) and attempts (174).
• Cal's comeback victory against Colorado on Jan. 10 – the Bears rallied from a 20-point deficit for its largest comeback win in nearly 15 years – was filled with statistical standouts.
  • Cal's largest come-from-behind win since Feb. 14, 2009, when it trailed by 22 in an eventual 82-75 win over Stanford at home.
  • Cal committed just five turnovers, its fewest in a conference win since Feb. 7, 2015, vs. UCLA.
  • The Bears' 56 second-half points were their most in any half since Dec. 21, 2018 (58 in the second half vs. San Jose State).
  • Nine of Cal's 14 3-pointers were made in the second half. The Bears shot 46.7% from 3-point range compared to 40% from the floor.
• The Bears' 66-57 win at UCLA on Jan. 6 was their first in Pauley Pavilion since 2010 and snapped an 11-game skid against the Bruins.
• In the second halves of Cal's wins at UCLA and vs. Colorado, Tyson amassed 40 points on 15-of-16 shooting from the floor.
• Cal is averaging 75.3 PPG, an 11-point increase from its 64.3 PPG average over the previous six seasons (2017-23). It's also a 17-point jump from last season's 58.3 PPG.

 
UP NEXT
The Golden Bears host Stanford on Friday, Jan. 26 in Haas Pavilion. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. PST with FS1 televising the rivalry contest.
 
STAY POSTED
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