Bears Face No. 11 Arizona In Tucson

BERKELEY – The California men's basketball team goes for its third consecutive win when it plays at No. 11 Arizona on Thursday in Tucson. Tipoff from the McKale Center is set for 5:30 p.m. PST/6:30 p.m. MST on the Pac-12 Network.

The Golden Bears (8-12, 4-5 Pac-12) closed out the month of January with four wins in their past six games, most recently including two in a row at home against Washington State and Stanford.

GAME INFORMATION

Date & Time: Thursday, Feb. 1 | 5:30 p.m. PST/6:30 p.m. MST
Location: Tucson, Arizona | McKale Center
Watch: Pac-12 Network | Ted Robinson (PxP) & Matt Muehlebach (Analyst)
Listen: 810 AM & The Varsity Network App | Justin Allegri (PxP)
Live Stats: Statbroadcast

INSIDE THE MATCHUP

Cal has lost 14 straight games against Arizona (15-5, 6-3).
The Bears' most recent victory over Arizona was a 74-73 thriller on Jan. 23, 2016 in Berkeley. The Wildcats were ranked 12th in the AP poll.
Cal is seeking its first win on the road against an AP-ranked team since Jan. 8, 2017, when it defeated No. 25 USC 74-73 in Los Angeles.
Cal surrendered a season-high 100 points to Arizona in their first meeting of the season on Dec. 29. Despite the 19-point defeat (100-81), the Bears scored 55 second-half points, which were their second most in any half this season.
Arizona is 10-0 at home this season.

LAST TIME
Jalen Celestine hit 3 of 4 free throws in the final minute to lift Cal to a 73-71 win over Stanford in front of a crowd of 8,710 in Haas Pavilion last Friday. Stanford built a 10-point lead on Kanaan Carlyle's jumper four minutes into the second half to make it 50-40, but the Golden Bears answered with a 10-0 run fueled by a pair of Jaylon Tyson jumpers and tied the game with 12:43 left on a Jalen Cone jumper.

Stanford punched back with a 7-0 run on two Andrej Stojakovic layups and a Jared Bynum 3. Fardaws Aimaq's jumper with 7:13 left put Cal up, 62-60, but Spencer Jones tied again with two free throws at the five-minute mark. The Bears tied the game on a pair of free throws from Aimaq with 2:53 left and Celestine hit a jumper to make it 70-68.

Brandon Angel hit two free throws with 1:10 left to put Stanford up for the final time, 71-70. Celestine made two free throws with 58 seconds left and added the second of two free throws with seven seconds left to set the final margin.

NOTEWORTHY

Jaylon Tyson was named a top-10 candidate for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award on Wednesday. Tyson, who averages a Pac-12-leading 20.6 points along with 7.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, is one of just three players nationally – and the only player among the Erving Award's top-10 candidates – to average those figures or better.
The Bears have protected the rock in impression fashion lately. Their 30 turnovers committed across the past five games (Jan. 10-26) are the fewest by a Pac-12 team in a five-game span since at least the 1996-97 season.
Cal has had 16 games decided by single-digits this season, the most in the country. Nine of those 16 single-digit games have been decided by five points or fewer, and Cal has played in three overtime games as well.
Fardaws Aimaq is the only Pac-12 player and one of five major conference players averaging a double-double (15.3 PPG, 10.8 RPG). His 13 double-doubles are the most in the conference and tied for the fourth most nationally.
Cal is the only Pac-12 team with two players that rank in the top 15 in the conference in both points and rebounds per game; Tyson is first in PPG (20.6) and sixth in RPG (7.2) while Aimaq is 13th in PPG (15.3) and first in RPG (10.8).
Jalen Celestine scored all 12 of his points in the second half of Cal's 73-71 win against Stanford. In 11 games as a starter, Celestine is averaging 9.1 PPG on 50% shooting from the floor (33 of 66) and 47.2% from 3-point range (17 of 36).
Grant Newell posted his first double-double of the season – and third of his career – with 11 points and 10 rebounds against Stanford.
Cal averaged 75.5 PPG through 20 games played, an 11.2-point increase from its 64.3 PPG average over the previous six seasons (2017-23). It's also a 17.2-point jump from last season's 58.3 PPG.
The Bears are 6-2 when holding opponents to fewer than 75 points. They've allowed 68.3 PPG in their eight wins versus 81.7 PPG in their 12 losses.
The Bears have made at least 10 3-pointers seven times this season and rank third in the Pac-12 with 8.6 makes per game and first in attempts (25.5). They averaged just 4.9 makes and 16.9 attempts per game last season, both ranking last in the conference.
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.
Cal's 66-57 win at UCLA on Jan. 6 ended a handful of unfriendly streaks for the Bears.
- Was Cal's first win in Pauley Pavilion since 2010.
- The win snapped an 11-game skid against UCLA.
- The win ended Cal's 16-game road losing streak.
- The win ended the Bears' 18-game Pac-12 regular-season losing streak.

UP NEXT
Cal takes on Arizona State at noon PST/1 p.m. MST on Saturday in Tempe. The contest will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.

STAY POSTED
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