BERKELEY – The California men's basketball team is back inside the friendly confines of Haas Pavilion this week to host a pair of Pac-12 contests, starting with USC on Wednesday night. Tipoff between the Golden Bears (9-13, 5-6 Pac-12) and Trojans is set for 8 p.m. PST on the Pac-12 Network.
 
GAME INFORMATION

• Date & Time: Wednesday, Feb. 7 | 8 p.m. PST
• Location: Berkeley, California | Haas Pavilion
• Watch: Pac-12 Network | Ted Robinson (PxP) & Bill Walton (Analyst)
• Listen: 810 AM & The Varsity Network App | Justin Allegri (PxP) & Theo Robertson (Analyst)
• Live Stats: Statbroadcast

INSIDE THE MATCHUP

• USC bested Cal 82-74 in their first meeting of the season on Jan. 3 in Los Angeles. The Bears cut a 17-point second-half deficit down to four with 29 seconds remaining but could not complete the rally. Jaylon Tyson finished with a game-high 23 points.
• Since dropping to 0-3 in Pac-12 play after its loss at USC, Cal is 5-3.
• The Trojans (9-13, 3-8 Pac-12) have won 11 straight games against Cal.
• The last time Cal defeated USC was on Jan. 8, 2017, in Los Angeles. Cal's most recent home win against USC was on Feb. 28, 2016.

LAST TIME
Fardaws Aimaq scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Jaylon Tyson also recorded a double-double and Cal put together a dominating road win over Arizona State, beating the Sun Devils 81-66 last Saturday. The Golden Bears shot 50% (27 of 54) from the floor and from 3-point range (11 of 22) while dishing out 18 assists. The Bears built an 8-0 lead and never trailed. They extended the lead to 24-10 midway through the first half, went to intermission up 38-26, and stayed up by double digits the entire second half.
It was Cal's first win at ASU since Feb. 8, 2017, when the Bears beat Arizona State 68-43.
 
NOTEWORTHY

• Cal's 15-point win at Arizona State last Saturday marked its largest margin of victory in a Pac-12 road game since Feb. 8, 2017, when it defeated the Sun Devils by 25 (68-43) in Tempe.
• Cal has won two straight and three of four in Haas Pavilion, mostly recently a 73-71 thriller over Stanford in front of a season-high 8,710 fans.
• The Bears have scored 80-plus points four times in conference play, their most in a single season since 2015-16.
• The Bears are 7-2 when holding opponents to fewer than 75 points. They've allowed 68.0 PPG in nine wins versus 82.4 PPG in 13 losses.
• Cal has had 16 games decided by single digits, tied for the most in the country. Nine of those 16 have been decided by five points or fewer.
• Despite double-digit turnovers at both Arizona and Arizona State last week, the Bears have protected the rock in Pac-12 play. Their 30 turnovers committed across five games between Jan. 10-26 were the fewest by a Pac-12 team in a five-game span since at least the 1996-97 season.
• Jaylon Tyson is one of 10 candidates shortlisted for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award. Tyson, who averages 20.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, is one of three players nationally – and the only player among the Erving Award's 10 shortlisted candidates – to average those figures or better.
• Fardaws Aimaq is one of only two Pac-12 players and one of six major conference players averaging a double-double (15.3 PPG, 10.6 RPG). His 14 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 second in PPG (20.0) and sixth in RPG (7.4) while Aimaq is 11th in PPG (15.3) and first in RPG (10.6).
• Jalen Celestine has made 50% of his 3-point attempts, knocking down 26 of 52. He has multiple 3-point makes in nine games this season.
• Keonte Kennedy is fourth in the Pac-12 with 1.8 steals per game. He's swiped at least three in the past three games, including tying a career high with four in the Bears' win at Arizona State.
• Jalen Cone scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half of the win at Arizona State. The 19 points were Cone's most in a Pac-12 game and came on his most efficient shooting effort of conference play at 6 of 9 overall and 3 of 5 from beyond the arc.
• The Bears have made at least 10 3-pointers eight times this season, most recently an 11-of-22 barrage at Arizona State last Saturday. They rank third in the Pac-12 with 8.7 makes per game and are first in attempts (25.5). Cal averaged just 4.9 makes and 16.9 attempts per game last season, both ranking last in the conference.

UP NEXT
Cal hosts UCLA at 2:30 p.m. PST Saturday in Haas Pavilion. The contest will be nationally televised on FOX.
 
STAY POSTED
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