BERKELEY – The California men's basketball team goes for its first season sweep of Stanford since 2009-10 when the two rivals meet Thursday night inside Maples Pavilion. The regular-season finale for both team­s will tip off at 8 p.m. PST in a nationally-televised broadcast on ESPN2.
 
GAME INFORMATION

• Date & Time: Thursday, March 7 | 8 p.m. PST
• Location: Stanford, California | Maples Pavilion
• Watch: ESPN2 | Steve Quis (PxP) & Ben Braun (Analyst)
• Listen: 810 AM & The Varsity Network App | Justin Allegri (PxP)
• Live Stats: Statbroadcast

INSIDE THE MATCHUP

• Mark Madsen returns to Maples Pavilion for the first time as an opposing head coach. Madsen – a Stanford alumnus and 2019 Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame inductee – earned All-America honors twice while leading the Cardinal to four NCAA Tournaments between 1996-2000.
• Cal (13-17, 9-10 Pac-12) and Stanford (12-17, 7-12) are seventh and 10th in the Pac-12 standings entering Thursday's regular-season finale.
• Madsen was a winner over his alma mater in his first game facing the Cardinal on Jan. 26 in Berkeley. The Golden Bears defeated Stanford 73-71, overcoming a 10-point second-half deficit.
• Cal has lost four straight games in Maples Pavilion since winning two in a row on Dec. 30, 2017 and March 7, 2019.
• Cal owns a 154-129 all-time record in the rivalry series with Stanford.
• The Bears last swept a single-season series with Stanford in 2009-10 with a 92-66 win at home and a 71-61 win at Stanford.
• Stanford head coach Jerod Haase was a freshman guard on Cal's 1992-93 Sweet 16 squad.

LAST TIME

• Utah shot better than 50% from the floor, made 12 3-pointers and led wire-to-wire for an 88-59 win over Cal in Salt Lake City on Saturday.
• The 29-point loss was Cal's most-lopsided defeat of the season.
• Jalen Cone scored 19 points with four 3-pointers while Fardaws Aimaq tallied 15 points, five rebounds and four steals.
• The Runnin' Utes out-rebounded Cal 47-29 and pulled down 13 offensive rebounds, leading to 15 second-chance points.

NOTEWORTHY

• The Golden Bears can secure a .500 record in conference play with a win at Stanford. The last time Cal finished .500 or better in conference play was the 2016-17 season, when it finished 10-8.
• Cal can earn the fifth through ninth seeds in next week's Pac-12 Tournament. The Bears were picked to finish 11th in the Pac-12 Preseason Media Poll.
• Jaylon Tyson has proven to be one of the top players in the country in his first season at Cal, as he's the only major-conference player averaging at least 19.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Five of his eight double-doubles have been 20-point, 10-rebound performances.
• Tyson's 17 20-point games are the most by a Golden Bear in a single season since Jerome Randle (17) in 2009-10.
• Tyson has totaled 574 points this season, ranking 13th on Cal's single-season list. It's the most points scored by a Cal player since Allen Crabbe totaled 607 in 2012-13; Tyson can surpass Crabbe within two games at his 19.8 PPG average.
• Fardaws Aimaq has been a force on the glass, ranking fifth nationally and leading the Pac-12 with 11.1 rebounds per game. He's on pace to become the sixth Golden Bear to average at least 11.0 RPG in a season and the first since Mark McNamara in 1981-82. Aimaq's 333 total rebounds this season are the fifth most in program history and he's only 15 rebounds away from sole possession of third place on Cal's single-season list.
• Aimaq is one of five major-conference players averaging a double-double this season. Of those five players, Aimaq is one of two averaging at least 14.6 PPG and 11.1 RPG, joining Purdue's Zach Edey, the reigning consensus National Player of the Year. Aimaq has 19 double-doubles this season – the most by a Golden Bear in the Pac-12 era – and is one shy of tying the program single-season record, shared by McNamara (1981-82) and Truitt (1971-72).
• Cal went 10-6 at home this season, winning in six of its final eight games inside Haas Pavilion. It's Cal's first winning home slate since 2019-20.
• 21 of Cal's 30 games have been decided by single digits, tied for the most nationally. Cal has won six of its last seven such games.
• Cal is 9-3 when holding opponents to fewer than 75 points. The Bears have allowed 69.7 PPG in 13 wins versus 81.8 PPG in 17 losses.
• The Bears have scored 80-plus points in seven conference games this season, tied for their most since doing the same in 2010-11.
• Jalen Celestine's 44.3% 3-point field-goal percentage is fourth among Pac-12 players this season. The lefty is 43-of-97 shooting from beyond the arc, making multiple 3-pointers in 14 games. He's cranked up his defensive intensity of late, too, tallying 12 steals in the past five games.
• Jalen Cone averaged 15.3 PPG with 10 total 3-pointers made during Cal's recent three-game win streak from Feb. 17-24. In wins over Oregon State and Oregon, Cone scored 30 of his 32 total points in the second halves. The sharpshooter is a 37% career 3-point shooter, making 374 total.
• Cal has made at least 10 3-pointers in 10 games this season, including a program single-game record-tying 16 against Oregon State on Feb. 22. The Bears are third in the Pac-12 with 8.8 3-point makes per game and rank first in attempts (25.9).

UP NEXT
The Golden Bears will travel to Las Vegas for the Pac-12 Men's Basketball Tournament, played at T-Mobile Arena on March 13-16.
 
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