Cal Basketball Video: Bears Close Schedule in Oregon, Seek to Clinch No. 8 Seed

CAL (13-16, 7-9) at No. 13 OREGON (22-7, 11-5)

WHERE: Matthew Knight Arena, Eugene, Ore.

WHEN: Thursday, 8 p.m.

TV/RADIO: ESPN2/810-AM

CAL-OREGON HISTORY: Cal leads 84-63 but Oregon has won six in a row and eight of the past 10 meetings, including 77-72 at Berkeley on Jan. 30. The Ducks lead 43-28 in games played at Eugene.

CAL STORYLINES: The Bears enter the final road trip — and final weekend — of the regular season needing just one victory in Oregon to clinch the No. 8 for the Pac-12 tournament, which begins next Wednesday in Las Vegas. The Bears were picked to finish last in the preseason media poll. . . . Cal has won three of its past four games, including a home sweep of the mountain schools last week, but takes a 1-6 Pac-12 road record to Eugene. Cal lost to Oregon when they played in Berkeley, but the Bears won the first meeting with Oregon State, whom they visit on Saturday afternoon. . . . Cal is hoping to beat a Top-15 team for the first time since knocking off then-No. 11 Oregon 83-63 on Feb. 11, 2016. . . . Sophomore guard Matt Bradley, the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week, is averaging 18.3 points in conference play. He is virtually automatic at the foul line right now, shooting 91 percent (29-for-32) on free throws over the past six games. . . . Ball security played a big role in the Bears’ wins last week over Colorado and Utah. The Bears had just eight turnovers in each game, giving them four games this season with 10 giveaways or fewer. Cal had 14 turnovers in its first game vs. Oregon. . . . Cal has managed to limit turnovers while also being more aggressive offensively. That shows in free throw numbers, where the Bears attempted 20 fouls shots or more just nine times in their first 24 games, but have averaged 27 attempts the past five games. . . .

VIDEO: Coach Mark Fox talks below about freshman point guard Joel Brown, who had stitches in his hand during the Utah game on Saturday and returning to finish the game, scoring 11 points and getting a critical late-game steal.

OREGON STORYLINES: The 13th-ranked Ducks, a half-game back of Pac-12 leader UCLA, can secure a share of the conference title by sweeping Cal and Stanford this weekend, even if the Bruins win at USC on Saturday. . . . If the Ducks earn at least a piece of the title, Oregon would become the first school in conference history to win football, women’s basketball and men’s basketball championships in the same school year. . . . Oregon, which has won four of its past five games, is 15-0 at home this season and has won its past 20 games at Matthew Knight Arena. . . . Oregon is led by senior point guard Payton Pritchard (20.2 points, 5.4 assists), currently on pace to join Gary Payton (Oregon State 1989-90), Damon Stoudamire (Arizona 1994-95) and Jason Terry (Arizona 1998-99) as the only players to lead the conference in scoring and assists. A heavy favorite to win Pac-12 Player of the Year and a candidate for national honors, Pritchard is the only player in the nation to average 20 points, four rebounds and five assists per game. . . . Junior guard Chris Duarte (12.9 points, 5.6 rebounds) who scored 19 points in the game at Cal, is out indefinitely after having surgery on his broken right pinky finger.

CAL GAME NOTES: Click here

OREGON GAME NOTES: Click here