Cal Basketball Preview Box: Bears Host Idaho State Wednesday

Cal’s game against Idaho State on Wednesday night is the first of four consecutive nonconference home games for the Bears before they get back into Pac-12 play against Stanford on Jan. 2.

Cal is a heavy favorite against Idaho State.

The facts:

IDAHO STATE (1-7, 0-2 Big Sky) at CAL (4-5, 1-1 Pac-12)

WHERE: Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, Calif.

WHEN: Wednesday, 7 p.m. Pacific time.

TV: Pac-12 Networks – Guy Haberman (play-by-play) and Dan Belluomini (analyst)

RADIO: 810-AM

CAL-IDAHO STATE HISTORY: Cal leads the alltime series 4-1. The teams’ most recent meeting was in the 1983-84 season, when Cal won, 72-54, in Albuquerque, N.M., in the Lobo Classic tournament. Idaho State’s only victory against Cal came in the 1976-77 season, when the Bengals won 98-73 on their home court in Pocatello, Idaho. Their only previous meeting in Berkeley was in 1975-76, and the Golden Bears won that one 76-75. Cal twice beat Idaho State in the NCAA tournament – 71-44 in 1960, when Cal was the NCAA runnerup, and 54-43 in 1958.

CAL STORYLINES: The Bears are coming off a 66-58 Pac-12 loss to Utah on the road on Sunday. Cal’s leading scorer, Andre Kelly, was limited to four points in that contest, but is still averaging 15.2 points per game and leads the Pac-12 in rebounding at 9.4 boards per game . . . The Bears’ next four games are nonconference games at home against Idaho State, Santa Clara, Dartmouth and Pacific . . . Jordan Shepherd is averaging 14.6 points for the season and 18.7 points over the past three games . . . Grant Anticevich is averaging 11.7 points but he is 0-for-9 on three-pointers over the past two games. . . . Kuany Kuany, who started the first eight games of the season, is questionable for Wednesday's game after suffering an ankle injury against Utah . . . Cal ranks ninth in the Pac-12 in three-points percentage (33.1%) after going 4-for-20 from long range against Utah . . . The Bears are 11th in the Pac-12 in scoring, averaging 64.9 points, which is a half-point better than Arizona State . . . Cal opponents are shooting 41.5 percent from the floor and averaging 66.6 points, both of which rank in the middle of the Pac-12.

IDAHO STATE STORYLINES: The Bengals won their season opener, 82-61, over Division III Eastern Oregon, but have lost all seven games since then. Idaho State’s most recent game resulted in a 73-70 loss to Northern Arizona in a Big Sky contest on Saturday . . . This is the 82nd time Idaho State will face a team from a Power 5 conference. Idaho State's last win over a Power 5 team was a 62-57 victory over Oregon in the 1986-87 season. Since then Idaho State is 0-50 against teams from Power 5 conferences . . . Idaho State finished with a 13-11 record last season, and that was the seventh time since 1990 the Bengals had a winning season . . . Tarik Cool is the Bengals’ leading scorer, averaging 11.9 points. He scored 27 points in a Dec. 2 loss to Portland State . . . Robert Ford III is averaging 10.9 points and is the Bengal's top perimeter threat, hitting 39.1 percent from long range . . . As a team, Idaho state has not been accurate from distance, making just 28.7 percent of its three-point shots.

CAL GAME NOTES: Click here

IDAHO STATE GAME NOTES: Click here

Cover photo of Jordan Shepherd by Rob Edwards, KLC Fotos

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