Cal Basketball: Nicholls State Game Preview

Golden Bears open their home schedule vs. visitor from the Southland Conference

CAL (1-1) vs. NICHOLLS STATE (2-1)

WHERE: Haas Pavilion, Berkeley

WHEN: Monday, 4:30 p.m.

TV/RADIO: Pac-12 Networks/810-AM

CAL-NICHOLLS STATE HISTORY: Cal leads 1-0. The Bears won 74-62 in on Nov. 19, 2007 behind 27 points from Ryan Anderson. Nicholls is 1-8 all-time vs. current members of the Pac-12, with a win over Oregon State during the 1993-94 season.

CAL STORYLINES: Second-year coach Mark Fox’s Bears make their home debut after splitting two games last week at Corvallis, Ore. The Bears have not played a home game in 275 days. Cal lost to Oregon State 71-63 in a non-conference game and posted an 86-61 win over Northwest University, an NAIA program last week. . . . The Bears are led by junior Matt Bradley (16.0 points, 5.5 rebounds), but two newcomers are making contributions. Grad transfer guards Ryan Betley (11.5 points, 6.5 rebounds) and Makale Foreman (10.0 points, 3.5 assists) are the club’s Nos. 2 and 3 scorers so far. . . . Forward Andre Kelly (10.0 points, 5.5 rebounds) has provided a post presence off the bench. . . . This is the Bears’ final game before starting Pac-12 play Thursday at home vs. Arizona State. Cal plays at UCLA on Sunday before returning to non-conference play for three games.

NICHOLLS STATE STORYLINES: The Colonels are playing their fourth of five games in the Bay Area over a span of seven days. They played three times at the Bronco Invitational at Santa Clara, beating UC Davis and Idaho State before losing 73-57 to host SCU on Saturday. Nicholls completes its California visit on Tuesday at Saint Mary’s. . . . The Colonels’ top three scorers are junior guard Ty Gordon (16.0 points, 5.0 assists), senior guard Jaylen Fornes (11.7 points) and 6-foot-7 junior forward Najee Garvin (11.3 points, 8.3 rebounds). Gordon played last season at Troy, where he averaged 12.1 points. . . . Senior guard Kevin Johnson (7.7 points), a familiar name to Cal fans but unrelated to the Bears’ former all-time scoring leader, leads the team in assists (5.3) and steals (4.0). . . . The Colonels, from Thibodaux, Louisiana, play in the Southland Conference and are led by third-year coach Austin Claunch (37-28), who directed the team to a 21-10 record a year ago.

CAL GAME NOTES: Click here

NICHOLLS STATE GAME NOTES: Click here

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