Cal Basketball: Bears Face Oregon State to Begin Season's Final Homestead
CAL (8-17, 3-15 Pac-12) vs. OREGON STATE (11-11, 7-9 Pac-12)
WHERE: Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, CA
WHEN: Thursday, 7 p.m.
TV/RADIO: Pac-12 Network/810-AM
CAL-OREGON STATE HISTORY: Cal leads 89-65 but the Beavers have beaten the Bears twice already this season, both times in Corvallis. They won 71-63 in a non-conference matchup to open the Bears’ schedule, then 73-64 in a Pac-12 game on Jan. 2. Cal and OSU met three times each during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, with the Bears winning five of the six. The Beavers have not beaten Cal three times in a season since 1988-89 . . . The Bears have won the past nine meetings in Berkeley.
CAL STORYLINES: The Bears return home for their final two regular-season games, against the Oregon schools. Following Thursday night’s game, Cal plays Oregon on Saturday at 7 p.m. . . . After posting a 71-62 home victory over Colorado two Saturdays ago — the Bears’ best performance of the season — they played poorly last week in road losses to Washington State and Washington, scoring just 51 points in each game and shooting 31 percent from the field and 24 percent on 3-pointers on the trip . . . Cal has now lost nine of its past 10 games and will have to sweep this week’s games to be assured of a double-digit win total for the season. The Bears were 14-18 a year ago in coach Mark Fox’s debut season . . . Their anemic offensive performances last weekend keep the Bears last in the Pac-12 in scoring (65.7 points). Cal continues to also struggle at the other end of the floor, ranking last in the conference in field-goal percentage defense (.467) and 3-point defense (.388) . . . Junior guard Matt Bradley leads the Bears in scoring (18.6) but has faced a series of obstacles this season. He missed a combined total of seven games due to a pair of ankle injuries and played Saturday at Washington while experiencing flu-like symptoms. He played 33 minutes vs. the Huskies but shot 3 for 16 while scoring 13 points, his lowest total in a month . . . . Bradley would rank third in the Pac-12 in scoring except that he has not appeared in 75 percent of the Bears’ games, the requirement for inclusion in conference statistics. If he plays in every game the rest of the way, including at the Pac-12 tournament, Bradley will achieve that threshold . . . Junior forward Andre Kelly (10.2 points, 6.6 rebounds) is the only other Cal player scoring in double figures. He had 12 points and 12 rebounds vs. Washington, his second double-double of the year. . . . Other significant players have recently slumped: Grant Anticevich (6.8 points) Ryan Betley (5.4) and Makale Foreman (4.0) all over the past eight games.
OREGON STATE STORYLINES: Picked last in the preseason Pac-12 coaches poll, the Beavers have exceeded expectations. They currently reside in seventh place in the conference standings, despite losing four of their past five games. OSU found a groove in January with consecutive wins over Arizona State, USC and Oregon . . . Senior guard Ethan Thompson leads the Beavers in scoring (16.2) and assists (4.1). He has scored double figures in 15 consecutive games, and over the past three outings is producing 20.3 points and 6.3 assists . . . Sophomore guard Jerod Lucas (12.2 points) is the only other OSU player scoring in double figures . . . Junior forward Warith Alatishe, a springy 6-foot-7 transfer from Nicholls State, averaged 15.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in two games last week and scored 16 points in the season-opening matchup vs. Cal.
CAL GAME NOTES: Click here
OREGON STATE GAME NOTES: Click here
