Cal Basketball Preview: Bears Host Colorado, Hope to End 7-Game Skid

CAL (7-15, 2-13 Pac-12) vs. COLORADO (16-5, 10-4 Pac-12)

WHERE: Haas Pavilion, Berkeley

WHEN: Saturday, 7 p.m.

TV/RADIO: ESPNU/810-AM

CAL-COLORADO HISTORY: Colorado leads the alltime series 19-16 and has defeated Cal the last two times they met, including an 89-60 victory over the Bears in Boulder, Colorado, earlier this season, on January 14. Before those two games, however, Cal had won five straight against the Buffaloes. Cal is 13-2 against Colorado in games played in Berkeley.

ABOVE VIDEO: After Thursday's game, Cal coach Mark Fox talked about Makale Foreman, who has been bothered by a back injury lately.

CAL STORYLINES: Cal has lost seven games in a row, including a 76-75 loss at Utah on Thursday. The Bears nearly stole that game, but Matt Bradley’s three-point attempt in the final second rimmed out with Cal trailing by two points. Andre Kelly got the offensive rebound and was fouled with seven-tenths of a second left. He missed the first free throw and accidentally made the second to complete the one-point loss . . . Bradley scored 20 points Thursday, the ninth time he has scored 20 points or more in a game. Cal lost eight of those games . . . Bradley is averaging 18.47 points per game, which ranks fourth in the Pac-12, just behind Isaac Bonton’s 18.50 points . . . . Freshman Jalen Celestine made his first start Thursday and he scored two points. . . . Grad transfer Ryan Betley has started 20 of Cal’s 22 games, but he did not start Thursday, played just five minutes and went scoreless for the first time this season . . . Cal coach Mark Fox has been disappointed with his team’s defense, and the Bears have allowed 70 points or more in each of the past six games. . . .Andre Kelly scored 17 points against Utah and he is averaging 10.4 points, making him the only Bears player besides Bradley averaging in double figures. . . . Cal ranks eighth in the Pac-12 in three-point percentage (33.6).

COLORADO STORYLINES: Colorado has won three in row, and the last two were by wide margins. The Buffaloes defeated Stanford 69-51 on Thursday, three days after beating Oregon State 78-49 . . . Colorado’s only loss in its past six games came against Utah, when the Buffaloes blew a 19-point lead with 8:46 left in the game . . . The Buffaloes are in third place in the Pac-12, virtually tied with UCLA for second. Colorado is one game behind the Bruins in the loss column and two games behind USC in the loss column. Colorado needs to beat Cal to stay close in the conference race . . . Colorado point guard McKinley Wright IV is a contender for Pac-12 player of the year. He barely missed a triple-double against Stanford, finishing that game with 14 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. He is averaging 14.5 points, 5.8 assists and 4.4 rebounds for the season . . . Colorado leads the nation in free-throw percentage (83.0) and leads the Pac-12 in three-point percentage (38.1). Each of the Buffaloes’ top nine scorers has made at least 80 percent of his free throws. . . . The Buffaloes are shooting 46.53 percent from the field, which ranks second in the conference, just behind Stanford’s 46.55 percent. . . . No Colorado player ranks among the top 10 in the Pac-12 in scoring, rebounding or field-goal percentage. . . The Buffaloes are 5-4 in true road games this season and 8-4 in games played away from home.