Cal Basketball: Bears Try to Climb Over .500 Against Visiting Santa Clara
SANTA CLARA (7-3) at CAL (5-5)
WHERE: Haas Pavilion, Berkeley
WHEN: Saturday, 6 p.m.
TV/RADIO: Pac-12 Networks/810-AM
CAL-SANTA CLARA HISTORY: Cal leads the all-time series 45-29. The Broncos, who beat Stanford 88-72 in mid-November, are going for their first season sweep of the Bears and Cardinal since the 1969-70 season, when they were led by the high-scoring duo of Dennis Awtrey and Ralph Ogden and reached No. 12 in the AP Top-25 rankings.
CAL STORYLINES: The Bears squared their season record with a 72-46 win Wednesday over an Idaho State team that is 1-8 (winless vs. Division I) and No. 354 among 358 DI teams in the NCAA’s NET computer rankings. Cal is No. 156 . . . This is the second of three games Cal will play against teams from the West Coast Conference, and likely the toughest of the three. The Bears already beat San Diego 75-70 and will face Pacific on on Dec. 22 . . . Cal is 14-3 in non-conference home games under coach Mark Fox . . . Cal can move above .500 for the first time this season with a victory . . . Senior forward Andre Kelly continues to lead Cal in scoring (14.9) and rebounding (9.2) and he remains the only player ranked among the top-5 in the Pac-12 in both categories. But he has averaged just 8.0 points and 7.5 rebounds the past two games, perhaps indicative of the added defensive attention he is drawing . . . Cal’s top three scorers — Kelly, Jordan Shepherd (14.2 points) and Grant Anticevich (11.5 points) are shooting a combined 79.5 percent on free throws, but Anticevich has gotten himself to the line for just nine attempts in 10 games . . . Cal is fifth in the Pac-12 in scoring defense (64.5 points) but 10th in offense (65.5).
SANTA CLARA STORYLINES: The Broncos began the season 5-0 then lost three of four before knocking off Mount St. Mary’s 88-77 on Tuesday . . . Santa Clara is No. 71 in the NET rankings -- the highest-rated team the Bears have faced so far at home . . . This is the Broncos' first true road game of the season . . . Junior guard Jalen Williams (20.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists) has been red-hot lately, averaging 26.7 points on 67-percent shooting over the past three games . . . Senior forward Keshawn Justice (15.3 points, 7.7 rebounds) is a key returning player while point guard PJ Pipes (12.1 points, 4.0 assists) and forward Parker Braun (9.9 points, 6.1 rebounds) are transfers from Green Bay and Missouri, respectively . . . Senior forward Josip Vrankic, a returning first-team all-West Coast Conference selection, averaged 16.3 points and 6.7 rebounds through the Broncos’ first three games but has sat out the past seven while battling mononucleosis . . . The Broncos are coached by Herb Sendek, who has posted a winning record in four of his first five full seasons at Santa Clara and has a career mark of 496-370 over 28 seasons at Miami-Ohio, North Carolina State, Arizona State and Santa Clara.
CAL GAME NOTES: Click here
SANTA CLARA GAME NOTES: Click here
Cover photo of Cal's Jalen Celestine by Jasen Vinlove, USA Today
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
