Photo by Stan Szeto, USA Today
Cal Basketball: Bears Hope to Topple High-Flying Cardinal in Sunday Matinee
STANFORD (15-3, 4-1) at CAL (8-10, 2-3)
WHERE: Haas Pavilion, Berkeley
WHEN: Sunday, 3 p.m.
TV/RADIO: ESPNU/810-AM
SCHEDULING NOTE: The Cal women (8-10, 0-7) take on Colorado (13-5, 2-5) in the first game of the Haas doubleheader, beginning at noon.
CAL-STANFORD HISTORY: Cal leads 150-126, but Stanford has won four of the past five meetings, including by a 68-52 margin at Maples Pavilion on Jan. 2. The Bears’ most recent win at Haas was 66-55 on Jan. 29, 2017.
CAL STORYLINES: The Bears hope to build on their success at home, where they are 8-2 this season and swept the Washington schools two weekend ago. . . .Cal hasn’t played since dropping a pair of games in Los Angeles last weekend. They scored just 40 points at UCLA and 56 at USC, suffering shooting woes in both games. They combined to make just 32 percent of their field-goal tries, 19 percent on threes and 54 percent from the free throw line over the two games. Now they face a Stanford team that ranks among the Pac-12’s defenses. . . . Sophomore Matt Bradley continues to lead the Bears in scoring at 17.4 points per game, which ranks seventh in the Pac-12. But Bradley, who led the Pac-12 last season by making 47 percent of his 3-pointers, has draw closer defensive attention this year and is converting 35 percent from deep. He is shooting just 25 percent on threes the past seven games. . . . Junior Grant Anticevich hopes to get back in an offensive rhythm after a rough L.A. trip. Anticevich averaged 13.3 points over a four-game span through the games vs. the Washington schools, but he totaled just two points on 1-for-12 shooting against USC and UCLA.
STANFORD STORYLINES: Picked 10th in the Pac-12 preseason media poll, Stanford has far exceeded expectations. The Cardinal is No. 16 in the NCAA’s NET computer rankings (Cal is 166th) and currently is projected as a No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament, according to ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi. . . . Stanford has done it with defense. The Cardinal leads the Pac-12 (and is 10th nationally) in scoring defense, allowing just 59.7 points per game. The Cardinal also ranks third in the Pac-12 in field-goal percentage defense (38.7 percent), so Cal faces a challenge to escape its shooting slump. . . . The Cardinal is led by the 1-2 punch of junior forward Oscar da Silva (16.2 points, 5.7 rebounds) and freshman guard Tyrell Terry (15.8 points, 5.2 rebounds). Junior guard Daejon Davis (8.6 points, 3.9 assists, 1.8 steals) contributes in a range of areas. . . . Stanford coach Jerod Haase, 63-52 in his fourth season, is trying to get the Cardinal into the NCAAs for the first time since 214. Haase played his freshman season of 1992-93 at Cal as the shooting guard alongside fellow freshman Jason Kidd. Haase averaged 7.2 points as the Bears advanced to the Sweet 16, then transferred to Kansas, where he was a three-year starter
CAL GAME NOTES: Click here
STANFORD GAME NOTES: Click here
