Cal Basketball: Jaylon Tyson Listed as Probable to Play Thursday at Arizona
Pac-12 scoring leader Jaylon Tyson, who exited Cal’s most recent game with an undisclosed leg injury, is listed by coach Mark Madsen as “probable” to play Thursday when the Bears visit No. 11 Arizona.
Tyson, a 6-foot-7 junior transfer from Texas Tech, scored 14 points in the Bears’ 73-71 win over Stanford last Friday at Haas Pavilion but left the game in the second half with what appeared to be either a cramp or upper-leg ailment.
Jaylon Tyson, left, celebrates with Jalen Cone.
Photo by Kelley L. Cox, KLC fotos
He first went to the bench with 9:39 left then returned at 6:50, only to retire for the evening a minute later. To the Bears' credit, as Madsen discusses in the video at the top of this story, they actually outscored Stanford 20-14 after the injury and with Tyson on the bench.
Madsen offered no clarity on the nature of his injury after the game and said he would provide a status update early this week. That came Tuesday when he told a team spokesperson Tyson is now “probable” to face the Wildcats.
Arizona (15-5, 6-3) shares first place in the Pac-12 standings with Oregon and is 10-0 at McKale Center. The Wildcats beat the Ducks 87-78 on Saturday after losing 83-80 at Oregon State.
Cal (8-12, 4-5) is tied for eighth place with UCLA and has won just once in four road games this season. The Bears lost 100-81 to then-No. 4 Arizona on Dec. 29 in their conference opener in Berkeley.
Tyson had 22 points and 10 rebounds in the first meeting vs. the Cats and leads the Pac-12 in scoring at 20.63 points per game. Washington’s Keion Barnes Jr. trails by a fraction of a point at 20.57.
Tyson has 13 games of at least 20 points, and scored 30 against Colorado and Washington State.
He also ranks sixth in the conference at 7.2 rebounds per game — a list topped by teammate Fardaws Aimaq at 10.8 — and is Cal’s leader in assists at 3.2 per game and in total steals with 28.
Although he essentially plays point guard for the Bears, Tyson has been named to the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award watch list.
Cover photo of Cal guard Jaylon Tyson by CK Hicks, KLC fotos
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
