# #

Bears To Open Pac-12 Play Thursday

by calbears.com
Dec 2, 2020
Cal will get its first taste of Pac-12 play on Thursday night when it hosts No. 25 Arizona State.

Watch | Listen | Live Stats | Notes (PDF)

BERKELEY – Pac-12 play arrives in Berkeley on Thursday night as California (2-1) hosts No. 25 Arizona State (2-1) in the conference opener at Haas Pavilion. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. PT and the game will be carried on the Pac-12 Networks with commentary provided by Roxy Bernstein and Ben Braun.
 
The Golden Bears are coming off of a 60-49 non-conference victory over Nicholls State in their home opener on Monday. Matt Bradley tied a career-high with 26 points and Cal drained 10 3-pointers to best the Colonels. Meanwhile, the Sun Devils opened their season with two games at the Empire Classic in Connecticut - a 94-88 win over Rhode Island and 83-74 loss to No. 3 Villanova - before rolling past Houston Baptist, 100-77, on Sunday in Tempe.
 
After clashing just once a year ago (80-75 loss in Berkeley on Feb. 16), Cal and Arizona State will meet twice this season on Thursday and on Jan. 28 in Tempe. Thursday's contest will feature two of the Pac-12's early scoring leaders in Cal's Bradley (19.3 PPG, third in conference) and Arizona State's Josh Christopher (18.7 PPG, seventh in conference).
 
Watch the game online at www.Pac-12.com/live or stream on your mobile device via the Pac-12 Now app. On the airwaves, Rich Cellini and Todd McKim will deliver play-by-play and analysis for the California Golden Bears Sports Network on KGO 810 AM and via TuneIn.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW

  • Matchup: Cal (2-1) vs. No. 25 Arizona State (2-1)
  • Date/Time: Thursday, December 3 | 7 p.m. PT
  • Watch: Pac-12 Network
  • TV Commentary: Roxy Bernstein (PxP) & Ben Braun (Analyst)
  • Listen: KGO 810 AM | TuneIn
  • Radio Commentary: Rich Cellini & Todd McKim
  • Live Stats: CalBears.com

 
QUICK HITS

  • The Bears are 24-18 at home against the Sun Devils, but trail, 41-45 in the all-time series.
  • Cal is looking to snap a five-game skid against Arizona State, which dates back to the 2017-18 season.
  • The Bears are 13-5 overall at Haas Pavilion under head coach Mark Fox. Of those 13 home wins, six have come against Pac-12 foes, including last year's home finale against Utah (86-79 overtime win, Feb. 29).
  • Cal is 5-5 in its last 10 Pac-12 openers. It's last win in a conference opener was the 2017-18 season (77-74 at Stanford).
  • Three Bears have scored 900-plus career points entering Monday's game. Grad transfers Ryan Betley (973) and Makale Foreman (964) are closing in on the 1K Club while junior Matt Bradley (951) is close behind.
  • Mark Fox is nearing his 500th career game as a head coach, and will reach the milestone on Dec. 9 at Pepperdine. Fox (302-194) won his 300th career game in Cal's final game of the 2019-20 campaign and became the 82nd active NCAA Division I head coach with 300-plus wins, and the fourth among active Pac-12 head coaches (Dana Altman, Sean Miller, Mick Cronin).
  • Arizona State guard and Pac-12 Freshman of the Week Josh Christopher is the younger brother of former Cal standout Patrick Christopher (2007-10), who ranks as Cal's No. 3 all-time leading scorer (1,700 points) and helped lead the Bears to their first conference championship in 50 years in 2010. He was also a two-time All-Pac-10 player for Cal.

 
IMPROVEMENT UNDER FOX
In Mark Fox's first season at the helm in Berkeley, Cal showed signs of improvement across the board and was tied for third among major conference teams with a plus-six-win differential from 2018-19 to 2019-20. The Bears more than doubled their conference win total as well, going from 3-15 to 7-11. It was the largest margin of improvement by any Pac-12 team from '18-'19 to '19-'20.
 
BRADLEY PRIMED FOR JUNIOR YEAR
After a standout sophomore year for the Bears, guard Matt Bradley collected a pair of 2020-21 preseason accolades over the past month with nods to the Pac-12 Preseason Media All-Conference First Team and the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award watch list. The lefty, who averaged 17.5 PPG in 2019-20, has picked up where he left off and ranks third among Pac-12 players heading into Thursday's game with 19.3 PPG. He scored 21 points in Cal's season opener and tied his career high of 26 on Monday against Nicholls State. Under Mark Fox's guidance during the 2019-20 season, Bradley increased his points per game by 7.7 points, up from 10.8 in 2018-19 to 17.5 in 2019-20. He ranks third among major conference returning players in PPG from last year.
 
NEW FACES
Cal graduate transfers Ryan Betley (Penn) and Makale Foreman (Stony Brook, Chattanooga) have made their presence felt with impact roles through three games played this season. Betley has started all three games and is shooting a team-leading 42.1 percent from behind the arc while averaging 9.7 PPG, 5.7 RPG and 1.3 APG. Forman – who has started the last two games while splitting time at point guard with sophomore Joel Brown – owns averages of 8.7 PPG, 3.0 RPG and 4.0 APG.
 
RETURNING PRODUCTION
Cal's returning cast ranks fourth or better among Pac-12 teams in four of six major statistical categories. The Bears are second in returning blocks (88.8 percent) and fourth in returning scoring (67.1 percent), returning rebounding (78.7 percent) and returning three-point field goals (71.3 percent).
 
LAST TIME VS. THE SUN DEVILS
Cal got 20 second-half points from Matt Bradley, including four 3-pointers, but a late Arizona State surge led the Sun Devils past the Golden Bears, 80-75, on Feb. 16, 2020 at Haas Pavilion. Bradley finished with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor, and Grant Anticevich recorded his 10th double-figure scoring performance of the season with 18 points to go along with eight rebounds. The Bears out-rebounded the Sun Devils 34-31, including 9-6 on the offensive end. Arizona State was led by 22 points each from guards Remy Martin and Alonzo Verge Jr.
 
NEXT UP
Cal hits the road for a Pac-12 contest at UCLA on Sunday, Dec. 6 at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m. PT. The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network, and will be aired on KGO 810AM and via TuneIn.
 
STAY POSTED
For complete coverage of Cal men's basketball, please follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalMBBall), Instagram (@CalMBBball) and Facebook (/CalMBBall/).

 

Related News & Videos