Bears Hit Road, Face Washington Wednesday

Jan 11, 2022

Jordan Shepherd (right) is averaging a team-leading 16.4 points per game in Pac-12 play heading into Wednesday's clash at Washington.

BERKELEY – The California men's basketball team will open its trip to the Pacific Northwest by facing Washington at 7 p.m. PT on Wednesday at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle. The contest will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.

After winning five in a row from Dec. 8-Jan. 2, Cal (9-7, 2-3 Pac-12) came up short in a pair of hard-fought losses to top-10 opponents No. 7 USC and No. 5 UCLA last week. The Golden Bears will now look to rebound from those losses in their first road game since Dec. 5. Washington (6-7, 1-2) is back at home for the first time since Dec. 21, having gone 1-2 in a trio of conference road games since the start of the new year.

The two squads have split their past 10 meetings dating back to the 2015-16 season, including season split one year ago. Cal's most recent win in Seattle came on Feb. 18, 2016 when the Bears came out on top, 78-75, behind 23 points from Jaylen Brown.

GAME INFORMATION

Date & Time: Wednesday, Jan. 12 | 7 p.m. PT
Watch: Pac-12 Network | Ted Robinson (PxP) & Don MacLean (Analyst)
Listen: KGO 810 AM | Rich Cellini (PxP) & Todd McKim (Analyst)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

QUICK HITS

The Bears are second in the Pac-12 & 45th nationally in scoring defense (62.5) while limiting opponents to 40.3% shooting from the floor (fourth in Pac-12, 69th nationally) & 29.9% from 3-point range (second in Pac-12, 51st nationally).
Despite the pair of losses to No. 7 USC and No. 5 UCLA, Cal proved its ability to compete against the Pac-12's best. The Bears were the first team to shoot 40% or better this season against the Trojans, who entered the Jan. 6 contest ranked first nationally in field-goal percentage defense (35.6%). Cal then held UCLA 22 points below its season average and out-rebounded the Bruins 37-27 in a 60-52 loss on Jan. 8.
Cal has outrebounded its opponents in 12 of 16 games this season, largely due to the effort on the defensive glass. Cal is 36nd nationally with 28.38 defensive rebounds per game. Grant Anticevich and Andre Kelly are second and third in the Pac-12 in defensive rebounding.
Cal is 7-1 when its veteran trio of Andre Kelly (15.0 points per game), Jordan Shepherd (14.3) & Grant Anticevich (11.9) score 10-plus points in the same game. Shepherd is averaging at team-leading 16.4 points per game in Pac-12 play.
Andre Kelly is the only Pac-12 player ranked among the conference's top-five in points per game (15.0, 5th), rebounds per game (8.6, 2nd) & FG% (61.8, 3rd). He has tallied six double-doubles and he most recently scored 22 on 11-14 shooting against No. 5 UCLA on Jan. 8.
Sophomore Jalen Celestine has scored 10-plus points in two of the past four games, including 12 vs. Pacific (Dec. 22) and 10 vs. No. 7 USC (Jan. 6). He earned his third start of the season against the fifth-ranked Bruins last Saturday.
Cal will play nine of its remaining 16 Pac-12 games on the road. The Bears are 0-2 in true road games at UNLV (Nov. 15) and Utah (Dec. 5) and 0-2 in neutral contests vs. No. 23 Florida and No. 21 Seton Hall on Nov. 22-24.

UP NEXT
Cal heads to Pullman, Wash., to face Washington State at 1 p.m. PT on Saturday, Jan. 15. The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.

STAY POSTED
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