After sweeping Arizona State and Arizona at home this past weekend, California gets another chance to prove itself on the road, starting with Wednesday's contest at Utah. The game tips off at 8 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on ESPNU and KGO 810 AM.
The Golden Bears stand at 14-6 overal and 4-3 in the Pac-12 - just a game out of first place - and are a perfect 13-0 in Berkeley. While Cal has dropped its past four games on the road by a combined 16 points, in each case, the Bears were within one possession of a tie or taking the lead with less than a minute remaining.
Cal continues to pace the Pac-12 in field goal percentage defense (38.4%) and scoring defense (66.5 ppg). The Bears are also No. 1 in the country in 2-point field goal percentage defense (39.2%).
On the offensive end, Jordan Mathews helped make up for the loss of senior guard Tyrone Wallace (out another 3-5 weeks with a broken right hand) with a season-high 28-point effort vs. Arizona. In the process, he became the 46th player in school history to reach 1,000 points for his career. Freshman Jaylen Brown finished with 15 points and a personal-best seven assists against the Wildcats and lead Cal in Pac-12 play with 15.9 ppg.
Last Time Out: Mathews Leads Cal over Arizona, 74-73
Jordan Mathews scored 20 of his 28 points in the second half as Cal upended No. 12/11 Arizona, 74-73, last Saturday at a sold-out Haas Pavilion. Down 37-35 at the half, the Bears opened the second period on an 8-0 run and did not trail again. Cal built as much as a nine-point lead, but Arizona came back to tie the game twice. The final time was at 73-all before Jaylen Brown hit the second of two free throws with 18 seconds to give Cal a one-point edge. The Bears then defended a Gabe York shot that hit off the rim and grabbed the rebound to clinch the victory. Brown had 15 points and seven assists for Cal.
Singer Stellar in First Start of Year
Junior Sam Singer, making his first start of the season for an injured Tyrone Wallace, came through with six points, a career-best six rebounds and a career-high-tying eight assists in 35 minutes of action vs. Arizona State last Thursday. All of Singer's assists came in the first half. He also stole ASU's final in-bounds pass to seal the outcome. Singer then finished with six points, three assists and a single turnover against Arizona this past Saturday. He started 10 games last year, but these were his first starts of the 2015-16 season. Over his past 14 games, he has 47 assists and just 15 turnovers.
Hot from Downtown
Since a 12-for-22 night from 3-point range against Davidson Dec. 28, Cal has been particularly hot from long-range, going a combined 58-for-147 from behind the arc (.395) over its past eight games. What makes the stat more remarkable is that the stretch includes an 0-for-12 night at Oregon. Toss out that contest and the Bears are shooting 43.0 percent as a team during the period.
Cal Leads Pac-12 in FG%, Scoring Defense
Having allowed opponents to shoot just 38.4 percent from the floor this season, Cal leads the Pac-12 and ranks 14th nationally in the important defensive category. In addition, the Bears are No. 1 in the country in terms of 2-point field goal percentage defense at 39.2 percent, just ahead of Louisville's 39.6 percent (as of Jan. 25). Cal has held 12 opponents to less than 40 percent shooting from the floor, including a five-game stretch that included the likes of Virginia, Davidson, Colorado and Utah. The team's low this year is 24.2 percent by Coppin State, In addition, Cal's 66.5 ppg allowed is No. 1 in the Pac-12, with the Bears surrendering 65 or fewer points in regulation 12 times already.
Brown, Rabb Combo Averaging 27.6 ppg
Cal's two freshman forwards, Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb, are combining to average 27.6 ppg and 14.1 ppg, all while shooting 55.1 percent from the floor. They are striving to become the highest scoring freshman duo in school history, a mark currently held by Leon Powe and Marquise Kately, who contributed 25.6 ppg in 2003-04. Other notable rookie combos for the Bears have been: Lamond Murray and Alfred Grigsby in 1991-92 (24.0 ppg); Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Kenyon Jones in 1995-96 (23.8 ppg); and Ryan Anderson and Jerome Randle in 2006-07 (22.8 ppg).
Defending the Home Court
Cal's defense has been particularly stingy inside Haas Pavilion this year with the Bears surrendering just 62.1 ppg and 36.3 percent shooting from the floor. Cal also owns a +10.5 rebounding margin and is averaging. 6.8 blocks per game. As a result, the Bears are a perfect 13-0 in Berkeley - already surpassing their home victory total from last season when Cal finished 11-7 on Pete Newell Court.
Since Haas Pavilion opened in 1999-2000, the Bears' best home record for a full season is 17-1 coming in both 2001-02 and 2011-12.Including Cal's victory over Oregon State in its final home game from last year, the Bears have won 14 consecutive games in Berkeley - tying for the sixth-longest home winning streak in Harmon Gym/Haas Pavilion history, which dates back to 1933.
Cal's Longest Homecourt Win Streaks
1. 26, Dec. 27, 1958 to Dec. 16, 1960
2. 17, Feb. 20, 2011 to Jan. 29, 2012
2. 17, Feb. 2, 2002 to Feb. 15, 2003
4. 16, Feb. 1953 to Jan. 30, 1954
5. 15, Dec. 8, 1945 to March 8, 1946
6. 14, March 1, 2015-current
6. 14, March 4, 2000 to Feb. 1, 2001
Wallace Out with Broken Hand
Senior guard Tyrone Wallace broke a bone his right hand in practice Jan. 16 and is expected to miss another 3-5 weeks of action for the Golden Bears. Cal's most experienced player, he has 119 games and 108 starts to his credit. Wallace leads Cal in scoring with 15.4 ppg and in assists with 4.6 per game while also pulling down 5.1 rebounds per game.
Rabb Playing the Percentages
Freshman forward Ivan Rabb has proven to be a reliable force in the post, averaging 12.6 ppg and a team-high 8.4 rpg. He has reached double figures 15 times with a best of 20 vs. Arizona State (8-11 FG, 4-6 FT), with another 19 vs. Utah, and owns a team-best seven double-doubles. Perhaps most impressively, Rabb is shooting 64.2% from the floor (second in the Pac-12). No Cal player has shot more than 60% for a full season since Solomon Hughes in 2000-01 (62.9%), while the school freshman record is 64.0% by Tony Gonzalez in 1994-95. Rabb has been at 50% or better in all but the UC Santa Barbara game when he was 1-for-3 from the field (he did go 10-for-10 at the FT line). In addition, only four freshmen in Cal history have averaged at least 8.0 rpg - Leon Powe (2003-04) 9.5; Bob McKeen (1951-52) 8.6; Shareef Abdur-Rahim (1995-96) 8.4; and Ryan Anderson (2006-07) 8.2.
Jaylen Brown Leads Bears in Pac-12 Play
Since the beginning of Pac-12 action, freshman Jaylen Brown leads the Bears with 15.9 ppg, which includes back-to-back 20-point games at Oregon and Oregon State and 17 points in home wins over Colorado and Arizona State. He's shooting 52.8 percent from the floor and pulling down 5.9 rpg over Cal's seven league contests. Brown started his roll at the end of December with 18 points at Virginia and 17 more vs. Davidson. In addition to scoring, he dished out a career-best seven assists in the home win over Arizona. Earlier vs. Richmond on Nov. 27, Brown finished with a season-high 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the floor and 5-of-7 from the free throw line.
Mathews from Deep
Junior Jordan Mathews, who paced the Pac-12 last season when he connected at a 44.3% clip from behind the arc, is keeping up the pace this season as Cal's top marksman by making 54 of his 121 3-point attempts (44.6%). He's 38 for his last 75 (50.7%) over his past 11 games despite an 0-for-4 night at Oregon that broke a streak of making at least one 3-pointer 22 games in a row. Mathews sank a season-best six treys vs. Arizona and had five against both Davidson and Colorado, while his 54 3-pointers and 2.7 per game lead the Pac-12 this year. Now with 166 career triples, he is fifth all-time at Cal.
Cal Career Scoring
42. Mark McNamara (1981-82) - 1,041
43. Monty Buckley (1992-95) - 1,035
44. Charlie Johnson (1969-71) - 1,025
45. Jordan Mathews (2014-) - 1,015
The Kam and King Tandem
Cal's two 7-foot centers - Kameron Rooks and Kingsley Okoroh - have proven to be quite a pair for opponents to manage recently, particularly their defensive presence. In the Bears' opening Pac-12 games against Colorado and Utah, which featured two of the better big men in the conference in Josh Scott and Jakob Poeltl, the Cal tandem combined to limit the pair to 10-of-30 shooting from the floor. Against Colorado, Okoroh had a career-high 10 points along with five rebounds and four blocks. Rooks contributed two points, four rebounds and a pair of blocks. Then against Utah, Okoroh didn't score but had three more blocks and five rebounds in 18 minutes, while Rooks had six points. Okoroh, who has three starts in Cal's last four games, has 19 blocks in his past eight games.
Stripe Out Game vs. Stanford Feb. 6
Following the success of the Gold Out Game vs. Arizona, Cal has two other similar promotions schedules this season: a Stripe Out vs. Stanford Feb. 6 and White Out vs. UCLA Feb. 25. For complete details, see the tickets link at CalBears.com.
