BERKELEY, CA — The California men’s basketball team will face USC in its opening game of the 2024 calendar year on Wednesday night at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. The Pac-12 Network will broadcast the game, which is set to begin at 7 p.m. PST.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE GAME
Date & Time: Wednesday, Jan. 3 | 7 p.m. PST
Location: Los Angeles, California | Galen Center
Watch: Pac-12 Network | J.B. Long (PxP) & Don MacLean (Analyst)
Listen: 810 AM & The Varsity Network App | Justin Allegri (PxP)
Live Stats: USCTrojans.com
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Cal (4-9, 0-2 Pac-12) and USC (6-7, 0-2) were both swept in the first week of Pac-12 play; the Golden Bears were defeated at home by No. 4 Arizona (100-81) and Arizona State (71-69), while the Trojans fell to Oregon (82-74) and Oregon State (86-70). Since January 4, 2018, USC has won 10 consecutive games in the rivalry against Cal. The Bears last defeated USC on Jan. 8, 2017, in a 74-73 road victory while the Trojans were ranked 25th in the country. Since 1917, the Cal-USC series has been played 268 times.
LAST TIME
Frankie Collins scored 17 of his career-high 25 points in the second half to help Arizona State rally from a 16-point second-half deficit and beat Cal 71-69 Sunday night at Haas Pavilion. Collins made 10 of 17 from the field, 3 of 5 from 3-point range and finished with six steals for Arizona State.
With 8:59 remaining in the game, Grant Newell hit a jumper to give the Bears a 14-point advantage, but they shot only 1 of 5 from the field and committed five turnovers. With 3:12 remaining, Kamari Lands scored all 11 of his points in a 22-6 surge that gave the Sun Devils a 64-62 lead, their first since 2-0. Fardaws Aimaq responded with a three-point play, but Collins hit a jumper and Jaylon Tyson sank two free throws to put Cal ahead 67-66 with 1:25 left. Jalen Celestine blocked Jose Perez’s lane jumper, but Alonzo Gaffney’s put-back dunk with 43 seconds left gave Arizona State the lead for good. Tyson, who failed to make a
NOTEWORTHY
Fardaws Aimaq recorded his ninth double-double of the season and 53rd of his career with 17 points and 14 rebounds against Arizona State on Sunday. He’s tied for third nationally and leads the Pac-12 in the category, while also leading the conference in all but one rebounding category, including rebounds per game (10.6).
Jaylon Tyson stuffed the box score twice last week, going for 22 points and 10 rebounds against No. 4 Arizona along with 20 points, nine rebounds, five assists and a career-high six steals against Arizona State. He’s the first Golden Bear with three games of 20 points and 10 boards in the same season since Andre Kelly in 2021-22, and has scored 20-plus points in eight of 12 games this season.
Cal is the only Pac-12 team with two players that rank in the top 10 of the conference in points per game and rebounds per game. Tyson is third in PPG (19.7) and seventh in RPG (7.4) while Aimaq is eighth in PPG (16.4) and first in RPG (10.6).
Jalen Celestine is averaging 11.8 PPG in four starts compared to just 3.5 PPG in four games off the bench this season.
Cal is averaging 75.8 points per game this season, an 11.5-point increase from its 64.3 PPG average over the previous six seasons (2017-23). It’s a 17.5-point jump from last season’s average of 58.3 PPG.
The Bears are second among Pac-12 teams in 3-pointers made (8.7) and first in attempts (26.4) per game, shooting 32.9% from beyond the arc. They averaged just 4.9 makes and 16.4 attempts per game last season, both ranking last in the conference. Jalen Cone has fueled Cal’s 3-point volley, ranking 11th nationally with 3.46 makes from deep per game.
Six of Cal’s nine losses have been by three points or fewer or went to overtime.
The Bears are seeking to snap a pair of lengthy skids; they’ve lost 18 straight Pac-12 contests since beating Stanford 92-70 on Jan. 6, 2023 and 23 consecutive games away from home since a 78-64 win against Oregon in Eugene on Feb. 12, 2022.
UP NEXT
Cal’s trip to Los Angeles concludes at UCLA on Saturday. Tipoff inside Pauley Pavilion is at 7 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network.
STAY POSTED
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