Utah @ California preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 8, 2020 ) California 45, Utah 60

California’s rebuilding effort is trending in the right direction under coach Mark Fox, whose team has already exceeded the victory totals of each of the past two seasons. The Bears look to maintain their momentum Saturday against visiting Utah, which has lost four of its last five games and needs a win to keep its NIT hopes alive.

Sophomore guard Matt Bradley made five 3-pointers and matched his career highs with 26 points in Thursday’s 76-62 win over No. 20 Colorado as Cal ended a five-game losing streak against the Buffaloes and improved to 11-5 at Haas Pavilion this season. “A terrific team brings out the best in you. I think Colorado has a really terrific team, a team we have unbelievable respect for. And it brought the best out in us, for sure,” Fox told reporters. “They’re so sound, they’re so good on both ends of the court. That’s the best that we’ve played. I’m really proud of our team.” Bradley averages 17.8 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 85.5 percent from the foul line to lead the Bears, who recorded a road split against the Washington schools last weekend. Cal is looking to avenge a 60-45 loss to Utah on Feb. 8, when the Utes forced 17 turnovers and cruised to the win behind Timmy Allen’s game-high 21 points.

TIME: 6 p.m. ET. TV: Pac-12 Network

ABOUT UTAH (15-13, 6-10 Pac-12): Allen scored 17 points in Wednesday’s 70-62 loss to Stanford while Both Gach, Jaxon Brenchley and Branden Carlson combined for 40 points on 16-of-28 shooting. Freshman guard Rylan Jones entered the game averaging 11.3 points in Pac-12 play but was held to two points and committed four turnovers in 32 minutes while playing through a leg injury suffered in a win over USC last Sunday. Carlson has a team-high 32 blocks for the Utes, who are 0-8 in Pac-12 road games while being outscored by an average of 17.4 points per contest.

ABOUT CAL (12-16, 6-9): The Bears are last in the Pac-12 in scoring at 62.4 points per game and need more production from starters such as guard Kareem South, who was averaging 6.3 points in conference play before erupting for 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting in the win over Colorado. Point guard Paris Austin is second on the team in scoring during league play at 10.7 points per game but has missed 14 of his last 19 shots over his last two games. Fox gave freshmen forward Kuany Kuany and D.J. Thorpe their first starts against Colorado and saw the two combine for six points and three rebounds in 26 minutes.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Utah has won the last three meetings against Cal and holds a 17-16 edge in the all-time series.

2. Bradley has scored in double figures in all but one game this season.

3. Utah is ranked 11th in the Pac-12 in scoring during conference play at 64.1 points per game.

PREDICTION: Cal 69, Utah 64