Cal Basketball: Can A Couple of Dreary Losing Streaks End in Corvallis, Oregon?

Bears have lost 10 straight and 12 in a row on the road, but own a win over Oregon State.

CAL (9-15, 2-11) at OREGON STATE (3-17, 1-9)

WHERE: Gill Coliseum, Corvallis, Oregon

WHEN: Wednesday, 8 p.m.

TV/RADIO: ESPNU/810-AM

CAL-OREGON STATE HISTORY: Cal leads the all-time series 91-67 including 73-61 victory at Berkeley on Dec. 2. OSU has won the past four meetings at Corvallis to lead 38-36 in games played at Gill Coliseum.

CAL STORYLINES: The 10th-place Bears gets a shot at one of the two teams they have beaten in Pac-12 play (the other was Arizona State on Jan. 2, also at home).  A victory at OSU could snap a couple of gruesome droughts: Cal has lost 10 straight games overall and 12 straight on the road, dating back to a 72-63 victory at Utah last January 16. The Bears’ road woes are enduring: 3-46 over their past 49 games on an opponent’s floor . . . Cal teased fans at Haas Pavilion on Saturday, with two chances to the tie game against Washington State before falling 68-64. (Coach Mark Fox talked after the WSU game in the video above about how getting over the hump will require the Bears to play a more complete game) . . . Two encouraging developments in the game: Sophomore guard Jalen Celestine (7.1 points) scored a career-high 20 points. Celestine has averaged 9.3 points and shooting 46 percent over the past 12 games. Senior Grant Anticevich (10.3 points, 6.8 rebounds), who had slumped to 5.5 points per game on 27-percent shooting over eight games, broke out with 16 points, including 4 for 5 on 3s. . . . Cal has been outrebounded seven times during its 10-game losing streak, and that will only become more difficult because senior forward Andre Kelly (13.4 points, 8.4 rebounds) has missed the past three games and is out for the season with an ankle injury.

OREGON STATE STORYLINES: The last-place Beavers are winless in 2022, having lost seven in a row, including by margins of 84-59 at Utah and 86-63 at Colorado last week. OSU is 0-8 in road games and winless in 10 outings away from home altogether. The Beavers are 3-7 at home, with wins over Portland State, Nicholls and Utah . . . Picked to finish in a tie for fourth place in the preseason Pac-12 media poll, the Beavers are clearly the most disappointing team in the league. They won 20 games last year, finishing 10-10 in the Pac-12 before capturing the conference tournament crown and winning twice (over Tennessee and Oklahoma State) in the NCAA tournament. They bowed out with a loss to Loyola-Chicago in the Sweet 16 . . . The Beavers are led by junior guard Jarod Lucas (13.7 points) and senior forward Warith Alatishe (10.1 points, 6.0 rebounds). Alatishe, the star of the Beavers’ run through the Pac-12 tournament, lost his spot in the starting lineup last weekend and is averaging just 3.4 points while shooting 27 percent from the field over the past five games.

CAL GAME NOTES: Click here

OREGON STATE GAME NOTES: Click here

Cover photo of Cal sophomore Jalen Celestine by Rob Edwards, KLC fotos

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo