Cal Basketball: Bears Brace For Another Top-10 Foe as No. 5 UCLA Visits on Saturday

Cal wants to play better defensively after a 77-63 loss to No. 7 USC on Thursday.

No. 5 UCLA (9-1, 1-0) at CAL (9-6, 2-2)

WHERE: Haas Pavilion, Berkeley

WHEN: Saturday, 5 p.m.

TV/RADIO: Pac-12 Networks/810-AM

CAL-UCLA HISTORY: UCLA leads 143-103. The Bruins have won the past eight meetings, although they prevailed just 61-57 last season in Berkeley. Cal’s most recent victory over UCLA was a 75-63 verdict on Feb. 25, 2016 at Haas, with Jabari Bird scoring 20 points, Jaylen Brown 16 and Tyrone Wallace 14 for the Bears.

CAL STORYLINES: The Bears will face their second straight Top-10 foe on the heels of Thursday’s 77-63 loss to No. 7 USC. Cal hadn’t played two teams ranked in the Top-10 of the AP poll since 1975 . . . Cal’s three senior starters, Andre Kelly (14.5 points, 8.8 rebounds), Grant Anticevich (12.5 points, 7.5 rebounds) and Jordan Shepherd (14.6 points), combined to score 49 points against USC, led by 19 from Anticevich . . . The Bears’ problem against USC wasn’t offense, but the other end of the court. The Trojans converted eight first-half offensive rebounds into 10 second-chance points, then shot 64 percent in the second half on the way to totaling 50 points in the paint. Coach Mark Fox, unhappy with those aspects of the Bears’ play, talks in the video above about how UCLA poses an entirely different challenge. Although not as stingy defensively as USC, UCLA is a polished  veteran team and is especially efficient scoring from the perimeter . . . The Bears played Thursday without freshman forward Sam Alajiki, sidelined by an undisclosed health issue. His status for UCLA is unknown.

UCLA STORYLINES: The Bruins, playing for the first time in 25 days because of COVID-19 issues, beat Long Beach State 96-78 in a non-conference game played Thursday night after Stanford had to postponed its scheduled game against UCLA. "We were desperate to get back on the court," UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. "You got to start playing games. You can only simulate so much in practice.” The Bruins and 49ers also met back on Nov. 15, and UCLA won the one by a score of 100-79 . . . Jaime Jaquez Jr., the team’s No. 2 scorer, sprained his right ankle late in the first half and watched the second half from the bench with his ankle heavily taped. Asked how Jaquez was doing, Cronin said, “He can walk. That’s a start.” . . . Leading an attack that produced 82.6 points per game is 6-7 junior guard Johnny Juzang (16.7 points, 4.8 rebounds), who has scored in double digits every game, including 25-point performances against Villanova and in the first Long Beach game. . . . Juzang and Jaquez both were named this week to the 25-player mid-season watch list for the Wooden Award . . . Senior wing Jules Bernard (13.9 points, 4.6 rebounds) and junior point guard Tiger Campbell (12.4 points, 4.8 assists) also are consistent contributors to the offense . . . Third-year Bruins coach Mick Cronin has directed the program to a record of 50-23 and last year led the team to the Final Four before a last-second national semifinal loss to Gonzaga.

CAL GAME NOTES: Click here

Cover photo of Cal coach Mark Fox by D. Ross Cameron, USA Today

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