Saint Mary's @ California preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 1, 2018 ) California 71, St. Mary's 84

California puts its unbeaten home record on the line Saturday against Saint Mary’s, whose eight-game winning streak came to an end with last Sunday’s 10-point loss to Dayton. Cal is 6-0 at Haas Pavilion but has lost all four contests away from home.

The Bears bounced back from a pair of double-digit losses to West Coast Conference opponents San Francisco and Santa Clara with an encouraging effort against visiting Fresno State on Wednesday. Matt Bradley scored 24 points and Kareem South added 17 in the 69-63 victory over the Bulldogs. “We were disappointed in how we played over the weekend, and we practiced hard for a couple days,” coach Mark Fox told reporters. “We showed some progress in several areas and we obviously leave with a win that we’re really pleased with.” Bradley is averaging 17.9 points while shooting 90.4 percent from the foul line and will need another strong outing against Saint Mary’s, which leads the nation in 3-point shooting at 44.4 percent.

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network

ABOUT SAINT MARY’S (9-2): Junior forward Malik Fitts tied a season high with 21 points and sophomore guard Kristers Zoriks had a season-high 14 in the loss to Dayton, which led by as many as 24 before the Gaels rallied in the second half. Zoriks missed last season due to a leg injury, but the native of Latvia has moved into the rotation over the past three games and is averaging 11.7 points over that span. The team’s impressive backcourt includes senior guard Jordan Ford, who is averaging a team-high 19.4 points while shooting 48.5 percent from the field and 40.6 percent beyond the arc.

ABOUT CALIFORNIA (6-4): Fox has started the same lineup in the past two games with Paris Austin, Bradley and South at the guards, Grant Anticevich at forward and Andre Kelly at center. Kelly, a 6-8 sophomore, scored 10 points against Fresno State and is averaging five rebounds while shooting 53.4 percent from the field. Austin averaged 11.6 points and 4.3 assists last year as a junior but has struggled over the past three games, averaging 4.7 points while shooting 3-of-15 from the field over that stretch.

TIP-INS

1. Saint Mary's has won four of the previous five meetings dating back to 1997, including each of the last two.

2. Cal has won eight straight home games dating back to last season.

3. Fitts and Ford combined for 35 points in last season’s 84-71 win over the Bears.

PREDICTION: Saint Mary’s 77, California 69