California @ Stanford preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 7, 2019 ) California 64, Stanford 59

Two teams picked to finish near the bottom of the Pac-12 look to start conference play on a winning note Thursday when California visits rival Stanford. Cal is rebuilding after winning eight games in each of the past two seasons, while Stanford opened with an 11-1 mark before committing 19 turnovers in last Sunday’s 72-56 loss to No. 3 Kansas.

Sophomore guard Matt Bradley is averaging 17.5 points to lead Cal, which was pegged to finish last in the Pac-12 and has lost seven of its last nine games. Bradley has been asked to carry the bulk of the scoring load for the Bears and finished with a team-high 15 points on 4-of-14 shooting in last Sunday’s 71-63 loss to Harvard. “Every day there’s a goal to get better,” first-year Cal coach Mark Fox told reporters. “That’s not going to change. We knew we were going to face some adversity. We’ll show up battle ready and keep fighting forward. Obviously, keeping these kids positive and focused on what we’ve signed up for is going to be important. For the most part they’ve come back to work pretty consistently.” The Bears are facing a Stanford team looking to regroup after being outrebounded 44-25 in the loss to the Jayhawks.

TIME: 11 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN2

ABOUT CAL (6-7): Guard Kareem South scored in double figures for the fourth consecutive game with 13 points against Harvard, while forward Grant Anticevich added 12 points, four rebounds and two blocks. Senior guard Paris Austin averaged 11.6 points and 4.4 assists last season but was held to four points on 1-of-6 shooting against Harvard and has not scored in double figures since Nov. 26. Fox is looking for more consistency from sophomore forward Andre Kelly, who scored a season-high 26 points against Saint Mary’s but has averaged 5.5 points in his last two games.

ABOUT STANFORD (11-2): Junior forward Oscar da Silva scored 19 points against Kansas and is averaging 17.7 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 61.8 percent from the field to lead the Cardinal, whose only other loss came by one point to Butler on Nov. 26. Picked to finish 10th in the Pac-12 preseason poll, Stanford boasts a nine-man rotation that includes a pair of dynamic freshmen in Tyrell Terry and Spencer Jones. Terry is second on the team in scoring with 15.2 points per game while Jones in next in line at 9.9 points while shooting 46.2 percent from 3-point range.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Cal has won the last two meetings at Maples Pavilion and holds a 150-125 lead in the series.

2. Stanford leads the Pac-12 in scoring defense at 58.8 points per game.

3. Cal is 6-2 at home this season and 0-5 away from Haas Pavilion.

PREDICTION: Stanford 76, Cal 62