Washington St. @ California preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 17, 2019 ) California 59, Washington St. 82

After snapping its 16-game losing streak with a stunning win over first-place Washington, California looks to carry the momentum into Saturday’s matchup against visiting Washington State. The Bears shot nearly 56 percent in Thursday’s 76-73 upset of Washington and recorded their first Pac-12 victory since beating Oregon State on Feb. 3, 2018.

Forward Justice Sueing had 14 points, eight rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocked shots to lead the Bears, who had lost 22 straight regular-season conference games dating back to last season. Guard Darius McNeill made four 3-pointers and scored a team-high 19 points while freshman center Connor Vanover continued to impress with a career-high 18 points and seven rebounds. “I’m so happy for the guys because they’ve gone through this losing streak, and we’ve all stayed positive and continued to scratch and fight and claw,” coach Wyking Jones told reporters. “We’ve gotten close a lot, but to get a win against a really good team means a lot for us.” The Bears now face shorthanded Washington State, which has dropped two straight after winning three of its previous four and never led in Thursday’s 98-50 loss to Stanford.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE (11-17, 4-11 Pac-12): Freshman CJ Elleby scored 16 points and junior Isaiah Wade added 14 in the loss to Stanford, which led 52-15 at the half and recorded its sixth straight win over the Cougars. Coach Ernie Kent was limited to eight players with forward Jeff Pollard and guards Viont’e Daniels and Carter Skaggs out due to concussions. Senior forward Robert Franks leads the Pac-12 in scoring at 21.9 points per game but was held to 11 points while shooting 1-of-7 from 3-point range against Stanford.

ABOUT CAL (6-22, 1-15): After losing its previous three games by an average of 19.3 points, Cal outrebounded Washington 29-26 and committed just 11 turnovers against the league’s top defense. Point guard Paris Austin had nine of the Bears’ season-high 22 assists after recording a total of nine over the previous three games. Freshman guard Matt Bradley ranks second on the team in scoring in conference play at 10.9 points per game and scored 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting in last month’s 82-59 loss to Washington State.

TIP-INS

1. Cal has won six of the last eight meetings against Washington State in Berkeley.

2. Sueing has averaged 18 points in three career games against the Cougars.

3. Franks scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds in last month’s win over Cal.

PREDICTION: Cal 74, Washington State 67