California @ Stanford preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 3, 2019 ) Stanford 84, California 81

California coach Wyking Jones’ optimism was finally rewarded last week as the last-place Bears won consecutive conference games for the first time since the 2017 Pac-12 tournament. Cal looks to build on the late-season momentum Thursday against host Stanford, which has lost three of its last four games and fallen into a tie for 10th place in the conference standings.

Two days after snapping a 16-game losing streak with a stunning 76-73 upset of first-place Washington, Cal forced 20 turnovers in last Saturday’s 76-69 win over Washington State. Sophomore Darius McNeill scored 17 points against the Cougars while point guard Paris Austin added 12 points for the Bears, who will finish in last place in the Pac-12 for the second straight season but showed some much-needed signs of progress during last week’s sweep. “It feels like our hard work is finally paying off,” McNeill told reporters. “We had been close. We had been knocking to get over that win. We were always coming up short, but now, we’re starting to get over it. We’re feeling good.” Cal will enter next week’s Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas as the No. 12 seed but hopes to finish the regular-season on a high note against Stanford, which has won eight of the last 11 meetings against the Bears -- including an 84-81 victory in Berkeley on Feb. 3.

TV: 11 p.m. ET, ESPNU

ABOUT CAL (7-22, 2-15 Pac-12): McNeill averaged 18 points on 56 percent shooting in last week’s sweep of the Washington schools while freshman center Connor Vanover continued to impress by averaging 14 points and 6.5 rebounds. The 7-3 Vanover has scored in double figures in six of the last nine games for the Bears, who are last in the conference in field-goal percentage defense but were much improved in last week's victories. Sophomore forward Justice Sueing averages 14.7 points and six rebounds to lead the Bears and scored a team-high 23 points in last month’s loss to Stanford.

ABOUT STANFORD (15-14, 8-9): Senior center Josh Sharma strengthened his case for the Pac-12 most improved player award with 16 points in last Sunday’s 62-61 loss to Washington, but leading scorer KZ Okpala was held to six points on 2-of-7 shooting. The lone senior on the roster, Sharma is averaging 12.5 points and nine rebounds while shooting 74.7 percent from the field over the past 13 games. Starting point guard Daejon Davis, who ranks second on the team in scoring at 11.8 points per game, sat out last Sunday’s contest with a right-foot injury and is listed as day-to-day.

TIP-INS

1. Stanford averages 81.7 points per game at home compared to 73.5 on the road.

2. Cal is playing at Maples Pavilion for the first time since Dec. 30, 2017, when the Bears overcame a 17-point second-half deficit in a 77-74 victory.

3. Stanford is concluding the regular season at home for the first time in five years.

PREDICTION: Stanford 75, Cal 67