Colorado @ California preview
Haas Pavilion
Last Meeting ( Feb 7, 2018 ) California 64, Colorado 68
Colorado guard McKinley Wright, the team's scoring and assists leader, says he's ready to return to the Buffaloes' lineup. The sophomore point guard missed his first collegiate game Sunday with a shoulder injury, but plans to take the floor Thursday night when Colorado visits California.
Wright is averaging 12.9 points, 5.4 assists and 4.9 rebounds and sat out the Buffaloes' 78-69 loss Sunday at Utah – their fourth setback in their last five games. “I’m feeling good,” Wright told the Boulder Daily Camera on Tuesday. “At Utah I didn’t want to rush coming back, so I decided to take a couple more days to help my body get back healthy. ... I just try to take care of this injury. It’s not a small injury. It’s something I have to pay attention to. I’m feeling good and ready to go for Cal (on) Thursday.” Wright and the Buffs will encounter a California team mired in a tailspin. At 5-13 overall and 0-6 in the Pac-12, the Golden Bears are the only winless team in the conference, and their last victory came prior to Christmas when they outlasted visiting San Jose State (88-80) on Dec. 21.
TV: 11 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network
ABOUT COLORADO (10-7, 1-4 Pac-12): The Buffaloes scored only 19 first-half points to trail by 22 at the break against Utah and couldn't recover to avoid their seventh straight loss in Salt Lake City. Guard Shane Gatling got the start for Wright and scored a season-high 21 points to pace Colorado but hit only 6-of-18 shots. Aside from Wright, forward Lucas Siewert (11.5 points) and guard Tyler Bey (11.4) are the other Colorado players averaging in double figures for the Buffaloes, who rank among the Pac-12's bottom three in scoring (69.6) and field-goal percentage (42.0) in conference play after entering the league slate averaging 79.7 points.
ABOUT CALIFORNIA (5-13, 0-6): After getting swept on the road by the Washington schools last week, the Bears have lost 11 straight Pac-12 games – a skid which began with a 68-64 loss at Colorado last Feb. 7. Cal is averaging a conference-worst 70.8 points after averaging 55.5 in the two losses last week and also brings up the rear in the league with a 43.6 field-goal percentage. Sophomore forward Justice Sueing is averaging a team-best 14.1 points and 6.3 rebounds while guards Paris Austin (13.1 points), Darius McNeill (11.7) and Matt Bradley (10.3) also boast double-figure scoring averages.
TIP-INS
1. The series is deadlocked at 15 wins apiece, but each team has dominated at home with Cal holding a 12-1 advantage in Berkeley.
2. After playing four of their first six Pac-12 games on the road, the Bears have three straight and five of their next seven at home.
3. Colorado ranks third in the conference with a 5.3 average rebounding margin while Cal owns a Pac-12-worst minus-5.9 margin on the glass.
PREDICTION: Colorado 76, California 72