California @ Oregon preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 1, 2018 ) Oregon 66, California 53

After recording one of its worst shooting performances in nine years under coach Dana Altman, Oregon is well-positioned to bounce back Wednesday against visiting California. The Bears have lost a school-record-tying 10 games and appear destined for their second straight last-place finish under coach Wyking Jones.

Louis King is averaging 16 points and 6.9 rebounds in league play for Oregon, whose hopes for an NCAA Tournament at-large berth suffered a major blow with Saturday’s 73-51 loss to Colorado. Sophomore Tyler Bey scored a career-high 27 points for the Buffaloes, who held the Ducks to 31 percent shooting from the field. “It was just awful shot selection,” Altman told reporters. “Poor execution on the offensive end. We didn’t run anything. Our guys are really just stuck in the mud. Defensively a poor effort. We got beat on the boards. We got beat in every facet of the game.” The Ducks figure to be heavy home favorites against Cal, which has lost 26 of its last 27 conference games but tested Stanford last Sunday before losing 84-81.

TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

ABOUT CAL (5-16, 0-9 Pac-12): Jones was pleased with his team’s effort against Stanford after the Bears forced 18 turnovers and saw freshman center Connor Vanover finish with a season-high 15 points. Sophomore wing Justice Sueing had 23 points and seven rebounds while freshman guard Matt Bradley added 13 points for the Bears, who are last in the league with a minus-7.0 average rebounding margin. The team’s struggling offense relies heavily on Sueing and point guard Paris Austin, but the pair is shooting a combined 7-for-38 from 3-point range over the past eight games.

ABOUT OREGON (13-9, 4-5): Freshman guard Will Richardson had a season-high 19 points with five rebounds and three blocks in last Thursday’s 78-72 win at Utah but was held to eight points in the loss to Colorado. Senior forward Paul White has scored in double figures in eight of the last 10 games while helping fill the void left by freshman center Bol Bol, who is out for the season due to a foot injury. Sophomore forward Kenny Wooten matched his career high with 20 points against Washington State on Jan. 27 but has averaged 5.5 points over the last two games.

TIP-INS

1. Oregon has won the last four meetings against Cal and holds an 84-61 lead in the series.

2. Cal forward Roman Davis has missed the last two games due to back soreness and is listed as day-to-day.

3. Oregon guard Payton Pritchard leads the Pac-12 and ranks ninth nationally in free throw percentage at 90.9 percent.

PREDICTION: Oregon 76, Cal 61