UCLA men’s basketball vs. Cal: What you need to know
The Bruins (6-8, 1-2) are on a two-game losing streak and will look to find some offense vs the Golden Bears (4-10, 0-3).
The UCLA men’s basketball team will look to get back in the win column and extend their current 11-game winning streak against rival Cal on Saturday.
The Bruins are 146-103 all-time against the Golden Bears, the most recent meeting being a 78-43 blowout win for UCLA at Pauley Pavilion on Feb. 18, 2023.
Here’s what you need to know about the Pac-12 conference matchup:
UCLA VS. CAL
When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
Where: Pauley Pavilion
TV/Radio: Pac-12 Network/570 AM
Records: UCLA is 6-8 overall, 1-2 in Pac-12, California is 4-10, 0-3
UCLA’s latest result: The Bruins are coming off a cold-shooting night in a 59-53 loss in their Pac-12 home opener to Stanford Wednesday night. UCLA freshman guard Sebastian Mack, the team’s leading scorer, had a team-high 14 points but the Bruins shot 21.4% from the field in the second half and 32.8% from the field in the game. Freshman forward Berke Buyuktuncel, who was recently inserted into the starting lineup by coach Mick Cronin, had a career-high 13 points. Sophomore forward Adem Bona nearly had another double-double, this time falling just short with 12 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.
Cal’s latest result: The Golden Bears cut a 17-point second-half deficit to four points before losing 82-74 at USC Wednesday night. Cal was led by junior guard Jaylon Tyson with a game-high 23 points on 10 of 16 shooting from the field, including 3 of 5 from three-point range. Tyson also added seven rebounds but that was not enough to overcome USC’s balanced scoring effort that saw five Trojans reach double figures, including freshman guard Bronny James’ 10 points off the bench.
Matchups to watch: UCLA’s Buyuktuncel and Bona versus Cal’s Tyson and senior forward Fardaws Aimaq is a matchup to watch. The Bruins have found success early when Bona and Buyuktuncel are aggressive on the offensive end, especially as Cronin looks to develop a go-to scorer in the 6-foot-9 freshman from Bursa, Turkey. Meanwhile, Cal’s Tyson is averaging 19.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists. Aimaq is averaging 15.7 points and 10.4 rebounds, so it will be important for Bona and Buyuktuncel to neutralize Aimaq’s proven rebounding ability.
UCLA trends to watch: UCLA is 6-8 overall, which is the first time the Bruins have been two games below .500 since the 2015-2016 season when they finished with a 15-17 overall record. The team has struggled to score and after Wednesday’s loss to Stanford, Cronin questioned the “aptitude” of players on his roster.
The Bruins have lost three consecutive home games (against Cal State Northridge, Maryland and Stanford) for the first time since a stretch in Dec. 2019 to Jan. 2020 versus Cal State Fullerton, USC and Stanford.
Wednesday’s 59-53 loss to Stanford also marked the third time since that aforementioned 2019-20 season, in which the Bruins lost a game, despite holding their opponent to less than 60 points.
UCLA averaged 56 points in their back-to-back Pac-12 losses at Oregon on Dec. 30 and at home against Stanford on Jan. 3.