Bears basketball game day: No. 25 Cal at No. 18 Arizona
Bears basketball game day:
The game will be televised on ESPN; Radio on KSFO 560 AM and Westwood One; Live stats on CalBears.com
The Bears’ seven-game conference winning streak equals their longest since the 1959-60 season.
A nationally televised win over Arizona would give the Bears just their second regular-season sweep of the Wildcats since 1983-84.
Though No. 9 Oregon claimed at least a share of the conference regular season title with Wednesday’s win at UCLA, Cal would stay alive for the other half of that honor with a victory Thursday.
Little more than a week ago, after rattling off six straight wins, the Wildcats were within striking distance of their third straight Pac-12 regular season title.
[...] narrow defeats at Colorado and Utah dropped Arizona nine spots in the AP poll and deflated its hopes of a conference crown.
The Wildcats simply eye a first-round bye in the conference tournament at this point.
With two regular-season contests left, they have already lost more Pac-12 games than either of the previous two seasons combined.
The 6-foot-4, 190-pound freshman has thrived since returning last month from a broken hand.
Perhaps the biggest silver lining for the Wildcats of Trier’s injury:
The former five-star recruit is no longer projected as a first-round 2016 draft pick on DraftExpress.com or NBADraft.net.
Arizona associate head coach Joe Pasternack was a Cal assistant under Ben Braun from 2000-07.
Before joining Miller’s staff in 2011, he served as the University of New Orleans’ head coach for three seasons.
Three-point shooting.
Guard Jabari Bird, who hit 22 of 38 three-point attempts, led the way.
With a rebounding margin of plus-7.1, the Bears are a daunting matchup on the glass.
The Wildcats are second in the nation with a defensive rebounding percentage of 77.5, according to KenPom.com.
The Wildcats lead the series 59-31, including wins in four of the past five meetings.
[...] the Wildcats will bounce back from their two-game skid in front of a friendly crowd on Senior Night.
The Bears are a popular pick as a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament.