Utah looks for home win vs Cal
Cal (10-12, 4-5) vs. Utah (13-9, 4-6)
Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City; Saturday, 8 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Utah looks for its fifth straight win over Cal at Jon M. Huntsman Center. The last victory for the Golden Bears at Utah was a 62-57 win on Jan. 24, 2013.
TEAM LEADERSHIP: Utah’s Timmy Allen has averaged 18.3 points and 7.5 rebounds while Rylan Jones has put up 10.4 points and 4.5 assists. For the Golden Bears, Matt Bradley has averaged 17.8 points and five rebounds while Grant Anticevich has put up 8.2 points and 5.6 rebounds.
DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS: The Golden Bears have given up just 66.1 points per game across nine conference games. That’s an improvement from the 69.8 per game they allowed over 13 non-conference games.
KEY CONTRIBUTOR: Allen has had his hand in 43 percent of all Utah field goals over the last three games. The sophomore forward has 13 field goals and 13 assists in those games.
TWO STREAKS: Cal has dropped its last six road games, scoring 54.8 points and allowing 70.7 points during those contests. Utah has won its last three home games, scoring an average of 69 points while giving up 62.
PASSING FOR POINTS: The Utes have recently converted buckets via assists more often than the Golden Bears. Utah has 39 assists on 61 field goals (63.9 percent) over its previous three outings while Cal has assists on 31 of 74 field goals (41.9 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: Cal has scored 68.7 points and allowed 71.7 points over its last three games. Utah has managed 57.7 points and given up 61.7 over its last three.
