Bears basketball game day: No. 24 Cal vs. Oregon State
Bears basketball game day:
in Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals
Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas
The game will be televised on FOX Sports 1; Radio on KGO 810 AM; Live stats on CalBears.com
The Bears have locked up a spot in their first NCAA Tournament since 2013.
Getting forward Jaylen Brown, who totaled 15 points on 5-for-19 shooting in Cal’s two-game road swing in Arizona, back on track could be key.
[...] they coalesced down the stretch, winning seven of their past 10 games to likely secure their first March Madness berth in 26 years.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has OSU as a No. 10 seed in his mock bracket released Thursday.
The Beavers are without forward Tres Tinkle, who was averaging 13.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game before suffering a foot injury last week.
Fellow freshman Stephen Thompson, Jr., has averaged 17.3 points per game in Tinkle’s absence.
Senior guard Gary Payton II.
The two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year is on the verge of leading OSU to its first NCAA Tournament since his father, the Hall of Famer known as “The Glove,” donned orange short shorts.
Over his two games against Cal this season, Payton averaged 15 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals.
When they were in high school, Oregon State guard Langston Morris-Walker played on the same Oakland Soldiers AAU team as Cal guard Jabari Bird.
Edge for Oregon State:
The Bears are second to last in the conference with a turnover margin of minus-2.9.
OSU, which has tallied fewer or the same number of giveaways as its opponent in 21 of its past 22 games, is on the other end of the spectrum.
The Bears lead the series 83-61, and have won six of the past seven games.
Without Tres Tinkle, who erupted for 22 points in Haas Pavilion last month, OSU will have a tough time keeping pace with Cal.