Jeremiah Wilkinson, Cal take aim at skidding Sacramento State

Field Level Media|published: Sat 23rd November, 20:52 2024

Feb 24, 2024; Berkeley, California, USA; California Golden Bears head coach Mark Madsen reacts during the first half against the Oregon Ducks at Haas Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

California hopes to take a second step toward a three-game sweep in its Cal Classic men's basketball tournament when the Golden Bears host Sacramento State on Sunday afternoon in Berkeley, Calif.

Cal (4-1) opened the four-team, round-robin event with a 78-69 win over Air Force on Thursday night, riding a breakout 23-point performance by freshman guard Jeremiah Wilkinson.

Sacramento State (1-3) will play its three Cal Classic games over the course of the next seven days, visiting Air Force on Wednesday before hosting Mercyhurst next Saturday.

With three starters out of the lineup, Wilkinson took advantage of greater opportunity to score 12 more points than he'd totaled in the first four games of his college career.

Jovan Blacksher Jr., DJ Campbell and BJ Omot are all still considered questionable, so Wilkinson could get a chance to further introduce himself to his new fans when the Hornets visit.

"I know we got guys going down, (so) it was going to be my chance to step up and have a bigger role," Wilkinson said. "My thought process is to use my athleticism and get downhill. That's kind of like my strength. That's really the goal: Get downhill and put pressure on the defense."

Cal has done a lot of that at home this season, going 3-0 on the strength of 85.0 points per game.

Sacramento State has been much stingier than that on defense so far, limiting Fresno State and U.C. San Diego to 64 points apiece in its two previous road games.

The Hornets lost those contests, then returned home and dropped a third straight last Saturday to Cal State Northridge, 79-69.

Jacob Holt had a career-high 20 points in the loss to Northridge before fouling out of a two-point game with 3:30 remaining.

The 6-foot-10 forward knows the game plan against Cal, which would be down a key big man if the 6-foot-8 Omot misses a second straight game.

"One thing the coaches emphasize is being aggressive," Holt said. "They want me to be aggressive and they have belief in me to make plays and really play free."

--Field Level Media