Fresno State @ California

Who will WIN this matchup?

Fresno State Bulldogs (2-6)

@ California Golden Bears (5-4)

Current odds:

Fresno State Bulldogs: (-110)

California Golden Bears: (-110)

• The line for this game is even.

• California is experiencing its first spell of turbulence under new coach Mark Fox, but it’s nothing he didn’t expect. The Bears look to get untracked on Wednesday against visiting Fresno State, which was picked to finish fifth in the Mountain West preseason media poll. Cal opened the season on a high note with four straight wins but has dropped four of its last five contests – including last Saturday’s 71-52 loss to Santa Clara. Guard Matt Bradley averages a team-high 17.1 points to lead the Bears, who won eight games in each of the past two seasons and were pegged to finish last in the Pac-12 preseason poll. “I knew we would have some rough patches,” Fox told reporters. “I knew what I was getting into. We’re going to have to go through the process. We’re going to have to learn some lessons and grow from each one. It’s going to take a little time and there will be a lot of bumps in the road, but if we’re committed to the process, maybe we’ll get to the end of it.” The Bears are looking to regroup after losing back-to-back games to West Coast Conference foes San Francisco and Santa Clara by a combined 31 points.

• The Bulldogs turned in an encouraging outing in last Saturday’s 77-70 overtime loss to Utah State behind a stellar effort from senior forward Nate Grimes, who recorded his third straight double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Senior guard New Williams broke out of a shooting slump by scoring a career-high 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. Freshman guard Jerred Hyder ranks second on the team in scoring at 12.7 points per game but was held to seven points on 3-of-12 shooting in 39 minutes against Utah State.

• Bradley scored 14 points on 4-of-15 shooting and collected a technical foul against Santa Clara while Grant Anticevich and Kareem South scored nine points apiece. Fox shook up his starting lineup by inserting Paris Austin at point guard over Joel Brown and giving Andre Kelly the nod over Lars Thiemann at center, but the Bears still shot a season-low 28.6 percent from the field and were 3-for-13 from the 3-point arc. Austin averaged 11.6 points and 4.4 assists last season but has struggled to find his role under Fox, averaging 7.5 points and 2.1 assists in eight games

• Cal holds a 5-3 lead in the all-time series but lost last season’s matchup 95-73 in Fresno.

• Fresno State is 20-5 when leading with five minutes to play in regulation under coach Justin Hutson.

• Cal is 5-0 at home this season but winless in four games away from Haas Pavilion.