UNLV @ California

Who will WIN this matchup?

UNLV Rebels (1-1)

@ California Golden Bears (1-0)

Current odds:

UNLV Rebels: (+150)

California Golden Bears: (-170)

• The line for this game is California by 3.5 points.

• It might look like an insignificant 16-point win over a non-conference foe in the record book, but new California coach Mark Fox is going to savor his team’s season-opening victory. Picked to finish last in the Pac-12 preseason poll, the Bears aim for another encouraging outing Tuesday against visiting UNLV. Sophomore guard Matt Bradley scored 18 of his 25 points in the second half of Tuesday’s 87-71 win over Pepperdine as the Bears won their season opener for the first time since 2016. Cal has finished last in the Pac-12 the past two seasons but appeared re-energized in the opener under Fox, who took last season off following nine years at Georgia. “I’m really proud of these young guys for buying into our vision,” Fox told reporters. “We have worked them extremely hard. When you demand that much of somebody as a coach, it needs to work out so they’ll do it again. They deserve a lot of credit for playing super hard.”

• The Bears take a step up in competition against UNLV, which opened with an 86-71 win over Purdue Fort Wayne before losing 60-56 in overtime to visiting Kansas State on Saturday

• Picked to finish seventh in the Mountain West preseason media poll, the Rebels allowed an average of 65.5 points in their first two games under new coach T.J. Otzelberger. Junior guard Amauri Hardy scored a career-high 27 points on 11-of-23 shooting against Kansas State while senior guard Eli Mitrou-Long added 10, but the Rebels committed 25 turnovers and shot 7-of-26 from 3-point range. UNLV held a 43-37 rebounding edge and received another strong outing from 6-11 forward Mbacke Diong, who had 11 boards in 38 minutes against the Wildcats and is averaging 10.5 points and 14 rebounds.

• The Bears’ starting lineup had a few surprises in the opener as Fox had newcomers Kareem South, Joel Brown and Lars Thiemann on the floor at the tip while returning starters Paris Austin and Andre Kelly came off the bench. The moves worked as Austin recorded 14 points, three assists, four rebounds and no turnovers in 28 minutes while Kelly had his second career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. South, a graduate transfer from Texas A&M Corpus Christi, made a successful Cal debut with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting and three assists in 36 minutes

• UNLV holds a 5-2 lead in the all-time series – including a 76-75 win in the last meeting on Dec. 9, 2012 in Berkeley.

• The Bears are above .500 for the first time since Nov. 16, 2017, when they were 2-1.

• UNLV has made at least one 3-pointer in a NCAA-record 1,072 straight games.