On Thursday (today) at 6:00 PM PST on ESPN, the #25 ranked California Golden Bears will take on the #18 Arizona Wildcats. Cal is 21-8 overall and 11-5 in Pac-12 play. Arizona is 22-7 overall and 10-6 in Pac-12 play. I will start this game thread off with my list of five things to look for going into the game.
#1. How much of a difference will Tyrone Wallace make? Cal beat Arizona 74-73 at Haas Pavilion on January 23 without Tyrone Wallace. It will be interesting to see whether or not Tyrone Wallace's presence on the floor will give Cal the extra boost needed to win. In theory, his presence should. He'll be an additional scoring weapon that Cal didn't have and one more guy who is capable of making big plays in crunch time.
#2. Cal needs to do a better job on the glass: In Cal's 1 point win over Arizona, Arizona won the battle on the glass 32-27. Winning the battle on the glass against Arizona will be no easy task. Arizona on average wins the rebounding battle against their opponents by 10.7 boards thanks to Ryan Anderson and Kaleb Tarczewski, two bigs who combine for 19.1 rebounds per game. Kingsley Okoroh, Kameron Rooks, and Ivan Rabb better be animals on the glass and do whatever they can to keep the basketball away from the Arizona Wildcats.
#3. Will Cal be ready for the moment? This game right here is a huge test for Cal. While it's true that the NCAA tournament and Pac-12 tournament are played at neutral sties, going on the road against a quality ranked opponent like Arizona will give us a good sense of where this Cal team is at. Cal doesn't have to win this game to show that they belong among the nation's best teams, but they better play hard and at the very least keep this game close. If Arizona wins by more than 5 points, that will be a very disappointing result for Cal.
#4. Cal has to get to the line and make their foul shots: Against Arizona back in January, Cal shot 12-18 from the foul line while Arizona shot 15-17. Considering those numbers, Cal is very lucky to have gotten the win. In order to beat a team like Arizona on the road, the foul shooting has to be even better than what it usually is. Cal has to be in attack mode all night, get to the line frequently, and knock down their foul shots. Getting to the line and hitting free throws is a key ingredient to the formula for road success. Especially against programs like Arizona.
#5. How will Young Ivee be received in Arizona? Ivan Rabb going into Arizona is tantamount to Jason Kidd going into Kansas in the early 1990s. Ivan Rabb chose Cal over Arizona and I can guarantee that some Arizona fans have some hard feelings about that. It'll be interesting to see if he gets booed for much of the night and just in general, how the Arizona fans receive him. They shouldn't be offended that he chose to stay local, but fans are funny nonetheless, and very well may let their displeasure with his decision be known.
Prediction: Cal certainly has what it takes to win this game. They've won 7 straight games and are overflowing with confidence. Unfortunately, Arizona is eager to defend their home court after dropping two straight games in the Rocky Mountains. Arizona wants Cal to know that they still are the premier team in the Pac-12 and that nobody goes into the McKale Center and gets a win (except for Oregon). Arizona also is very tough on the boards and much better at the foul line. With both teams being great defensive teams, but Arizona being better in those two areas, I have to give Arizona the edge in this game. I got the Wildcats winning 76-71.
#1. How much of a difference will Tyrone Wallace make? Cal beat Arizona 74-73 at Haas Pavilion on January 23 without Tyrone Wallace. It will be interesting to see whether or not Tyrone Wallace's presence on the floor will give Cal the extra boost needed to win. In theory, his presence should. He'll be an additional scoring weapon that Cal didn't have and one more guy who is capable of making big plays in crunch time.
#2. Cal needs to do a better job on the glass: In Cal's 1 point win over Arizona, Arizona won the battle on the glass 32-27. Winning the battle on the glass against Arizona will be no easy task. Arizona on average wins the rebounding battle against their opponents by 10.7 boards thanks to Ryan Anderson and Kaleb Tarczewski, two bigs who combine for 19.1 rebounds per game. Kingsley Okoroh, Kameron Rooks, and Ivan Rabb better be animals on the glass and do whatever they can to keep the basketball away from the Arizona Wildcats.
#3. Will Cal be ready for the moment? This game right here is a huge test for Cal. While it's true that the NCAA tournament and Pac-12 tournament are played at neutral sties, going on the road against a quality ranked opponent like Arizona will give us a good sense of where this Cal team is at. Cal doesn't have to win this game to show that they belong among the nation's best teams, but they better play hard and at the very least keep this game close. If Arizona wins by more than 5 points, that will be a very disappointing result for Cal.
#4. Cal has to get to the line and make their foul shots: Against Arizona back in January, Cal shot 12-18 from the foul line while Arizona shot 15-17. Considering those numbers, Cal is very lucky to have gotten the win. In order to beat a team like Arizona on the road, the foul shooting has to be even better than what it usually is. Cal has to be in attack mode all night, get to the line frequently, and knock down their foul shots. Getting to the line and hitting free throws is a key ingredient to the formula for road success. Especially against programs like Arizona.
#5. How will Young Ivee be received in Arizona? Ivan Rabb going into Arizona is tantamount to Jason Kidd going into Kansas in the early 1990s. Ivan Rabb chose Cal over Arizona and I can guarantee that some Arizona fans have some hard feelings about that. It'll be interesting to see if he gets booed for much of the night and just in general, how the Arizona fans receive him. They shouldn't be offended that he chose to stay local, but fans are funny nonetheless, and very well may let their displeasure with his decision be known.
Prediction: Cal certainly has what it takes to win this game. They've won 7 straight games and are overflowing with confidence. Unfortunately, Arizona is eager to defend their home court after dropping two straight games in the Rocky Mountains. Arizona wants Cal to know that they still are the premier team in the Pac-12 and that nobody goes into the McKale Center and gets a win (except for Oregon). Arizona also is very tough on the boards and much better at the foul line. With both teams being great defensive teams, but Arizona being better in those two areas, I have to give Arizona the edge in this game. I got the Wildcats winning 76-71.
