On Saturday at 5:30 PM PST on ESPN, Cal will take on the #12 ranked Arizona Wildcats in Berkeley. Cal comes into this game 3-3 in Pac-12 play while Arizona is 4-2. Cal is coming off of a 75-70 win over Arizona State on Thursday in Berkeley while Arizona is coming off of a 71-57 win over Stanford in Palo Alto. I will get this game hub rolling with 5 things to look for going into this huge game.
#1. This could be a defensive struggle: Usually you think of exciting basketball matchups as high scoring affairs where both teams go back and forth and deliver blows by hitting clutch shots or throwing down vicious dunks. In the case of this one, the most exciting plays of the game very well may be on plays where teams don’t score the basketball due to a blocked shot or a clutch rebound. Cal is holding opponents to 66.2 points per game while Arizona is holding opponents to 66.6 points per game. Neither team is going to have an easy time scoring the basketball, which means each basket scored will be precious.
#2. Ivan Rabb statement game? Ivan Rabb’s college decision came down to Cal or Arizona. He chose the Golden Bears and with the Wildcats coming into his building, he may feel an extra motivation to play well and show them that he’s just fine choosing Cal over them. As bonus motivation, if Cal wins this game, they’ll actually be ahead of Arizona via head-to-head tiebreaker. However, I’m not sure if Cal would be ahead of them in the standings since there could be three or more teams with 4-3 records.
#3. Look for an intense battle on the boards: Cal grabs 40.2 rebounds per game and Arizona grabs 41.3 rebounds per game. Ivan Rabb leads the Golden Bears with 8.6 rebounds per game and Ryan Anderson leads the Wildcats with 10.1 rebounds per game. Expect to see Kingsley Okoroh and Kameron Rooks get their share of minutes alongside Ivan Rabb in this one. Cal will need to get all the rebounds they can get in this game to keep Ryan Anderson and Kaleb Tarczewski off the glass.
#4. Who takes the big shot? Two years ago, when Cal last beat Arizona, Justin Cobbs was the one who made the game-winning shot and took over in the clutch. With Tyrone Wallace out, who will be that guy for Cal? Will it be Ivan Rabb? Jaylen Brown? Jordan Mathews? Jabari Bird? Or will Sam Singer hit a fade away shot from the corner as time expires?
#5. Cal has to stay out of foul trouble: The refs haven’t exactly been Cal’s friends as Pac-12 play has started. Cal has to make sure they keep Arizona off the line as much as possible and keep Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb on the floor.
Prediction: One could argue this one either way. Cal is undefeated at home and has proven capable of dethroning the Wildcats in the past. This Cal team is more talented than the team from two years ago and the Wildcats aren’t undefeated and ranked #1.
With Cal being better than they were two years ago and Arizona not being as good, it seems like picking Cal is a no brainer, right? Wrong. Arizona is still one of the best teams in the country and they do not want to drop a game on the road against a team who they know has the talent to hang with them in the Pac-12.
Plus, Arizona head coach Sean Miller will remind his players of what happened two years ago. Kaleb Tarczewski was on that team that lost in Berkeley and I can guarantee that he doesn’t want to see another sea of gold rush the court at the end of the night. I’m going to be rational here and pick the Wildcats to win 69-66. But, I would not be surprised to see Cal win this one. They are undefeated at home and they take it up a notch at Haas Pavilion when teams like Arizona come to town.
#1. This could be a defensive struggle: Usually you think of exciting basketball matchups as high scoring affairs where both teams go back and forth and deliver blows by hitting clutch shots or throwing down vicious dunks. In the case of this one, the most exciting plays of the game very well may be on plays where teams don’t score the basketball due to a blocked shot or a clutch rebound. Cal is holding opponents to 66.2 points per game while Arizona is holding opponents to 66.6 points per game. Neither team is going to have an easy time scoring the basketball, which means each basket scored will be precious.
#2. Ivan Rabb statement game? Ivan Rabb’s college decision came down to Cal or Arizona. He chose the Golden Bears and with the Wildcats coming into his building, he may feel an extra motivation to play well and show them that he’s just fine choosing Cal over them. As bonus motivation, if Cal wins this game, they’ll actually be ahead of Arizona via head-to-head tiebreaker. However, I’m not sure if Cal would be ahead of them in the standings since there could be three or more teams with 4-3 records.
#3. Look for an intense battle on the boards: Cal grabs 40.2 rebounds per game and Arizona grabs 41.3 rebounds per game. Ivan Rabb leads the Golden Bears with 8.6 rebounds per game and Ryan Anderson leads the Wildcats with 10.1 rebounds per game. Expect to see Kingsley Okoroh and Kameron Rooks get their share of minutes alongside Ivan Rabb in this one. Cal will need to get all the rebounds they can get in this game to keep Ryan Anderson and Kaleb Tarczewski off the glass.
#4. Who takes the big shot? Two years ago, when Cal last beat Arizona, Justin Cobbs was the one who made the game-winning shot and took over in the clutch. With Tyrone Wallace out, who will be that guy for Cal? Will it be Ivan Rabb? Jaylen Brown? Jordan Mathews? Jabari Bird? Or will Sam Singer hit a fade away shot from the corner as time expires?
#5. Cal has to stay out of foul trouble: The refs haven’t exactly been Cal’s friends as Pac-12 play has started. Cal has to make sure they keep Arizona off the line as much as possible and keep Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb on the floor.
Prediction: One could argue this one either way. Cal is undefeated at home and has proven capable of dethroning the Wildcats in the past. This Cal team is more talented than the team from two years ago and the Wildcats aren’t undefeated and ranked #1.
With Cal being better than they were two years ago and Arizona not being as good, it seems like picking Cal is a no brainer, right? Wrong. Arizona is still one of the best teams in the country and they do not want to drop a game on the road against a team who they know has the talent to hang with them in the Pac-12.
Plus, Arizona head coach Sean Miller will remind his players of what happened two years ago. Kaleb Tarczewski was on that team that lost in Berkeley and I can guarantee that he doesn’t want to see another sea of gold rush the court at the end of the night. I’m going to be rational here and pick the Wildcats to win 69-66. But, I would not be surprised to see Cal win this one. They are undefeated at home and they take it up a notch at Haas Pavilion when teams like Arizona come to town.
