Ok guys, here is the Game Hub for tonight's men's basketball game against Incarnate Word (8:00 PM PST on Pac-12 Networks). This thread will fire up with 5 things to look for going into this game.
#1. Due to Cal being vastly more athletic, expect Incarnate Word to throw zone at Cal unless they have no clue how to run zone: Incarnate Word has one player who stands at 6'11" named Jerred Kite, who plays 8.5 minutes per game. Their next tallest player is 6'8" forward Tavin Askew, who plays only 8 minutes per game. So, by having a lot less size, length, and athleticism on the floor, Incarnate Word's only hope of pulling off an upset is to run zone. If they try to go man-to-man like Sam Houston State did, then they will get killed. Only expect Incarnate Word to go man-to-man if they literally can't do zone, which was the case with Sam Houston State.
#2. Look for Incarnate Word to do whatever they can to get to the foul line: Incarnate Word is a solid foul shooting team, shooting 74.0% from the foul line as a team. Their leading scorer Jontrell Walker, a 6'1", 188 pound point guard, averages 15.2 points per game and has shot 23-24 (95.8%) from the foul line on the season. 5'9" point guard Mitchell Badillo shoots 91.1% from the foul line while averaging 9.3 points per game. In essence, Incarnate Word will really need to do whatever they can to get to the line and convert their foul shots. Look for them to drive and attack a lot and look to draw fouls.
#3. Cal should KILL Incarnate Word on the glass: On average, Cal out-rebounds their opponents 42-33 while Incarnate Word on average gets out-rebounded 35.0-43.7. Cal better win the rebounding battle decisively in this game and make Incarnate Word consider giving Jerred Kite extended minutes.
#4. This game would be a nice game for Jabari Bird to erupt: Considering that Incarnate Word is a smaller, athletically inferior team, Cal should do whatever they can to get Jabari Bird going and get him some confidence going into the St. Mary's game. It would be great if Jabari erupted for 20 points or something along those lines.
#5. Has Stephen Domingo fallen out of the rotation? Roger Moute a Bidias got 23 minutes against Wyoming while Stephen Domingo got 3 minutes. It's possible that Roger Moute a Bidias has pushed his way into the rotation, leaving Domingo to gather dust on the bench.
Prediction: Assuming Cal plays like they are supposed to, this game shouldn't be close. Cal has more athleticism, talent, weapons, etc. Plus, they are playing in Berkeley. Assuming Cal doesn't go stupid, which could happen, I predict Cal to win this game by the final score of 90-65. The win at Wyoming should have given them tremendous confidence and they should be ready to put the hurt on their next opponent in Haas.
#1. Due to Cal being vastly more athletic, expect Incarnate Word to throw zone at Cal unless they have no clue how to run zone: Incarnate Word has one player who stands at 6'11" named Jerred Kite, who plays 8.5 minutes per game. Their next tallest player is 6'8" forward Tavin Askew, who plays only 8 minutes per game. So, by having a lot less size, length, and athleticism on the floor, Incarnate Word's only hope of pulling off an upset is to run zone. If they try to go man-to-man like Sam Houston State did, then they will get killed. Only expect Incarnate Word to go man-to-man if they literally can't do zone, which was the case with Sam Houston State.
#2. Look for Incarnate Word to do whatever they can to get to the foul line: Incarnate Word is a solid foul shooting team, shooting 74.0% from the foul line as a team. Their leading scorer Jontrell Walker, a 6'1", 188 pound point guard, averages 15.2 points per game and has shot 23-24 (95.8%) from the foul line on the season. 5'9" point guard Mitchell Badillo shoots 91.1% from the foul line while averaging 9.3 points per game. In essence, Incarnate Word will really need to do whatever they can to get to the line and convert their foul shots. Look for them to drive and attack a lot and look to draw fouls.
#3. Cal should KILL Incarnate Word on the glass: On average, Cal out-rebounds their opponents 42-33 while Incarnate Word on average gets out-rebounded 35.0-43.7. Cal better win the rebounding battle decisively in this game and make Incarnate Word consider giving Jerred Kite extended minutes.
#4. This game would be a nice game for Jabari Bird to erupt: Considering that Incarnate Word is a smaller, athletically inferior team, Cal should do whatever they can to get Jabari Bird going and get him some confidence going into the St. Mary's game. It would be great if Jabari erupted for 20 points or something along those lines.
#5. Has Stephen Domingo fallen out of the rotation? Roger Moute a Bidias got 23 minutes against Wyoming while Stephen Domingo got 3 minutes. It's possible that Roger Moute a Bidias has pushed his way into the rotation, leaving Domingo to gather dust on the bench.
Prediction: Assuming Cal plays like they are supposed to, this game shouldn't be close. Cal has more athleticism, talent, weapons, etc. Plus, they are playing in Berkeley. Assuming Cal doesn't go stupid, which could happen, I predict Cal to win this game by the final score of 90-65. The win at Wyoming should have given them tremendous confidence and they should be ready to put the hurt on their next opponent in Haas.
