Series history
Arizona has won nine of its last 10 games with California, and the last two in Berkeley. Last season, UA won 79-58 at Haas Pavilion despite giving up 21 turnovers and 66-54 at McKale Center behind Deandre Ayton’s “20-20” homecourt finale. The UA’s star freshman scored 26 points and had 20 rebounds.
This season
Arizona will also face the Bears on Feb. 21 at McKale Center.
California overview
The Golden Bears are coming off the second-worst season in school history, and this one may not be much better. So far, Cal has lost three Pac-12 games and KenPom.com predicts the Bears will win only one this season — at home against Washington State.
Cal has more depth and talent but has been playing without its best player, point guard Paris Austin, for the past two games because of an ankle sprain. Austin has been practicing recently, however, and appears likely to play Saturday.
Austin’s recent absence forced combo guard Darius McNeill back into a point guard role he was forced to assume much of last season. McNeill’s strength is shooting; he’s the Bears’ third-leading scorer and most prolific 3-point shooter, making 2.3 per game on average at a 37.2-percent rate. Wing forward Justice Sueing can score at all levels and get to the line, while Matt Bradley has the fourth-highest 3-point percentage nationally at 55.3 (21 for 38). He is a physical guard who can bully his way to the basket or free-throw line.
A lightly rated recruit, Andre Kelly has played beyond expectations as a freshman, shooting 60.8 percent from two-point range while leading the Bears in blocked shots and posting good rebounding percentages on both the offensive (8.1) and defensive (19.2) ends. Inside, Cal has been starting 7-foot-3-inch Connor Vanover, who averages only 12.1 minutes a game but has blocked 10 shots.
Defensively, the Bears use a man-to-man and 2-3 zone, and will press at times, but they’re not very good at stopping anybody. Cal has the 25th-worst defensive efficiency in the country, isn’t strong on the defensive boards and allows opponents to shoot 38.1 percent from 3-point range and 56.2 from inside the arc.