Who: No. 14 Arizona (14-4, 4-1) at California (7-11, 1-4)
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Haas Pavilion, Berkeley
Watch: Pac-12 Networks
Listen: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM
Follow: @TheWildcaster on Twitter / TheWildcaster on Facebook
Scouting report: No. 14 Arizona Wildcats at California Golden Bears
Following a loss at Colorado in their last away game — not to mention some shaky play against Utah — the Wildcats hope to get their road grit back on track starting Wednesday with the Golden Bears. Cal has struggled mightily through the first half of the season, dropping four of its first five conference bouts after returning only two rotation players from 2016-17. But it wouldn't be the first time the Bears stun Arizona at Haas Pavilion. Here's the scouting report.
By Bruce Pascoe / Arizona Daily Star
Game info
Probable starters: Arizona
Probable starters: California
How they match up
Lauri Markkanen puts Ivan Rabb on skates last year in a win over Cal.
The series:
Arizona has won three straight and seven of the last eight against Cal, but lost to the Bears 74-73 in Berkeley on Jan. 23, 2016, when UA’s Gabe York missed a potential game-winning runner six feet away from the basket just before time expired. Last season, Arizona beat Cal by five points both at McKale Center and at Haas Pavilion. Lauri Markkanen had 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead UA at Cal last season, though he shot just 1 for 5 from 3-point range. Arizona leads the series 62-31 overall.
Cal overview
Wyking Jones took over a Cal team with only two returning rotation players.
Cuonzo Martin left the light on when he bolted to Missouri last spring, but it was flickering. His assistant, Wyking Jones, was promoted to head coach and took over a team with only two returning rotation players plus Kentucky transfer Marcus Lee.
As a result, the Bears were picked to finish 11th in the Pac-12 and they’ve played to that level so far, coming back from a 17-point lead to beat Stanford in the conference opener but losing four straight games since then.
The Bears are aggressive defensively with their shifting zone and press, but they aren’t terribly efficient, allowing an average of 105.8 points per 100 opponent possessions. Offensively, Cal doesn’t shoot well, just 33.6 percent from 3-point range and 47.1 percent from two, but the Bears make up for it somewhat by pulling down 36.0 percent of their missed shots, the 16th-best offensive rebounding percentage in the nation.
Cal also blocks 5.2 average shots per game, swatting away 14.8 percent of its opponents’ shots, though the Bears are averaging just 2.6 blocks in Pac-12 games so far. The Bears start three freshmen, including point guard Darius McNeill, but rely much more heavily on junior guard Don Coleman after losing seniors Charlie Moore and Grant Mullins, along with Charlie Moore, who transferred to Kansas after last season. Cal often goes with a smaller lineup with Justice Sueing at power forward, but the freshman is averaging 19.2 points in Pac-12 games, while the veteran Lee averages 1.9 blocks and 7.8 rebounds. Cal still can go big when 7-footer Kingsley Okoroh comes off the bench. He averages 2.2 blocks while playing 23.5 minutes a game. However, the Bears’ other 7-footer last season, Kameron Rooks left for San Diego State as a grad transfer.
He said it
“They play almost a completely different style on defense than they did a year ago (under former coach Cuonzo Martin). Maybe (there are similarities) a little bit on offense but on defense, there’s more full-court pressure, more zone, and they’re mixing their defenses to utilize their quickness. And they have shot-blocking. I think their defensive style really caters to their qualities.” – UA coach Sean Miller
Key player: Justice Sueing
Justice Sueing led Cal in scoring, rebounding and 3-point percentage in 2018.
The Hawaiian freshman has excelled in Pac-12 play so far, leading the Bears in scoring, rebounding and 3-point shooting percentage. As a 6-7 power forward, he can create mismatches with his quickness and athleticism.
Key player: Keanu Pinder
Pinder gave his most impactful effort of the season against Oregon on Saturday and, while UA has received rotating efforts off the bench lately, his athleticism and aggressiveness could make him another factor at Cal, where he will match up with the Bears’ high-energy frontcourt.
High praise for Ayton
At his news conference Tuesday in Berkeley, Cal coach Wyking Jones was asked if he’d ever had to face as big man as skilled as Arizona’s Deandre Ayton.
He didn’t need long to answer.
“No. There’s nobody… ” Jones said, chuckling slightly. “You’re talking about a guy who’s probably going to be the No. 1 pick in the (NBA) draft as a freshman.
“His skills, size, strength – he’s an animal, he’s a monster.
“I don’t know that we’ve seen anyone like that in the last 10 years in college basketball. So he’s a special, one-of-a-kind talent.”
Asked how the Bears can guard him, Jones said, they must crowd him and have defenders rotate well enough to handle any passes he kicks out of the post.
“You’re not going to stop him,” Jones said. “You just don’t want him to go crazy.
“You don’t want him to get 30 (points) and 20 (rebounds).”
Vivid reminder
Cal beat then-No. 1 Arizona in Berkeley in 2014, and Sean Miller hasn't forgotten about the Wildcats' loss at Colorado this year, either.
Just in case the Wildcats look at Cal’s 1-4 record in conference play, or consider the losses of Ivan Rabb, Jabari Bird, Charlie Moore and others from last season’s team, UA coach Sean Miller has an easy antidote at hand.
That would be Arizona’s 80-77 loss on Jan. 6, against an unheralded and young team at Colorado.
Miller said the Bears don’t have much experience or depth but play hard, and are more likely to do so at home, just as Colorado did.
“There’s a big difference between playing on the road and at home for an inexperienced team,” Miller said. “They’re playing us and I think they’re gonna be energized. We have to treat them with the respect they deserve. … Colorado out-energized us, they played with a lot more spirit. We have to be able to match their energy.”
Quiet discussions
The Wildcats haven’t been publicly vocal about the rights issues brought to light again this week with Martin Luther King day — forward Rawle Alkins says “I just kind of stay in my lane” — but Miller says they discuss them behind closed doors on occasion.
“I think we address those types of issues almost weekly in some form or fashion,” Miller said. “Our players are college students — each of them has a mind of their own. Each of them comes from a different background.
“We have three players who aren’t from the United States so they bring that perspective to the table. That’s the beauty of sports and being on a team. You’re blended together with people from different backgrounds…
“Those types of things I think allow you to get a different perspective than maybe the one in your own house. We spend a lot of time together. Those types of conversations happen when you’re around each other a lot.”
Numbers game
3
Cal forward Justice Sueing’s rank in scoring (19.2) during Pac-12 play.
85.3
Arizona’s free-throw shooting percentage in Pac-12 games, the best mark in the league.
96.7
Allonzo Trier’s free-throw shooting percentage in Pac-12 games (29 of 30).
212
Cal’s kenpom.com overall ranking out of 351 Division I teams.
But the UA women's team will have its first-ever representative in Cate Reese.
Wednesday-Saturday series is a change for Wildcats, who typically rely on routine to keep edge on road.
"We have different guys stepping up on different nights," said coach Sean Miller.
Deandre Ayton's 13th double-double helps Cats overcome 21 turnovers.
BERKELEY, Calif. — Arizona committed a season-high 21 turnovers against the Golden Bears, but managed to pull through for a 79-58 road win. Be…