Scouting report: No. 5 Arizona vs. Cal

Game info — Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals 

Matchup: No. 5 Arizona Wildcats (28-3) vs. California Golden Bears (18-14) 

Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nev. 

Time: 12:10 p.m. Thursday 

TV: Pac-12 Arizona 

Radio: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM 

Probable starters for Arizona 

Probable starters for Cal 

How they match up 

How they got here: Cal finished in a three-way tie for eighth place in the Pac-12 with Washington State and Colorado, but earned the No. 8 seed on tiebreakers because of its 2-1 collective record against the Cougars and Buffs. Then the Bears beat WSU 84-59 in the Pac-12 tournament first-round game Wednesday, shooting 58.5 percent from the field and outrebounding the Cougs 37-22. 

How they match up 

The season series: Arizona had little trouble in two big wins over Cal during the regular season. The Wildcats won 73-50 in Berkeley on Jan. 24, when Stanley Johnson had 18 points and nine rebounds, and crushed the Bears 99-60 last Thursday at McKale Center. In the second game, the Wildcats had six players score in double figures while guard T.J. McConnell had 11 assists and no turnovers. 

What's new with the Bears 

After being swept at Arizona and ASU last weekend, Cal put up one of their best overall efforts of the season in the win over ASU on Wednesday. Center David Kravish had a career-high 25 points while wings Jabari Bird and Jordan Mathews each hit three three-pointers. Cal is most talented when it plays four guards but often starts Dwight Tarwater at power forward to better match up with bigger teams such as Arizona. 

Arizona's key player: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

If Arizona’s defensive stopper is motivated by not winning the Pac-12’s Defensive Player of the Year award, we may find out Thursday. Hollis-Jefferson will have the task of slowing down the three Cal wings who hit a collective 7 for 8 from three-point territory on Wednesday against ASU. 

Cal's key player: David Kravish

Arizona already proved that it can beat the Bears easily even when Kravish is on – he had 16 points and 11 rebounds against UA in January – but it sure gets easier when the big guy can’t establish himself inside. Kravish had three first-half fouls against the Wildcats last week and fouled out with 10 points in UA’s 39-point romp. 

The scout says 

“We’ve gotta come in like a team that hasn’t done things yet and that’s who we are. We’re very aware that we have not won a Pac-12 tournament championship (since 2002)… It’s just matching their intensity. Are they gonna play harder than us? Are we gonna let David Kravish impose his will? Same thing with Tyrone Wallace, Jabari Bird, Jordan Mathews. Those guys have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain.” — UA assistant coach Book Richardson, who scouted the Bears. 

Miller may be his own worst enemy  

UA coach Sean Miller and McConnell gingerly discussed the Pac-12’s postseason awards so as not to diss those who won, but Pac-12 Networks analyst Don MacLean said UA may now have chip on its shoulder this week.

“Oh yeah,” MacLean said. “If I think I’m the best defensive player in the league and I don’t get it, I may come with a pretty good defensive effort the first time after those awards are announced. If McConnell were like a Joe Young (the Oregon guard who won Player of the Year) and got you 20 a night then you may see him come in and try to go off, but that’s not the way McConnell plays.” 

As for UA coach Sean Miller, who lost out on coach of the year to Oregon’s Dana Altman, he may be his own worst enemy.

“The problem for Sean is he’s gotten that program to a level that they’re expected to do what they did this year every year,” MacLean said. “So you just wonder when is he ever going to win coach of the year if he didn’t win it this year. He’s certainly deserving in my opinion. Sean’s probably going to have to have a 17-1 season or an 18-0 season to get it.”

Wildcats will likely stay West  

Not only are the Wildcats widely expected to receive a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament almost no matter what happens this week — barring upsets elsewhere that could boost them into a No. 1 seed — they are almost certain to stay in the West region no matter what seed they get.

While the NCAA used to use an “S Curve” to match up the top No. 1 seed with the lowest No. 2, it now prioritizes geography — meaning Wisconsin might have to face Kentucky in the Midwest region even if the Badgers are the best No. 2 seed — and meaning the Wildcats will likely stay West.

“Geography certainly plays a component in our current principles and procedures,” NCAA selection committee chair Scott Barnes said on a conference call Wednesday. “Teams from the same conference being placed in the same region is another consideration, making sure that we have separation there. The S curve is not something that we currently use in our principles and procedures.” 

Cornell grad Tarwater benefitting Bears  

Partly because it's pretty tough to get into one of Cal's postgraduate programs, the Bears had never had one of those increasingly common grad transfers join their program. Until Tarwater did this season, having brought in some significant academic cred as a graduate of Cornell.

Especially after sophomore Kameron Rooks went down with a knee injury last summer, the Bears needed help up front. And Tarwater said he wanted to play at the highest level of college basketball for his final season of eligibility when he graduated last spring. 

"It worked out great," Tarwater said. "It's been an amazing opportunity."

Tarwater said he is planning to finish a two-year master's degree in Public Health next year.

Catch all of the action for free 

Fans not subscribing to the Pac-12 Networks can catch all of Thursday's Pac-12 tournament games via Pac-12.com and the Pac-12 Now app. Kevin Calabro and Don MacLean will work the UA-Cal and USC-UCLA games Thursday afternoon, while Ted Robinson and Bill Walton have the evening games. Mike Yam, Lamar Hurd and Matt Muehlebach will work studio pregame, halftime and postgame shows.  

Numbers game 

7 — UA wins in 12 Pac-12 tournament games under coach Sean Miller. 

Numbers game 

25 — Points Cal beat WSU by Wednesday, the Bears’ largest margin of victory since Nov. 16, when they beat Kennesaw State 93-59. 

Numbers game 

905 — Career rebounds for Cal’s David Kravish, who had eight Wednesday to become Cal’s third rebounder of all time.