Arizona vs. Cal Prediction, Game Preview
Arizona vs. Cal prediction and game preview. The surging Bears can tighten the Pac-12 standings with a victory over the Wildcats on Saturday night in Tucson.
Arizona vs. Cal prediction and game preview. The surging Bears can tighten the Pac-12 standings with a victory over the Wildcats on Saturday night in Tucson.
Arizona vs. Cal Game Preview
When: Saturday, Feb. 11 – 9 p.m. ET
Where: McKale Center, Tuscon, Arizona.
TV Broadcast: ESPN2
Arizona was humbled last Saturday against Oregon in an 85-58 loss that was pretty much over right when it began. The Ducks shot an astounding 65.2 percent from the field and hit 16 3-pointers, many uncontested due to the Wildcats’ poor defense. Arizona shot 42.6 percent, the same exact mark it had against Stanford on Wednesday.
The biggest difference was the Wildcats getting to the free throw line 29 times compared to 8 against Oregon, making 26 of those attempts in a 74-67 victory. Allonzo Trier entered the starting lineup for the first time in his six games since returning from suspension and scored 22 points while going 12 for 12 from the line. Freshman Lauri Markkanen hit a tie-breaking 3-pointer with less than two minutes remaining to start Arizona’s 7-0 run to end the game, but he finished 2 of 9 from the floor and scored only eight points.
The Wildcats are going to have to be much more efficient offensively against a Cal team that has won five in a row and suddenly is in the hunt for the Pac-12 title. The Golden Bears are 18-6 and 9-3 in the conference after Wednesday’s 68-43 win over Arizona State as standout sophomore Ivan Rabb finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Cal has other weapons like freshman point guard Charlie Moore, Jabari Bird and Grant Mullens who will give the Wildcats all they can handle on their home court. Arizona has won six of the last seven meetings, though.
Arizona Wins If …
… Markkanen gets back into a groove. The 7-footer shot 52.6 percent from the field and 50.5 percent from 3-point range while averaging 16.8 points over his first 22 games, failing to score in double figures only once. But over the last three, Markkanen has combined for 20 points and his shot 4 of 20 from the floor, committing the same amount of turnovers as he has field goals made. He’ll need to get back to his previous form so the Wildcats don’t have to rely so heavily on Trier.
Cal Wins If …
… it continues playing solid defense. Opponents have shot just 36.5 percent during the Bears’ five-game winning streak and 26.4 percent from beyond the arc. They held Arizona State to 15-of-59 shooting Wednesday. If Cal keeps up that sort of defense, the struggling Wildcats could find themselves in another tough battle.
Matchup To Watch
Moore vs. Kadeem Allen
Moore is averaging 14 points per game and is a threat every time he touches the ball. He scored 38 points in his second career collegiate game and has scored in double digits in all but six. Allen is more of a distributing point guard, and he’ll have to be on his toes defensively to slow down Moore.
Betting Odds
Spread: No line as of post
Over/Under: No line as of post
Arizona vs. Cal Prediction
With the way Cal has been playing, I’d give this game to the Bears if it was in Berkeley. They’re going to keep this one pretty tight throughout, but ultimately I expect Trier to take over down the stretch to give the ‘Cats a narrow victory.
Arizona vs. Cal final score prediction: Arizona 76, Cal 71
