The Utah Utes and Oregon Ducks aren’t the only Pac-12 teams playing in Santa Clara this weekend. Granted it’s a different sport without a conference championship on the line, but Cal men’s basketball (5-3) will face the Santa Clara Broncos (8-2) on Saturday at 2:00 PM PST on WCC Network.
Last time out: On Wednesday, Cal lost to the San Francisco Dons by a final score of 76-64. Jimbo Lull led the way for the Dons with 20 points and 8 rebounds while Kareem South finished with 20 points for the Golden Bears. It was the first game of a two game WCC road trip for the Golden Bears.
RECAP: Cal fails to pick up a win in The City
On Santa Clara: The Broncos have a pretty balanced scoring attack as sophomore guard Trey Wertz (11.1 points), sophomore forward Guglielmo Caruso (10.8 points), junior forward DJ Mitchell (10.4 points), and junior guard Tahj Eaddy (10.0 points) all score in double figures on average. There’s not one player you can key on and say if we slow him down, we win. You have to account for all four of those players along with junior forward Josip Vrankic (9.5 points), who is approaching the double figures club as well.
The Broncos as a team average 79.2 points per game on 48.1% shooting from the field, 32.9% shooting from 3-point range, and 73.0% shooting from the foul line. While their 3-point percentage isn’t great, Caruso (50.0%) and Mitchell (52.2%) are both shooting very efficiently from beyond the arc.
Relative to Cal, the Broncos rebound better, move the ball better, and in general play a cleaner game. Ball movement and ball security in particular standout. The Broncos average a solid 17.6 assists per game to go along with 14.2 turnovers. Cal in contrast averages 10.0 assists per game to go along with 14.5 turnovers.
Keys to the game: There’s no real way to sugar coat this. Cal’s 10.0 assists per game as a team is just pathetic. Ideally, senior point guard Paris Austin would be flirting with 10.0 assist per game all by himself. Instead, he’s averaging 1.9 assists per game. That’s awful for a point guard. What’s even more alarming is he’s leading the team in assists per game! My jaw dropped when I saw that stat this morning. Freshman point guard Joel Brown, who some of us on the Cal beat have dubbed “Canadian Rondo”, is averaging 1.8 assists per game as the starting point guard.
This key to the game is really the key to every game Cal plays. They have to move the ball so much better than they are doing. So long as Cal’s ball movement is bad, they’re going to continue to struggle. Cal head coach Mark Fox has to figure out ways to up the assist totals of his team and especially his point guards. With a better offensive game plan, Brown and Austin should be able to triple their assist totals. More pick and pop action with Andre Kelly and Grant Anticevich could make things better along with more drive and kicks to Matt Bradley and Kareem South.
Secondly, Cal needs to come out with more energy than they did on Wednesday. Cal came out flat from the opening tip, got behind early, and from there struggled to stay in the game. They got within two points by halftime, but spent a lot of energy just getting back into the game. If Cal wants to win this game, they’re going to have to come with more energy and focus. Play the full 40 minutes.
Finally, Cal needs to get Matt Bradley going. He’s their best player, averaging 17.4 points on 50.6% shooting from the field, 93.3% shooting from the foul line, and 48.6% shooting from 3-point range. If you’re going to win on the road, your stars have to step up. Cal will not win this game without a 20+ point game from Bradley.
Note: While Cal men’s basketball is playing at Santa Clara, Cal women’s basketball will be playing at home against Boston University. I’ll be reporting live from Santa Clara, so I won’t be able to make the women’s game. I wish I could be in two places at once. For details on the women’s game, read the preview on CalBears.com.
