On Thursday at 7:00 PM PST on Pac-12 Networks and KGO 810 AM, Cal men’s basketball will open up Pac-12 play at home against No. 25 Arizona State. Both teams come into this matchup 2-1 overall.
Last time out: On Monday, Cal defeated Nicholls State 60-49 at home. Cal junior guard Matt Bradley led the way with 26 points and 6 rebounds while senior forward Grant Anticevich chipped in 11 points to go along with 5 rebounds.
RECAP: Matt Bradley leads Cal MBB past Nicholls State
On Arizona State: The Sun Devils have a talented freshman guard in Josh Christopher, who is averaging a team-high 18.7 points to go along with 4.7 rebounds per game. Around Christopher is returning senior guard Remy Martin (15.7 points & 1.0 steal), freshman forward Marcus Bagley (15.7 points & 5.3 rebounds), senior guard Alonzo Verge, Jr. (15.0 points), and senior forward Kimani Lawrence (13.0 points). The Sun Devils possess a nice blend of young talent and veteran experience.
As a team, the Sun Devils are averaging 89.3 points, 12.7 assists, 7.0 steals, and 4.0 blocks per game on 47.6% shooting from the field, 37.3% shooting from 3-point range, and 68.1% shooting from the foul line. The Sun Devils also possess a -5.3 rebounding margin. Their opponents are averaging 82.7 points per game on 46.3% shooting from the field, 40.8% shooting from 3-point range, and 68.7% shooting from the foul line.
Overall, things are going well for the Sun Devils. Their lone loss is to #3 Villanova by a final score of 83-74 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Provided they stay healthy, they should like their chances to win the Pac-12.
On that note, senior guard Alonzo Verge, Jr. missed the previous game due to coronavirus contact tracing. It is unlikely that he’ll play against Cal.
Keys to the game: For Cal, if they want to win this game, the first thing they need to do is get Matt Bradley some help. He’s the only player scoring in double figures on average through three games (19.3 points). Grad transfers Ryan Betley (9.7 points) and Makale Foreman (8.7 points) are the second and third highest scorers on the team respectively. So far, they’re off to a decent start, but they’re going to need to step it up if they’re going to knock off Arizona State.
As for the rest of the team, we’ve seen Grant Anticevich (5.7 points) and Andre Kelly (8.0 points) put up points, but beyond that there’s not a lot of other scoring options that Cal appears to have. If Betley, Foreman, Anticevich, and Kelly all step it up and Bradley has a big night, that could be enough for Cal to pull off the win provided they defend well enough.
The second key to this game for Cal is what was just stated: Defense. Cal doesn’t have the offensive weapons that Arizona State has and if they try to win this game by simply outscoring them, they will not win this game. Cal has to find ways to defend at an elite level and prevent the Sun Devils from getting hot. If Cal is able to play sound defense, they’ll give themselves an opportunity to possibly steal this game.
Finally, Cal needs to win the battle on the boards. Cal comes into this game with a +3.6 rebounding margin, having done a decent job rebounding through three games. If Cal can find a way to keep up that intensity inside, get some 2nd chance buckets to fall, and in turn limit Arizona State’s 2nd chance opportunities, maybe they’ll pull this game out. As a quick extension of that, Cal has to defend better in the paint. If they get outscored in the paint, they’re likely in for a long night.
