On Saturday at 5:00 PM PST on Pac-12 Networks and KGO 810 AM, Cal men’s basketball will welcome the Washington Huskies to Haas Pavilion. Cal comes in at 7-8 overall and 1-1 in the Pac-12 while Washington comes in at 11-5 overall and 1-2 in the Pac-12.
Last time out: On Thursday, Cal picked up their first win of Pac-12 play over Washington State by a final score of 73-66. Cal sophomore guard Matt Bradley had his second career double-double with 26 points and 10 rebounds while senior guard Paris Austin chipped in 17 points. Washington State sophomore forward CJ Elleby had 22 points and 9 rebounds.
RECAP: Cal picks up first Pac-12 win over Washington State
Five Thoughts and By The Numbers: Cal vs. Washington
On Washington: The Huskies are led by freshman forward Isaiah Stewart, who is averaging 18.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Stewart is a major candidate for Pac-12 freshman of the year due to the monster numbers that he has been putting up. In addition to Stewart, freshman forward Jaden McDaniels (13.6 points & 6.1 rebounds) and junior guard Nahziah Carter (13.4 points & 5.5 rebounds) are scoring in double figures, giving Stewart support. Sophomore guard Quade Green (11.6 points & 5.3 assists) was ruled academically ineligible, a significant loss for the Huskies.
The Huskies are averaging 72.4 points per game on 46.9% shooting from the field, 32.4% shooting from 3-point range, and 70.6% shooting from the foul line. They average a +1.6 rebounding margin per game, 13.1 assists, 7.7 steals, 6.4 blocks, and 15.3 turnovers per game. Opponents average 62.9 points per game on 37.0% shooting from the field, 31.6% shooting from 3-point range, and 67.1% shooting from the foul line.
Despite having a ton of talent, the Huskies do have some losses that make you scratch your head. Namely last week’s 64-66 loss at home to UCLA. They did come back with a vengeance against USC, winning 72-40. So, they’ve been a little up and down.
Keys to the game: If Cal wants to get the sweep this weekend, the first thing they have to do is come out with the right energy. They came out flat against Washington State and quite honestly are lucky they won considering their poor start. If they come out like they did on Thursday, odds are good the Huskies won’t let them back in the game.
An extension of that is pushing the ball and playing with a good tempo. What got Cal back in the game on Thursday was Paris Austin and Joel Brown doing a good job of pushing the tempo. Cal needs to play more like that if they want to win this game.
Secondly, Cal needs to contain Stewart. If he has a big night, I don’t see how Cal wins. If they can defend him well and prevent him from going for 20+ points, they just might pull out the win. There are other players they have to worry about as well, but Stewart is the main one.
Third, Cal needs to take care of the ball. After turning the ball over 10 times in the first 10 minutes against Washington State, Cal turned the ball over just 7 times over the final 30 minutes. We saw on Thursday that when Cal takes good care of the ball, they’re capable of playing good basketball. When they’re sloppy, they play like trash. It’s that simple.
As a bonus and final key to this game, Cal needs Matt Bradley to be the man. When he’s playing his best basketball, Cal has the chance to hang with any team out there. When he’s off, they got no shot of beating anybody good. Bradley has been really good this year, averaging 17.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. If he can exceed those averages and have another 20+ point kind of night, Cal should be in a position to possibly steal this game.
