On Saturday, Cal men’s and women’s basketball will be playing back-to-back games, but not in the same arena. At 12:00 PM PST on Pac-12 Networks, Cal women’s basketball will take on the UCLA Bruins at Pauley Pavilion. At 2:00 PM PST on Pac-12 Networks and KGO 810 AM, Cal men’s basketball will welcome the CSU-Northridge Matadors to Haas Pavilion. In this article, we’ll take a look at both games starting with the women’s game.

Last time out for Cal WBB: In their previous game, Cal women’s basketball lost to #1 Stanford by a final score of 83-38. Cal fell to 0-5 overall and 0-2 in the Pac-12.

RECAP: Cal WBB gets creamed by #1 Stanford

On UCLA: The Bruins come into Saturday at 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the Pac-12. Most recently, they defeated USC 73-52 on the road.

The Bruins are led by sophomore guard Charisma Osborne (19.2 points) and senior forward Michaela Onyenwere (16.2 points & 9.2 rebounds). Both players are having fantastic seasons and have this Bruins team off to a really good start. The Bruins have an eight man rotation, so they really rely on Osborne and Onyenwere to deliver the goods.

As a team, the Bruins average 80.2 points per game on 43.5% shooting from the field, 35.7% shooting from 3-point range, and 70.6% shooting from the foul line. They average a +15.2 rebound margin, 17.6 assists, 9.2 steals, 3.4 blocks, and 11.8 turnovers per game. Their opponents average 54.6 points per game on 36.7% shooting from the field, 27.6% shooting from 3-point range, and 60.0% shooting from the foul line.

Keys to beating UCLA: For Cal, the first thing they have to do is stay out of foul trouble. Against Stanford, sophomore forward Evelien Lutje Schipholt got into foul trouble early and was essentially a non-factor. This Cal team is already undermanned due to all the injuries that have been previously mentioned. If Cal gets into foul trouble and has to resort to relying on their already depleted bench, it’s going to be a long afternoon at Pauley Pavilion.

As a quick extension of this, Cal has to get good production Schipholt and freshman forward Dalayah Daniels. If those two have a big game and are able to stay on the floor, Cal will have a chance to maybe steal this one.

Secondly, Cal needs to hold their own inside. The Bruins are very comfortable at controlling the glass as is evident by their +15.2 rebound margin. If Cal can cut into that margin and keep things close on the boards, they’ll give themselves a chance to win this game. While Cal’s backcourt is depleted, they do have a solid front court in Schipholt, Daniels, Fatou Samb, Ugonne Onyiah, and others. The potential to have a solid game inside is definitely there.

Finally, Cal needs to get some threes to drop. If Leilani McIntosh is back, that will help a lot with this. With a decent perimeter attack, that forces the defense to stretch a bit, allowing things to open up inside. One player to keep an eye on is freshman guard Ornela Muca. Cal head coach Charmin Smith has praised Muca for her 3-point prowess, but so far, Muca has shot just 15.2% on 33 attempts. If Muca can finally find her groove a bit from deep, that would really help this Cal team establish the type of 3-point shooting that they are hoping to have.

Prediction: UCLA wins 75-55. UCLA is on quite a roll right now and being at home, they’re the heavy favorites to win this one.

Last time out for Cal MBB: In their last outing, Cal men’s basketball defeated San Francisco 72-70 after a buzzer beating shot from grad transfer guard Makale Foreman. Cal improved to 3-4 overall (0-2 in the Pac-12).

RECAP: Cal MBB beats San Francisco at the buzzer

On CSUN: The Matadors are led by redshirt junior guard T.J. Starks (19.2 points) and redshirt senior forward Lance Coleman II (17.2 points & 4.6 rebounds). Starks is a transfer from Texas A&M and had to sit out last season per NCAA transfer rules. Both Starks and Coleman are proving to be an effective one-two punch for this Matadors squad. The Matadors have a signature 89-84 win at Pepperdine, a place Cal didn’t perform well at and they battled Stanford tough at home, losing 82-71 in their most recent outing.

As a team, the Matadors average 78.8 points per game on 43.9% shooting from the field, 32.8% shooting from 3-point range, and 73.6% shooting from the foul line. They also average a +0.6 rebound margin, 15.2 assists, 7.4 steals, 1.8 blocks, and 11.6 turnovers per game. Their opponents are averaging 75.2 points per game on 45.2% shooting from the field, 32.2% shooting from 3-point range, and 73.6% shooting from the foul line.

Keys to the game for Cal MBB: For Cal, the first thing they need to do is get out to a strong start. Cal fell behind early to San Francisco, trailing 17-5 with 12:44 to go in the first half, resulting in an 8 point (37-29) deficit at the half. If Cal can get off to a stronger start and not be down by so much, that will really take the pressure off of them in the second half. Having the right starting lineup will be key.

Secondly, Cal has to contain Starks and Coleman. We saw Cal struggle to contain San Francisco guard Jamaree Bouyea on Sunday and that nearly cost them the game. If Cal once again struggles to contain the top players for CSUN on Saturday, it could wind up being a long afternoon at Haas for the Bears.

Building off that, Cal really needs to defend better. Cal is allowing opponents to score 67.3 points per game (128th in the country) on 38.8% shooting from 3-point range (291st in the country). Cal’s defense is mediocre overall and their perimeter defense is one of the worst in the country. That trend cannot continue if Cal wants to beat this Matadors team.

Finally, Cal needs to shoot better from the perimeter. Cal added grad transfers Ryan Betley and Makale Foreman specifically for the purpose of improving their 3-point shooting. At the moment, Cal is shooting 30.2% from 3-point range, which ranks 245th in the country. When you combine poor 3-point defense with poor 3-point shooting, that is not a recipe for success. If Cal can get things going from the perimeter and get more out of their two grad transfers, that would be huge as they go about trying to win this game.

Prediction: I got Cal stealing this one in another nail biter. 73-70.