MBB Notebook: Home Split and Mountain Trip

Cal finally got a Pac-12 win Saturday, splitting the home series against the Washington schools without their star in Matt Bradley. Grant Anticevich returned to give the Bears some much needed minutes, and the picture is a bit more filled in for the Bears going forward without Bradley.

The two games showed a couple of issues that the Bears have to deal with going forward. The first piece is the Matt Bradley gravity, as the Bears had trouble scoring without the junior guard against Washington State. The Cougars' defense came in statistically brilliant, but Cal missed a handful of open shots that could've kept them in the game. Those issues were alleviated against Washington, with Andre Kelly putting up 22 points on 11-13 shooting, but the other issue reared its head, three-point defense.

Over Cal's last four conference games, there has been a common factor in the game either getting close or an opponent pulling away, and it's one or two players getting hot from three. Against Oregon, it was Chris Duarte. Against Oregon State, it was Ethan Thompson and Maurice Calloo. Against Washington State, it was Efe Abogidi, and against Washington, it was Erik Stevenson, who rained down six threes to get the Huskies back into it. Teams are shooting 42.7% from beyond the arc against the Bears in conference play, a number that doesn't bode well for Cal if they want to get back toward the .500 mark in conference.

There were a couple things that started to turn for the Bears over the two home games, including:

- Back to back double digit scoring efforts from Andre Kelly, including 22 against Washington

- The return of Grant Anticevich to help bolster the frontcourt rotation. Anticevich didn't shoot particularly well in his return, but did have five assists against Washington

- Lars Thiemann catching passes and being more deliberate, including a highlight reel dunk against Washington State.

- Makale Foreman coming alive with four second-half threes against Washington

- Jalen Celestine seeing some of his first minutes, knocking down threes in each game

Cal was without Kuany Kuany for the second game of the homestand as well with a concussion, and the Bears will miss his contribution on the wing depending on how much longer he stays out for.

At Home: 5-2 (average score of 70.7-65.6, margin of +5.1)

On the Road: 0-5 (average score of , margin of 62.8-75.2, margin of -12.4)

Neutral Site: 1-0 (86-61 win over Northwest at Oregon State)

Injuries:

Bradley (ankle) - Out for a while after turning his ankle against Oregon State, after Saturday's game, Mark Fox noted that he still hadn't done any cutting or jumping off the ankle, which is not the same ankle he injured against San Francisco earlier in the season. He is out of the boot at this point.

Kuany (concussion) - Kuany suffered a concussion during the Washington State game, no timetable has been given on his return.

Per Game Stat Leaders:

Points: Bradley, 17.8

Rebounds: Kelly, 5.9

Assists: Brown: 3.9

Steals: Brown, 1.8

Blocks: Anticevich, .66

Minutes: Betley 32.5

Field Goal % (minimum 5 attempts per game): Kelly, 60.0%

3pt% (minimum 2 attempts per game): Betley, 38.5%

Free Throw% (minimum 1 attempt per game): Foreman, 84.6%

At Colorado (9-3, 3-2)

When: January 14th, 2021

Where: CU Events Center, Boulder, CO

Time: 11 AM PST

TV: Pac-12 Network

Radio: KGO 810

Kenpom Prediction: 75-60 Cal loss, 9% chance of a Cal win

At Utah (4-5, 1-4)

When: January 16th, 2021

Where: Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, UT

Time: 7:00 PM PST

TV: ESPN U

Radio: KGO 810

Kenpom Prediction: 71-62 Cal loss, 22% chance of a Cal win

Colorado comes in off one of their biggest wins of the year, taking down the Pac-12 frontrunner in Oregon (Colorado is 10-0 against Oregon at home). They did it without their 7 footer in Dallas Walton, who may miss this game as well. In the meantime, McKinley Wright has continued a streak of excellence for the Buffs, with a repertoire of crafty layups to his game. He's the driver of an efficient offense, with Evan Battey still taking up space on the interior (he was in foul trouble when Cal beat Colorado at home a year ago) and a couple solid three point shooters in Schwartz and Horne (both over 40%)

Defensively, Colorado's been even better, forcing teams off the three point line and to play at a bottom 10 pace in the country. The need for Cal to be able to produce in their half-court offense is essential, along with making free throws. Colorado's free throw percentage is the best in the country, at 84.5%.

Likely Starters

G McKinley Wright 6' 196 lbs

G Eli Parquet 6'3" 195 lbs

G/F D'Shawn Schwartz 6'7" 232 lbs

F Jeriah Horne 6'7" 220 lbs

F Evan Battey 6'8" 262 lbs

Key Reserves

F Jabari Walker 6'8" 200 lbs

G/F Maddox Daniels 6'6" 211 lbs

G Keeshawn Barthelemy 6'2" 163 lbs

Player to Watch - McKinley Wright

Wright makes things work for Colorado, as a willing distributor, and also as a capable scorer. He also rebounds bigger than his 6' size would tell you, making him a tough cover for Joel Brown, Jarred Hyder, or Makale Foreman.

Aside from Wright, Jabari Walker may be a threat to watch. A guy Cal recruited in the 2020 class, Walker had his best performance so far with 15 points against Utah, leading Colorado to a win.

When Cal plays Utah, the Utes will be playing their third game in six days after playing Colorado and Stanford, and Larry Krystkowiak's squad could come in off a five game losing streak. A number that sticks out on Kenpom is how frequently the Utes get their shots blocked, 13.6% of their shots have been blocked, a number that is 10th worst in the country.

Like Cal, Utah's a relatively slow paced team, one who hasn't shot the three well or that much, though every player in their rotation has hit at least one. Timmy Allen is the Utah version of Matt Bradley, with a little less of the shooting, but all of the tenacity and ability to draw contact. Between Allen and Rylan Jones, the Utes have two players with active hands who can get steals.

Always worth keeping an eye on Branden Carlson, who's been an excellent shot blocker for the Utes over his first year and a half in Utah.

Likely Starters

G Rylan Jones 6' 178 lbs

G Pelle Larsson 6'5" 215 lbs

F Timmy Allen 6'6" 205 lbs

F Mikael Jantunen 6'8" 220 lbs

F Riley Battin 6'9" 230 lbs

Key Reserves

G Alfonso Plummer 6'1" 182 lbs

C Branden Carlson 7' 219 lbs

G Ian Martinez 6'3" 183 lbs

Player to Watch - Allen

Allen is a joy to watch with the intensity he plays the game with, and he's refined his game on defense, where he's one of the best at avoiding foul calls in the country. He's the volume guy for Utah at this point, but he hasn't had as great of a three-point game to compliment his skills. Cal can't have a repeat of the Washington game, where they allowed a 26% 3-point shooting team to shoot 50% from beyond the arc. Utah is sitting 28.4% from beyond the arc in conference play, and the Bears will have to hold them to that for a chance to win.