On Sunday at 3:00 PM PST on Pac-12 Networks, Cal men’s basketball will take on the Arizona State Sun Devils in Tempe, AZ. Cal comes into this game at 5-21 overall and 0-14 in the Pac-12 while Arizona State comes in at 18-8 overall and 9-5 in the Pac-12. This is the second meeting of the year between the two teams. Arizona State defeated Cal 80-66 in Berkeley back on January 9th.
Last time out: On Thursday, Cal got crushed in Tucson by Arizona, losing 76-51. Ryan Luther led the way for the Wildcats with 19 points and 5 rebounds while Justice Sueing had a solid night for the Golden Bears with 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals.
RECAP: Cal falls apart in Tucson
On Arizona State: The Sun Devils are led by freshman guard Luguentz Dort, who is averaging 16.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Dort is one of the top freshmen in the Pac-12 and a major reason why the Sun Devils are tied for second in the conference behind Washington. While Dort is the leader of this team, he has plenty of help around him in sophomore guard Remy Martin (13.2 points), redshirt senior forward Zylan Cheatham (11.8 points and 10.7 rebounds), and redshirt junior guard Rob Edwards (11.3 points). Together, the four of them form a very dangerous unit.
As has been a feature of Bobby Hurley coached teams, this Sun Devils team has a lot of talent at the guard position and looks to beat you from the perimeter and in the transition. The Sun Devils really like to push the ball, averaging 79.5 points per game on 45.0% shooting from the field, 34.5% shooting from 3-point range, and 67.1% shooting from the foul line. While being a stellar offensive team, the Sun Devils aren’t great on defense, allowing 73.6 points per game on 41.0% shooting from the field and 33.1% shooting from 3-point range.
Keys to the game: Given how poorly Cal has been playing, it’s really tough to come up with a list of “keys to the game.” There are probably ten different things they need to do to win this game. If they could get the Monstars to take away the Sun Devils’ talent, that would be great, but this is the real world, so that option is off the table. They also can’t ask Arizona State to spot them 20 points to make the game interesting. They’re going to have to play these guys straight up, which is going to be tough.
If I had to start with anything, it would be to defend the perimeter. We’ve seen Cal get lit up by the likes of Bennie Boatwright and Ryan Luther in their last two games, doing a horrendous job defensively. If Cal wants any chance of making this game close, they have to start with playing good defense. If Arizona State makes it rain from deep, it’s game over.
Secondly, Cal needs to move the ball much better. Against Arizona, there was very little ball movement with too many guys standing around, hoping someone else will make a play. At times, Cal players look lost on offense or at the very least apathetic and not sure what to do. If Cal puts out a similar lackluster effort on offense where guys are standing around chucking up shots like George Costanza, it’s going to be a rough game for the Golden Bears.
Lastly, Cal needs to play loose and relaxed. Nobody expects them to even make this game interesting, let alone win. To be quite blunt, they’ve played terrible basketball the last two games after putting together a string of spirited efforts. If Cal can play like a team that is throwing their caution to the wind, that more than anything will help them win. If instead they freeze and start to think about their past two ugly performances, they’ll be in for a third consecutive bad outing.
