On Thursday at 8:00 PM PST on FS1, Cal men’s basketball will welcome the No. 25 ranked Washington Huskies to Haas Pavilion. It will be the Golden Bears’ first game against a ranked opponent this season, giving them a unique opportunity to get their first Pac-12 win against a ranked opponent. While Cal is 5-22 overall and 0-15 in the Pac-12, Washington is 22-5 overall and 13-1 in the conference, putting them atop the Pac-12 standings.
Last time out: On Sunday, Cal fell to Arizona State by a final score of 69-59. Luguentz Dort led the way for the Sun Devils with 22 points and 6 rebounds while Matt Bradley was the top performer for the Golden Bears with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
RECAP: 2nd Half Fatal for Bears in 69-59 loss to Arizona State
On Washington: The Huskies are led by sophomore shooting guard Jaylen Nowell, who is averaging 16.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game on 50.6% shooting from the field, 42.5% shooting from 3-point range, and 75.3% shooting from the foul line. Nowell is having a fantastic season and has the Huskies on track to win the Pac-12 regular season title.
Accompanying Nowell are senior forward Noah Dickerson (12.7 points and 6.6 rebounds), senior guard David Crisp (12.1 points), and senior guard Matisse Thybulle (9.9 points, 2.3 steals, and 3.6 steals). Known for their stifling 2-3 zone, Thybulle is the one that really makes that work. When teams try to attack the middle of the zone, he does a really good job of forcing turnovers and wreaking havoc.
While ranking 10th in scoring in the Pac-12 (71.1 points per game), the Huskies ranked 1st in points allowed per game (63.6 points per game), giving teams serious problems with their zone. The Huskies are an example that if you play really good defense, you can get by with an offense that is less than average. Especially when you have a playmaker in Nowell that can put up points in a variety of ways.
While Cal is hoping to get a win in the Pac-12, the Huskies are playing for something entirely different. They’re playing for seeding in the NCAA tournament. Should they lose this game, their tournament resume would take a serious hit.
Keys to the game: If Cal wants to damage Washington’s tournament resume, the first thing they need to do is figure out their zone defense. If Thybulle creates chaos like he always does and forces a lot of turnovers, it’s going to be a long night for the Golden Bears. Cal has to attack the zone effectively, find ways to get some perimeter shots to fall, and not allow Thybulle to have his usual effect.
In addition to figuring out the zone, Cal has to figure out how to play well coming out of halftime. Last time they faced Washington, they trailed 29-28 at halftime only to get blown out 42-24 in the second half. This has been a common trend throughout the season. Cal frequently will play well in the first half only to fall apart in the second half. Cal has to make the necessary adjustments at halftime and counter whatever Washington throws at them. If Cal isn’t able to make the necessary adjustments, it won’t matter how well they play in the second half.
Lastly, Cal has to find some sort of offensive consistency. Cal has the pieces to put up points. We’ve seen Justice Sueing, Darius McNeill, Connor Vanover, Matt Bradley, and others get into a nice rhythm offensively. The issue is sustaining it. If Cal can put together two halves of good offensive basketball while getting stops on defense, they’ll put themselves in a position to maybe steal this game.
