On Thursday at 8:00 PM PST on Pac-12 Networks, Cal men’s basketball will welcome the Colorado Buffaloes to Berkeley. Cal comes in at 5-13 overall and 0-6 in the Pac-12 while Colorado comes in at 10-7 overall and 1-4 in the Pac-12.
Last time out: Cal fell to Washington on Saturday by a final score of 71-52. Paris Austin was the top performer for Cal with 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 steals while Dominic Green led the charge for Washington with 17 points on 4-10 shooting from 3-point range.
RECAP: Cal falls to Washington after a strong first half
On Colorado: The Buffaloes are led by sophomore guard McKinley Wright IV, who is averaging 12.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. Wright dislocated his left shoulder on January 12th against Washington and hasn’t played since. Pat Rooney of Buffzone.com has an update:
“He had a good, crisp workout (Monday). Today, he's better," CU head coach Tad Boyle said after Tuesday's workout. "He's playing with a brace and he's adjusting to that a little bit. Hopefully he'll be in the lineup and be good. We don't know that for sure yet. We'll take it day by day. But he did practice (Tuesday) and looked good.”
As the team’s floor general, Wright is the engine that makes this Colorado team go. If he is unable to go, junior guard Shane Gatling will look to handle the primary point guard duties. He has done a solid job of stepping up in Wright’s absence, putting up 21 points against Utah on Sunday.
In addition to Gatling, junior forward Lucas Siewert (11.5 points & 5.1 rebounds) and sophomore guard/forward Tyler Bey (11.4 points & 9.1 rebounds) will also need to step up as well. They are the only other players on this Colorado team scoring in double figures per game, so if they don’t have a big night, it’ll be hard for them to generate enough offense even if Gatling plays well.
Despite a bumpy start to Pac-12 play, Colorado has found a lot more success than Cal thus far. They took care of business against Washington State 92-60 and played Washington pretty tough as well, losing 77-70. While Cal should be hungry to defend their home floor, Colorado should likewise be hungry to pick up a victory. If you’re Colorado, Cal is as easy of a road opponent as you’re going to see during conference play.
Keys to the game: For Cal, the first thing they need to do in order to win this game is play with the same level of defensive intensity that they did against Washington. Even though they lost to the Huskies, Cal played with a lot more energy, giving them the lead for most of the first half. The small, quick lineup Wyking Jones went with proved to be effective in bringing out that energy and passion. I expect to see Cal go with it again against Colorado. I don’t know why they wouldn’t.
Another thing Cal needs to do in order to win this game is get more out of their top scorers. Cal wasn’t able to take more advantage of their improved defense against Washington given the struggles of Justice Sueing (8 points), Darius McNeill (7 points), and Matt Bradley (0 points). Even if they play with a similar level of defensive intensity, Cal will not win this game if those guys have another off night.
Lastly, Cal has to take advantage of their superior foul shooting (74.9%). If there’s one area that Cal’s actually good in, it’s foul shooting. When they get to the line, good things happen. If Paris Austin, Justice Sueing, and Darius McNeill are all in attack mode and forcing the refs to blow their whistle, that more than anything will give Cal an opportunity to keep this game close. If they’re not getting to the line and settling for too many mid-range jumpers, it’ll be another long night at Haas Pavilion.
Quotes: On Wednesday, Wyking Jones, Paris Austin, and Roman Davis addressed the media. Below are quotes pertaining to the game.
Q: What do you see in Colorado? Looks like McKinley Wright IV is going to play.
Wyking Jones: “Well, he’s a great floor general. He’s one of the best in the league as far as running a team. When you talk about point guards, he’s probably one of the more valuable point guards for his team. For, when you talk about what he brings to the team. They shoot the ball well, they’re undersized like us, so it’s a good matchup in that regard, and Siewert, he’s a kid that plays the 5 for them, but he shoots. He’s their best shooter. So, they can spread you, and they’re very well coached. But, I like the matchup. We struggle against dominant bigs. So, I like the matchup.”
Q: Do you expect pressure from them?
Wyking Jones: “They trap. They trap ball screens. They trap ball screens. They, random, they pick and choose when. But, they’ll random trap ball screens and they’ll press. They’ll press some as well. Which, I don’t mind being pressed. I feel comfortable with Paris being out there and our wings being able to handle the press.”
Q: What’s the status on Jacobi Gordon? I noticed he didn’t play on Saturday.
Wyking Jones: “He’s going to be a game-time decision. His Achilles has flared up a little bit on him. So, we’ll see how he feels tomorrow in shootaround.”
Q: What do you guys see in Colorado? Coach said he likes the matchup.
Paris Austin: “I feel like we got a really good chance. Every game that we go into, I think we have the chance to win. Considering Colorado, I think they match up with us really well. They have a young team just like us and they kinda do some of the similar things that we do. So, I think it just comes down to us following our game plan and executing it to the best of our abilities and valuing every single possession.”
Q: Any thoughts on McKinley Wright IV? Assuming he does play, do you like the challenge of going up against the top point guards?
Paris Austin: “Yeah, McKinley, he’s a good point guard in our league. I think any given night in the Pac-12, they have good guards and they have good teams. So, we just gotta execute our game plan, slow him down, and limit him in transition and play our game.”
Q: Roman, can you talk about your mentality and how you’ve approached this season?
Roman Davis: “I’m just the kind of dude it doesn’t matter how much I play, how much I practice, whenever I’m out there I’m gonna do whatever I can to make plays to help the team win. Because at the bottom, when it comes to the bottom of it, I really don’t care how much I play, how much I don’t play. It doesn’t affect me any. I just really want to win. I have no personal emotion attached to playing time and minutes. I’ve never been somebody to cry over playing or anything. I’m really just all for the team, man and whatever I can do when I’m out there to help the team win, getting rebounds, diving, assists, steals, or making plays on the offensive end, I’m going to do it because that’s what I’m about. I’m about winning plays and helping the team out. Helping the young guys out.”
