Cal looks to bounce back against Arizona State

CalBears.com

On Sunday at 7:00 PM PST on Pac-12 Networks, Cal men’s basketball will square off at home against Arizona State. The Golden Bears come into this game 9-4 overall and 0-1 in Pac-12 play while Arizona State comes in at 8-6 overall and 1-0 in Pac-12 play, defeating Stanford on Friday night by a final score of 98-93 in Palo Alto.

For Cal, this game is an absolute must win game given that they are already in an 0-1 hole with the loss to Arizona on Friday in addition to having a very difficult two-game road trip to Southern California next week.

The biggest difference between Cal and Arizona State is that Arizona State likes to play a faster tempo game, putting up 83.5 points per game while giving up 82.5 points per game in contrast to a Cal team that is averaging 70.1 points per game while allowing just 59.9. Cal is coming off of two defensive struggles against Virginia and Arizona, so it will be important for them to adjust accordingly and not get caught off guard by Arizona State’s faster tempo.

A big reason for Arizona State’s faster tempo is their quality backcourt play. Senior guard Torian Graham is averaging 18.6 points per game on 48.8% shooting from the field and 39.0% shooting from 3-point range, junior guard Tra Holder is averaging 17.4 points per game, and junior guard Shannon Evans II is averaging 15.9 points per game. As the top three scorers on their team, Graham, Holder, and Evans are the primary guys who the Arizona State offense runs through and so guarding them tough on the perimeter will be key.

Torian Graham has an interesting story. He was rated the #67 player in the class of 2012 by Rivals.com but ended up going the junior college route, playing two years at Chipola Junior College in Florida before having to sit out the 2015-16 season after transferring to Arizona State from Buffalo, which is where Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley was at previously.

“Torian was always a very talented guy, very highly regarded player in high school,” Bobby Hurley said at Tuesday’s Pac-12 teleconference. “He took, went the JuCo route and was off the scene for a while, but he’s put it all together this year in terms of how his approach has been. He’s pushed himself every day, he’s very dependable in practice, he’s one of our best perimeter defenders and rebounders and he’s always had a natural ability to score the basketball, so very very pleased with what he’s been for us this year.”

It’s always great to see guys like Torian Graham find success after working so hard at the junior college level. Graham is a very mature player with a lot of experience. If this game gets tight, Cal should expect Arizona State to go to Torian Graham for key baskets.

On Cal, Bobby Hurley had a lot of good things to say about the type of team they are and the challenges that they will pose to his team.

“I had the chance to watch Cal when we were preparing for San Diego State,” Hurley said. “I know with Rabb and the presence he has inside and gotten exceptional point guard play from Charlie Moore, he’s been terrific for them, so we know how talented Rabb is and have that balance that inside-out game and Cuonzo gets his guys to play extremely hard and defend, so it’s going to be an extremely difficult game.”

If there is anything that Arizona State should expect from Cal, it’s gritty defense. While Cal will need to adjust to Arizona State’s faster tempo, Arizona State will likewise need to adjust to Cal’s stingy defense both on the perimeter and in the paint.

I think if there is anything that we have learned from Cal’s two losses at home to Virginia and Arizona, it’s that their defense is up to par, but their offense is what lets them down. Grant Mullins, Roger Moute a Bidias, Stephen Domingo, and Sam Singer have to be able to put up some points and take the pressure off of Charlie Moore, Ivan Rabb, and Jabari Bird. Moore, Rabb, and Bird cannot be expected to be sole producers of points on this Cal team.

Expanding more on Charlie Moore, we should expect to see better production from him on Sunday. A big part of the reason for his struggles against Arizona and Virginia are due to the fact that those are elite defensive teams. With Arizona State not being an elite defensive team, it stands to reason that Charlie Moore will come alive much more so in this game and that should serve Cal well.

Overall, I expect Cal to win this game by a final score of 77-68. Cal is the better team and while they have lost two straight games, those two games were to some of the best teams in the country and Cal played both of those teams tough. Cal should get a lot more open shots and have much more success on offense while still playing elite defense and keeping Arizona State off the glass.