Cal unable to upend Arizona
Cal.Isiphotos.com
On Saturday, Cal men’s basketball fell to #9 Arizona by the final score of 62-57. Jabari Bird had a big game for Cal, finishing with 19 points and 4 rebounds on 6-12 shooting from the field. Kobi Simmons led Arizona with 13 points on 5-8 shooting from the field. Arizona improves to 23-3 overall and 12-1 in the Pac-12. Cal falls to 18-7 overall and 9-4 in the Pac-12.
Cal kept themselves in this game all the way until the very end, trailing 34-25 at the half and cutting it to 4 points with 10 seconds go off of a tough three-point shot from Jabari Bird. The problem was their inability to score when they really needed to. Cal had a 10+ minute stretch without a field goal in the second half and you simply cannot expect to win very many games when you go through such epic scoring droughts. What kept Cal in the game was their ability to defend and also Arizona’s inability to score. This was another ugly, low scoring game and just like the game in Berkeley earlier in the season, that type of game favored Arizona.
Cal and Arizona were virtually tied when it came to field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and free throw shooting, but it was on the glass that Arizona won this game. Arizona dominated the glass 32-24 and a lot of that had to do with Ivan Rabb only playing 26 minutes due to foul trouble. With Rabb on the bench for much of the first half, it was really hard for Cal to control the glass and stay in the game. Once Rabb was able to play more minutes, Cal started to claw their way back, but ultimately, the 9-point deficit was too much to overcome.
Probably the biggest factor in this game is Charlie Moore’s inability to play in the second half due to a hip injury. Team sources have told GoldenBearReport.com that Moore is indeed injured, but it is unknown how long he’ll be out for. What we do know is that without him on the floor, Cal had a lot harder time generating offense and as a result, they were unable to pull ahead. Had Moore been able to play, Cal very well may have won this game.
Cal had a successful road trip getting the split and playing Arizona tough. Now, they have to regroup and prepare for rival Stanford on Friday in Palo Alto. That game will air at 7:00 PM PST on Fox Sports 1.
Update on Charlie Moore: The official word on Charlie Moore is he is day-to-day with a bruised hip. That’s the latest.
