Arizona Basketball: Wildcats look to take down the Cal Bears

The Arizona Basketball team looks to continue their hot play as they take on the Cal Bears this Saturday.

It seems like it was just Wednesday night as a fan base we watched our Arizona Basketball team take on a pesky Stanford basketball team. The game was controlled by the refs which made every possession so pivotal as the fouls piled up for the Cats.

Luckily with some clutch play from the senior Justin Coleman and some key free throw shooting from Ira Lee, the Wildcats were able to escape Palo Alto with a win. Just when the Wildcats fan base thought they could catch their breath, the Cats are back in action on the road against the Cal Golden Bear on Saturday at 8:30 pm on the PAC-12 networks.

Arizona Wildcats

Arizona is now 3-0 in the PAC-12 conference and althought Sean Miller would have loved to had an easier three-win streak, but we are sure he is happy with the results. One must wonder how he drew it up before the season started.

Coach Miller also knows that his team is still learning how to play at a high level throughout an entire game. There are points during the game where his team will have lapses on the offensive or defensive end of the ball. Going against a Cal basketball team that will most likely play a zone against the Wildcats, it will be yet another test for the Cats to see if they can play with more consistency all 40 minutes.

Cal is a team that can not be taken lightly just because they are 0-3 in conference play and 5-10 overall. In their last game against ASU, due to their stifling zone defense, they were able to head into half time with a two-point lead. It was not till the second half when their zone defense was not as effective and their shots didn’t seem to through the net.

The Cal Golden Bears are led by their guard Austin Paris who is their floor general and averages 34 minutes per a game. He leads Cal in both points per a game and assists per a game. Right now Austin is averaging 14 points per a game also averaging five assists a game.

For the Wildcats to win this game, it will be critical to keep Austin Pairs under control. One way to do that is to keep him from penetrating and kicking out to the shooter on the outside. It will be critical for the Wildcat to have good help defense to make life for Austin difficult in this game.

Also, the health of Justin Coleman will be something to watch as it seems that he might have tweaked his shoulder again. It was the same shoulder that he injured in practice right before conference play. The number of minutes and level confidence that Coleman has throughout the game could drastically affect the outcome of the game.

Devonaire Doutrive, whatever weight he is, has added a spark off the bench whenever he has played. Let’s hope Miller plays him more against Cal.

As of right now the point spread favors the our Wildcats at -8.5 points. Do not be surprised if this is another close one and the Bears keep it tight at home. Cal is a hungry team in search of their first conference win.

TV: PAC-12 Networks @ 8:30pm

Radio: Arizona IMG Network (Brian Jeffries & Ryan Hansen)

Twitter: @aplayersprogram

Being 4-0 in the PAC-12 conference would assure the Wildcats of another week atop the Conference of Champions. It would also bring a lot of smiles to the faces of the coaches, players and their fan base. With this being said, make sure to tune in and cheer on our Wildcat basketball team as they need the support. Bay Cats, we can hear your U of A chants, keep up the great work! As always Bear Down and Go Cats!