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What: One pick a day with write-up
When: Before game time. Usually before 6 PM EST
Record : 1-0
Streak : W1
Last 10: 1-0
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Today's Pick:
Arizona (15-9, 8-5) +3 at California (15-6, 9-3)
Time: 7:30 p.m. PST
Location: Haas Pavilion (11,877), Berkeley, Calif.
Radio: Wildcat Radio Network (Brian Jeffries/Ryan Hansen)
TV: FSN (Steve Physioc/Marques Johnson)
A Quick Look at the Golden BearsCalifornia will try to extend its five-game winning streak when the Golden Bears host Arizona Thursday and Arizona State Saturday in Haas Pavilion. At 15-6 overall and 9-3 in the Pac-10, Cal enters the week just one-half game out of first place in the conference standings.
During its current run, Cal has won four of the five contests by three-points or less, with only a 69-52 victory at Oregon State breaking the pattern. The Bears have limited opponents to just 59.2 ppg over the stretch while committing a total of 41 turnovers, including a low of four in last Thursday's 65-62 win over Stanford.
Against the Cardinal, F Leon Powe scored a career-high 32 points - most by a Cal player in more than three years - and grabbed nine rebounds. The 6-8 junior now leads the Pac-10 in both scoring (19.4 ppg) and rebounding (10.6 rpg). If he can maintain his pace, he will become the first Bear since Mark McNamara in 1981-82 (22.0 ppg, 12.6 rpg) to top the conference in both categories.
In addition, Powe is on track to be the first Cal player to average at least 10 points and 10 rebounds since Brian Hendrick in 1991-92 (16.1 ppg, 10.7 rpg). His 16 boards at Oregon State Feb. 2 were a personal best and a high for any Pac-10 player this year.
In the backcourt, junior G Ayinde Ubaka tossed in 18 points vs. Stanford to lift his season scoring rate to 15.3 ppg. He helped clinch the contest by shooting 4-for-4 from the foul line in the final 24 seconds. Ubaka is now 28-for-31 (90.3%) at the charity stripe in the final two minutes of games this season.
With 45 three-pointers, Ubaka also leads a perimeter attack that is connecting on 38.5 percent of its long-range attempts - second in the Pac-10 and highest for any Cal team in 16 seasons. Ubaka, senior Richard Midgley and sophomore Omar Wilkes have combined to make 102-of-252 three-pointers (42.1%).
Midgley, the only healthy senior on the roster, ranks 22nd in school history in total points with 1,115, and he is second in three-pointers made with 173, with 39 treys this year.
Probable Starters
POS NO NAME HT WT YR PPG RPG
F 44 Leon Powe 6-8 240 So 19.4 10.6
C 35 DeVon Hardin 6-11 235 So 8.3 7.0
G 1 Ayinde Ubaka 6-4 200 Jr 15.3 3.9 apg
G 2 Omar Wilkes 6-4 185 So 9.0 1.5
G 15 Richard Midgley 6-3 195 Sr 9.8 2.7
Arizona Wildcats Game Notes-------------------------------
Game Data: Arizona (15-9, 8-5 Pac-10) begins its last road trip of the regular season Thursday at California (15-6, 9-3 Pac-10) ... The Cats hope to continue the momentum built with two home wins last weekend, but are 5-8 this season away from home ... Over its last 10 games, Arizona is shooting 45.2 percent (280-of-620) from the field, including 32.2 percent (38-of-118) from three-point range, both improvements over the season-long statistics (.442/.311).
The Rankings: For the fifth consecutive week, Arizona remained unranked in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The Cats saw its string of 312 consecutive regular-season AP poll appearances end on Dec. 19.
Last Time Out: Arizona posted a 42-28 rebound advantage and forced 25 turnovers in earning an 80-58 victory Saturday over Oregon State. Led by a career-high 26 points from Ivan Radenovic, eight of 11 Wildcats to see action scored points and nine grabbed at least one rebound. A 20-9 UA run over the last nine minutes put the game out of reach. Hassan Adams (9) and Mustafa Shakur (7) combined for 16 assists.
The Series: Tonight’s game is the 72nd meeting of the two schools with Arizona holding a 47-24 series advantage. UA has won 14 of the last 15 meetings in the series, which dates back to 1924, including the last meeting, 60-55, on Jan. 21 in Tucson. All-time, Arizona is 24-8 in series games played in Tucson, 20-15 in Berkeley, Calif., and 3-1 in neutral-site games.
Last Meeting: Arizona 60, California 55, Jan. 21, 2006: Arizona parlayed a 47-30 rebound margin into a 17-5 advantage in second-chance points as the Wildcats posted a hard-fought, five-point win. UA offset 33.3 percent shooting with 21 offensive rebounds and managed to hold the lead for the final 26:46. Arizona clinched the game by hitting 10-of-14 free throws over the final 5:23. Hassan Adams led the Wildcats with 16 points, while Ivan Radenovic added 10 points and nine rebounds.
Rodgers Returns: After being dismissed from the team on Jan. 18, guard Chris Rodgers was reinstated and returned to practice on Monday. The 6-foot-4 senior from Portland, Ore., is averaging 10.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game in 16 appearances (13 starts) this season. Head coach Lute Olson did not specify if Rodgers would play tonight, indicating that it would be a game time decision. To date, Arizona is 5-3 since the Jan. 18 announcement.
Power Forward Productivity: In leading Arizona to a pair of wins last week, Ivan Radenovic averaged 20.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. He connected on 63.0 percent of his field goal attempts (17-of-20), 70.0 percent (7-of-10) of his free throws, and added three steals in the effort. Radenovic opened the week with 15 points (5-of-6 FGs), six rebounds and a career-high six assists Thursday vs. Oregon in a career high 37 minutes, and followed that up with a career-high 26 points (12-of-21 FGs), seven rebounds (four offensive) and three steals Saturday vs. Oregon State. On the season, Radenovic is averaging 10.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, while shooting 42.6 percent from the field.
Either Way, Ws are OK: The Arizona wins last week were from opposite ends of the winning margin spectrum. Thursday’s two-point decision was UA’s seventh game of the season decided by five points or less, where the Cats are 4-3 in such contests. Saturday’s 22-point win was UA’s fourth game decided by 20 or more points (UA 4-0). The 80-52 win over Oregon State was the team’s first game decided by 20 or more points since an 87-51 win over Sam Houston State on Dec. 19, a span of 15 games.
Triangulating a Win: Arizona did three things well in Saturday’s Oregon State win that it has traditionally done en route to victory: it enjoyed a strong inside presence, created turnovers and got out on the fast break. The game saw Arizona’s post players combine for 37 points (16-of-30 FG) and 17 rebounds, while enjoying a 44-30 points-in-the-paint scoring advantage. Additionally, UA converted 25 OSU miscues into 29 points and held a +15 points off turnovers margin and a 16-4 edge in fast break points.
Standing Tall: The Wildcats have enjoyed unseen levels of productivity from center Kirk Walters of late. In his last six games, the 6-foot-10 junior from Grand Rapids, Mich., is averaging 10.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots per game, while shooting 75.0 percent (27-of-36) from the field. In that time, Walters has finished in double figures three times and grabbed five or more rebounds five times. On the season, the center is averaging 6.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, while posting a team-leading 58.2 field goal percentage.
Put the Throttle Down: The Wildcats reached the 80-point plateau Saturday for the seventh time this season and UA is undefeated when accomplishing the feat. It was just the third time the team scored 80 or more in Pac-10 play and only two of those came at home. Last year, Arizona averaged 82.6 points per game in Pac-10 play and scored 80 or more points 11 times in those 18 games.
Multiple Miscues: The Wildcats forced Oregon State into 25 turnovers on Saturday, including 16 in the first half, which marked the 13th time this season that UA had forced 20 or more turnovers in a game, but the first time in the last five games. On the season, Arizona forces its opponents into an average of 20.3 turnovers per game.
Equal Distribution: Balance was the word of the day Saturday, as 10 of the 11 Wildcats to see action grabbed at least one rebound and eight of 11 scored points. All told, UA reserves logged a total of 62 minutes in Saturday’s win.
4+5: The Arizona frontcourt has been increasingly productive over the last four games, The duo of Kirk Walters and Ivan Radenovic have combined to shoot 48-of-70 (.686) from the floor and are averaging 28.8 points and 12.3 rebounds per game.
No Day Off: Hassan Adams tallied a season-low eight points in Saturday’s win, just the second time this season that he has finished out of double figures. He enjoyed a rare day off from shouldering the scoring burden by posting a career-high nine assists to go with two steals in the effort. In addition to his team-leading 18.3 points per game average, Adams is averaging 2.9 assists and 2.67 steals.
Back at It: Arizona collected 13 steals in Saturday’s game against Oregon State, it’s highest total in seven games. It is the 15th time in 24 games that the Cats have garnered 10 or more steals in a game. This season, Arizona leads the Pac-10 by averaging 10.1 steals per game.
Big On Bret: Sophomore forward Bret Brielmaier equaled a career high with five rebounds (four offensive) Saturday against Oregon State. The 6-foot-6 walk-on from Mankato, Minn., grabbed a total of eight rebounds in 22 minutes this week. On the year, Brielmaier averages 1.1 points and 1.5 rebounds per game.
Always On the Run: Throughout the season, Arizona has shown the ability to post large scoring runs with some regularity. The Wildcats’ have 11 scoring runs of 11 or more points this season:
29-1 run over 10:43 vs. Virginia, Nov. 27 (UVa went 0-of-12 with seven turnovers during the run)
33-15 run over 10:26 vs. Sam Houston State, Dec. 19 (UA 13-of-20 in run)
24-7 run over 9:53 at UCLA, Feb. 4 (UA 9-of-13 FG, 6-of-6 FT in run; UCLA 3-of-10 FG)
22-6 run over 8:19 at Oregon State, Jan. 12 (Seven TO and just 7 OSU FG attempts in run)
21-6 run over 7:12 vs. Michigan State, Nov. 23 (no MSU field goals in last 5:44 of regulation)
20-4 run over 9:10 vs. Kansas, Nov. 21 (KU hits 3-of-first-12 FG attempts with nine TO)
21-5 run over 7:57 at Houston, Dec. 3 (two UH FGs in last eight minutes of first half)
21-9 run over 12:23 vs. Connecticut, Nov. 22 (UA hits 7-of-11 FG in run)
25-11 run over 9:27 vs. USC, Jan. 7 (USC 4-of-13 FG, eight turnovers during run)
26-13 run over 13:04 vs. Saint Mary’s, Dec. 10 (nine SMC turnovers during run)
38-27 run over 13:52 at Washington, Dec. 31 (UA makes 10-of-first-14 FG to ignite 2nd half run)
Arizona Head Coach Lute Olson . . . is in his 23rd season at Arizona and his 33rd overall as a college head coach with a career record of 756-265 (.740) and 564-173 (.765) at Arizona ... He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Sept. 27, 2002 ... Olson became the 16th coach in basketball history to tally 1,000 career victories (covering all levels) on Dec. 11, 2004 ... Olson recorded his 750th collegiate victory on Dec. 31, 2005, and became Arizona’s career victories leader (510) on Jan. 17, 2004 ... He has the most Pac-10 wins (313) of any coach in league history ... Olson has the second-best conference winning percentage (.773/313-92) and second-most league championships won (11) in Pac-10 history (minimum three years), trailing only UCLA’s John Wooden (.810/304-74/16 titles) ... During his 23-year tenure at Arizona, the Wildcats have won one national championship (1997), played in the national championship game (2001), participated in four Final Fours (1988, 1994, 1997, 2001), won 11 Pac-10 Conference titles, four Pac-10 Tournament crowns (1988, ‘89, ‘90, 2002) and been to the NCAA Tournament for 21 consecutive seasons, which is the longest active and second-longest streak in NCAA history (North Carolina, 27) ... He also led Iowa to the 1980 Final Four ... Olson has been named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year seven times (1986, ‘88, ‘89, ‘93, ‘94, ‘98, 2003), the Big Ten Coach of the Year twice (1979 & ‘81) and directed the UA program to the nation’s best winning percentage over the past 18 years (479-118/.802) ... In his collegiate career, Olson has produced 49 NBA Draft picks, including 30 at Arizona – 21 alone since 1990 ... He’s led UA to 18 consecutive 20-win seasons and has 27 overall in his career, making him one of only four head coaches in NCAA history to record 27 or more 20-win seasons... Under Olson, the Cats are 331-34 (.907) in McKale Center and have won 259 of its last 277 home games ... He is assisted by Jim Rosborough, Josh Pastner and Miles Simon ... Olson is 39-10 against California
Possible effect of having Chris Rogers back: Lute Olson quote
"The other thing that I was going to say is that Chris Rogers will practice with us today, as to whether he’ll play this weekend or not I don’t know. But he will be back on the court with us today. He has fulfilled the various responsibilities that have been set up for him to get back. I visited with all the guys individually today to discuss that situation and they are all very much in favor of him being back on the floor."
THE SHORT AND SWEET VERSION:Arizona has dominated the series. Arizona has had its share of troubles on the road and Haas Pavilion will not make the challenge of playing on the road any easier. However, they have won their before. In fact:
All games played at CALIFORNIA since 1997 CALIFORNIA is 4-4 against the spread versus ARIZONA since 1997
ARIZONA is 6-2 straight up against CALIFORNIA since 1997 5 of 5 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL since 1997
Not too mention this trend:
All games in this series since 1997 ARIZONA is 10-9 against the spread versus CALIFORNIA since 1997
ARIZONA is 17-2 straight up against CALIFORNIA since 1997 10 of 12 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL since 1997
Initial lean was towards California because of their nice win streak. There is no doubt they have been playing good basketball but most importantly, they have been able to finish out close games (winning at home against Stanford by 3 and on the road to Oregon by 2).
Arizona plays tough defense and have showed improved team chemistry in the last week. They have lots of talent and tonight's match will most likely be another display of Arizona's domination in this series.
