ARIZONA
- G T.J. McConnell (6-1 senior)
- G Stanley Johnson (6-7 freshman)
- F Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (6-7 sophomore)
- F Brandon Ashley (6-9 junior)
- C Kaleb Tarczewski (7-0 junior)
CALIFORNIA
- G Tyrone Wallace (6-5 junior)
- G Jordan Mathews (6-3 sophomore)
- F Jabari Bird (6-6 sophomore)
- F David Kravish (6-10 senior)
- C Kingsley Okoroh (7-1 freshman)
HOW THEY MATCH UP
The series: No team in the Pac-12 other than Washington has caused Sean Miller more headaches on its home court than Cal, which has beaten the Wildcats twice and taken them to triple overtime once during Miller’s four previous trips to Berkeley. The Wildcats lead the series 56-30 overall, but lost 60-58 last season when Brandon Ashley injured his foot in the first two minutes and Cal’s Justin Cobbs hit a game-winning 18-footer with a second left.
Cal overview: Cuonzo Martin’s transition from Tennessee to taking over for retired Bears coach Mike Montgomery couldn’t have been smoother… through 11 games. Cal was 10-1 before losing to Wisconsin on Dec. 22, and hasn’t been the same since. The Bears lost to Cal State Bakersfield, Jabari Bird was out all of December with a broken foot, Tyrone Wallace has struggled to hit jump shots and their five-game losing streak hit another low Thursday when ASU blew them out by 35 points — at Cal. But the Bears always have potential with their talented wing players: The high-scoring Bird, the versatile Wallace and guard Jordan Mathews. They also have a proven, versatile veteran inside with David Kravish and a young space-eater in Brit big man Kingsley Okoroh. Defensively, the Bears are a man-to-man team.
KEY PLAYERS
CAL
David Kravish: The Bears’ perimeter trio typically gets most of the attention but the Wildcats aren’t likely to forget about Kravish, who had 14 points and 11 rebounds against them at Haas last season. He’s steadily become one of the Pac-12’s best frontcourt players, and can play either power forward or center.
ARIZONA
Brandon Ashley: Almost exactly a year ago, the Wildcats entered Haas Pavilion undefeated and Ashley had two healthy feet. No doubt the memory of UA’s loss and Ashley’s foot injury will be running through the forward’s mind. Ashley played well offensively at Stanford but, like almost everyone else, was plagued by fouls.
HE SAID IT
“They’re really aggressive and physical. Okoroh is a work in progress but he’s a physical presence and an offensive rebounder. Kravish is an all-league player and he can change the game. Wallace is the leading shot-taker and when a guy has that much freedom, he’s capable of going off on any given game. The (wing players) all can score and I don’t think one just overwhelms you. Wallace is the best rebounding guard in the conference and Bird in the half-court has great size – he can post you up or get by you.”
— UA assistant coach Book Richardson, who scouted the Bears
SIDELINES
- The Wildcats have a new home away from home in the Bay Area. Having spent recent seasons before Cal games staying at the landmark Claremont Hotel, the Wildcats moved to the Oakland Marriott City Center after Thursday’s game with Stanford.
There, they could eat, sleep and practice all in the same building — taking shots at the same Golden State Warriors practice facility atop an attached parking garage where former Wildcat great Steve Kerr has his NBA-best team work out.
A recent rule change allows NCAA teams to practice at NBA facilities, and Miller said “especially with Steve being here, it makes even more sense.”
The only problem: The place is so inviting that ASU made it their temporary home, too, though Miller said Friday he hadn’t seen ASU coach Herb Sendek or run into the Sun Devils at all.
- After he received five productive minutes from Matt Korcheck on Thursday, Miller said he would have to look into finding a way to “take advantage” of Korcheck more often.
So what does that mean, exactly? It’s not like there’s a whole lot of minutes Miller has freed up with his frontcourt.
“There’s not a lot but it’s always great to see that a guy is dependable,” Miller said. “Foul trouble and injuries happen throughout our season and you know what? When Matt’s called upon, you’re putting in a man, somebody who’s 22 years old and been through a lot. He’s proven that when called upon, he’ll be as ready as he can be.”
- Ashley hasn’t been available for comment all week, but you can take a pretty good guess about how the Bay Area native will feel Saturday night.
Haas Pavilion, after all, was the place where Ashley severely injured his foot almost exactly a year ago, in UA’s 60-58 loss.
“I think there’s a lot of emotions but they’re all positive emotions,” Miller said. “It’s kind of ironic we’re here about the same time as we were last year, about a one-year time period. It’s great to see Brandon healthy and he’s about the best he’s ever been in our program, both mentally and in what he’s doing out there. … It’s all coming together for him. That’s very important.”
Numbers game
14 Stanley Johnson’s second-half scoring average over the past three games.
19.3 Jordan Mathews’ scoring average in Pac-12 games, second-best in the conference behind Stanford’s Chasson Randle (22.8)
206 Career blocks by Cal’s David Kravish, who is only one shy of tying the school record.
Bruce Pascoe
