Cal Men's Basketball Preview: Can the Bears complete season sweep of ASU?
ASU has had a slight surge of late
Date: Thursday March 3rd, 2022 (5PM Pac-12 Networks)
Opponent: Arizona State Sun Devils
Record: 12-16 (Conference: 8-10)
Standings: 9th in Pac-12
KenPom Ranking: #104
Opponent Team Stats: 65.0PPG/35.8RPG/13.1APG/6.6SPG/12.1TPG
Key Players:Â
DJ Horne
Guard (6-foot-1/175lbs)
Sophomore
12.2PPG/2.9RPG/1.9APG/1.7TPG
38.7%-FG/36.6%-3PT/93.5%-FT
Jay Heath
Guard (6-foot-3/195lbs)
Sophomore
10.6PPG/3.4RPG/1.6APG/1.5TPG
41.4%-FG/41.5%-3PT/75.0%-FT
Kimani Lawrence
Forward (6-foot-6/205lbs)
Senior
10.3PPG/6.5RPG/1.4APG/1.8TPG
53.1%-FG/54.3%-FT
Marreon Jackson
Guard (6-foot-1/190lbs)
Senior
10.0PPG/3.9RPG/4.0APG/2.3TPG/1.5SPG
33.8%-FG/27.7%-3PT/83.1%-FT
Expected Starting 5
Guard Marreon Jackson
Guard Jay Heath
Forward Jamiya Neal
Forward Kimani Lawrence
Forward Jalen Graham
The Bears will look to complete the season sweep against ASU. Last time out the Bears crushed Bobby Hurley’s squad 74-50 in Berkeley. The Sun Devils have picked it up over the last few weeks winning 5 of their last 6. The defense has an efficiency rating that ranks in the top 35 despite 16 losses on the year. They’ve lost a handful of games by 5 points or less. ASU has struggled to score points all year and is still feeling the effects of the early season loss of Marcus Bagley. DJ Horne picked up the mantle of the Sun Devils’ leading scorer with 12 a night. Horne was unavailable in their most recent game against Utah with a non-covid related illness but should be back for the game against Cal on Thursday. It’s always a tough outing in Tempe, but the Bears should be riding high after the spectacular win on Senior Night.
And if you missed there Bears’ last game against Stanford make sure to check out the recap.
Cal’s Win Probability and Score according to KenPom: 32% (59-64 Loss)
Go Bears. I'm cautiously optimistic., ASU is due for a letdown. BTW do they still have the curtain of distraction?
Always expect a road loss. Then Oregon. Pull one out Bears!