I watched the Cal-USF. Cal was just not ready to play. Apparently there was a women's game before so Cal just opted to do a shoot around in Berkeley and only warmed up for about 30 minutes at USF. They just didn't look ready to play.
Also, Bradley was held out of the starting lineup due to a team rules violation (I'm assuming coming to practice late or something minor because he played most of the game).
Cal is coming off two 8 wins seasons under Wyking Jones (a terrible coach). They brought in Mark Fox (former Nevada and Georgia head coach). Most Cal fans were underwhelmed by the hire (I'm a Cal grad and Bear Backer)the new AD landed on Fox really quickly and most felt we could have found someone better. Fox had been fired at Georgia a year before and was not working so it just seemed like they should/could have explored more options.
Fox has brought a lot more discipline to the Bears. They run a more deliberate offense and really try to involve the post players. Defensively they still have a long way to go, they have been especially bad on closing out on three balls.
Bradley is noticeably better this year, much leaner and more aggressive offensively. He is very strong and can be a handful to cover. Definitely Cal's best player.
Anticevich the Aussie is another guy who has transformed his body, he got much leaner and improved his quickness. He has been shooting the ball well and is a great rebounder.
Point guard is unsettled. They start Joel Brown a freshmanI like him a lot. He is going to be a good one in a couple of years. Strong and quick, but not much of an outside shot. Paris Austin (a former O'Dowd kid who played with Ivan Rabb in high school and spent two years at Boise State) started last year and plays a lot minutes. He is very offensive minded and can be frustrating to watch at times because he fails to make some easy passes, choosing to shoot himself i Sometimes they run Brown and Austin at the same time.
Harris Dyson plays a lot on the wing, he is a tremendous athlete but a turnover machine on offense. He struggles to dribble and has no midrange shot. If he gets by you (and doesn't dribble it off his foot) he will throw it down.
Thiemann the freshman center is a Euro, skilled and strong for a freshman. He doesn't score much but sets solid screens and bangs. If they can work on his quickness, he should develop into a decent player in the next couple of years.
Kelly the power forward looks much better than last season, he is scoring more and flashing more skills.
Overall, the Bears are much better coached than the prior two seasons. It remains to be seen if Fox can take them into the upper tier of the Pac 12. They have some talent but not any real elite players.
I think it should be a pretty close game, two veteran coaches. If the Broncos fans turn out and provide some noise, the home court advantage could definitely be a factor. This is a young team and could get rattled. I think the Bears will need someone to go off (most likely Bradley) to win. Normally you would think that the Pac 12 team would have the better athletes, but the Bears didn't seem to have much of an advantage at USF.
For the Broncos to win, they will need to shoot well from the outside, open 3's will be there if they move the balls on the Bears. Fox continues to be disappointed by the defense, he wants to see them play relentless and smart on D, so far it hasn't happened for extended periods. The vast majority of the time the Bears play man, so the Broncos will need to exploit some one on one matchups.
If I had to throw out a guess, I'm going with the home team, Broncos 73 Bears 68
Hopefully the crowd comes out. Fox was asked about having to play AT USF and Santa Clara. He said he didn't make the schedule, BUT he wouldn't mind continuing to play the local schools as long as they came to Berkeley. So I don't think you will see the Bears coming down to the Mission Campus anytime soon after Saturday!
Then life is just a one-night stand
If there's a rock and roll heaven
Well you know they've got a hell of a band