Men's Basketball Takes on ASU in Schedule Switch

The Cal men’s basketball team will return to the court Sunday. That has been the case all along. But instead of getting on a bus and heading to Palo Alto to face Stanford, the Bears will be at home and taking on Arizona State. 

That switcheroo was caused by covid issues in the Stanford, USC and UCLA programs. ASU was supposed to be facing the L.A. schools this weekend. So the Pac-12 decided to move the ASU-Cal game, originally scheduled for Jan. 19, to Sunday. Cal head coach Mark Fox said that rather than look at the shift as a one-time event, teams had better get used to it.

“I think that’s going to become par for the course,” Fox said. “After as much disruption as we’ve had for really two seasons now, I think the change in opponents is. as unsettling as it could be in a normal routine. But we haven’t had a normal routine in forever.

D. Ross Cameron | 2018 Oct 11

Fox Address the troops

“Obviously we had to do a quick change in scouting who we are preparing for. They (the Sun Devils) have a good team. They have great team speed. I think they have played an unbelievable schedule. I think they have a team that is far better than their record because of the quality of opponents that they have played. I think their defense is outstanding and I really think they are a team that is really dangerous.”

Fox isn’t thrilled that the game is at Haas. With very little advance notice and classes not in session, there probably won’t be enough of a crowd to create a home-court advantage.

“Our fans were not anticipating a home game,” he said. “No one was planning on coming to a game in Berkeley on Sunday. Our students are gone. Now I was kind of hoping we were going to be on the road.”

The Bears (8-5, 1-1 Pac 12) have won four straight and both Grant Anticevich and Joel Brown can see improvement in the team since the season began. 

“I think we have definitely improved in every game as the season has gone along, Anticevich said. “One area is our defense. I think our defense has improved a lot. If we do that (improve) every game, it gives us a chance to win. On offense, I think we are getting better and better shooting. We are taking better shots.”

D. Ross Cameron | 2018 Oct 11

Antecivich scores

Brown agrees, “Defensively we are much better.,” he said. “Offensively we are taking the right shots and Coach has talked about our efficiency rating. We have to do a better job distributing the ball, and that starts with me. As a team, we have been able to play together and that has been helping us a lot.”

Notes

• ASU is 5-7, 1-1.
• The Bears have won eight straight home games. 
• The home streak is tied for Cal’s longest since winning eight in a row from Feb. 28-Dec. 11, 2019.
• Cal has lost seven straight games to ASU dating back to Jan. 20, 2018.
•   Jordan Shepherd is averaging 19.5 points, 5.5 rebounds & 1.5 assists in Pac-12 play. He scored 25 points in Cal’s win over Oregon State.
•  Anticevich was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week for Dec. 20-26 after scoring a career-high 25 points with seven 3-pointers & 11 boards vs. Pacific.
•  The seven 3’s are the most by a Pac-12 player this season.
•  Andre Kelly is among Pac-12 leaders in rebounds per game (8.9, 2nd), FG percentage (60.3%, 3rd), points per game (14.8, 7th). 
• He has 5 double-doubles, including a 20-13 effort in the Pac-12 opener vs. Oregon State. 
• The Bears have outrebounded their opponents in 10 of 13 games this season, largely due to their effort on the defensive glass. Cal is 24th nationally with 29.15 defensive rebounds per game.
•  Cal is 8-0 when dishing out 10+ assists this season, including four consecutive games since Dec. 8. 
• ASU star forward Marcus Bagley, who entered the NBA draft after last season then changed his mind and returned to school, has missed all but three games with a knee injury. No date has been announced for his return.
• Guard DJ Horne leads ASU in scoring, averaging 13.4 ppg.

Related:

Pac-12 Basketball Preview: A Three-Team Race to the Top

Grant Anticevich Named Pac-12 Player Of The Week