ASU Basketball: 2019 Pac-12 Week 9 Power Rankings
By Trevor Booth
12. California Golden Bears (5-7) Last Week: 12
At the end of the nonconference schedule, the Pac-12 as a whole has been bad to say the least.
The unsettling news for Cal? It’s currently the weakest team in the conference.
Heading into conference play, the Golden Bears have lost two of their last three games, a 22-point loss to Fresno State as well as a 82-73 loss to Seattle.
The main issue?
Defense and a lack of rebounding remain prevalent issues for a team that has shown minimal signs of growth. Through 12 games, the Golden Bears have allowed 77.5 points per game, ranking an abysmal 297th in the nation.
In addition to a porous defense, the rebounding effort has been poor, pulling down just under 28 boards a night, being outrebounded by an average of six rebounds per game.
Coach Wyking Jones’ team lacks significant size following the graduation of 2017-18 bigs Marcus Lee and Kingsley Okoroh, but the defensive struggles are more difficult to pinpoint.
Offensively, the entire starting five averages double-figure scoring but Jones has yet find a go-to scorer as a lack of experience has resulted in a more balanced attack.
In the midst of another down season, the main bright spot for Jones has been junior guard Paris Austin. Since transferring from Boise State, Austin leads Cal in scoring and assists at 14.5 and 5.1, respectively.
Cal will begin their Pac-12 journey against USC on Jan. 3 as they look to put its non-conference woes behind them.