ASU Basketball: 2019 Pac-12 Week 17 Power Rankings
By Trevor Booth
12. California Golden Bears (5-22, 0-15 Pac-12) Last Week: 12
This past week, California seemingly had a shot to win its first conference game. The Golden Bears led by six at halftime against Arizona State.
That lead faded quickly in the second half.
After shooting below 30 percent in the first half, the Sun Devils opened the second on a 19-5 run. Cal also deteriorated defensively, allowing ASU to shoot 59 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes.
Losing 69-59, this was one of Cal’s closest games of the Pac-12 season. But this was more disheartening than some of those other losses, as the Golden Bears were stable in the first half.
Though it was a spine-cracking loss, Matt Bradley was prolific. A freshman guard, Bradley scored a game-high 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Five of his field goals were from beyond the arc.
Just a few days prior, the Golden Bears didn’t put up much of a fight against Arizona. It was a 76-51 defeat, and Cal struggled on both sides of the ball.
On the offensive end, the Golden Bears shot a poor 30.4 percent clip from the field while shooting 23.1 percent from three. Even Cal’s top scorer, Justice Sueing, scored his 18 points on an inefficient 6-of-16 night from the field.
The struggles on defense were just as significant. Scoring was at a premium for the Wildcats, who made almost 50 percent of their shots. Four Wildcats finished in double figures, and the bench combined for 31 of their 76 points.
Of Arizona’s 27 field goals, 21 were assisted. This displays Cal’s inability to make sound rotations and make the necessary closeouts.
After the losses, Cal now sits at 0-15 in Pac-12 play. Only three games — against Washington, Washington State and Stanford — remain for the Golden Bears to erase the winless narrative.