Cal Basketball The Road Gets Tougher For | Entradas de portal | Foro

Cal faces by far its toughest foe of the basketball season on Sunday when it visits the McKale Center in Tucson to take on No. 4 Arizona.And that poses a big problem the Bears, still looking for their first victory.But we learned one thing this week about the Wildcats theyre not unbeatable.After winning its first six games, including a sweep of the Maui Invitational, Arizona lost its Pac-12 opener at Utah, falling 81-66 in Salt Lake City.No one saw this coming from a Utah team that won four conference games a year ago and finished 10th in the Pac-12 one spot behind Cal.How often do you get the opportunity to play the No. 4 team in the country? Utah coach Craig Smith said. These are opportunities that dont happen often and you have to crave it. You have to want Victor Mete Jersey it.Certainly the Bears (0-8, 0-1) dont resemble a team positioned to match the Utes upset victory. They lost 66-51 to USC on Tyler Seguin Youth Jersey Wednesday, outscored 20-0 over 8 minutes after pulling within three points midway through the second half.We need go regroup, Cal coach Mark Fox said afterward. Arizonas got a great team, great atmosphere. We havent played well yet. Weve had moments where weve played good we havent played near a full 40 minutes. Itll take that down there. Itll be a challenge for us.Cal has lost 11 straight to Arizona and hasn't beaten the Cats in Tucson since 2013.Its hard to imagine how the Bears will cope with Arizonas prolific offense. Even after being held to 66 points, the Cats are averaging 93 points second-best in the country. Their 56-percent shooting is tops in Division I.Cals numbers are at the far end of the spectrum: 350th nationally in scoring (57.5 points), New York Rangers Jersey 335th in field-goal percentage (38.7).Second-year Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd suggested after the Utah game the Wildcats (6-1, 0-1) might have been guilty of over-confidence. Thats not likely to happen two games in a row.Scroll to Continue"We didn't have a great approach, whether it's the guys being a little bit intoxicated off their succe s or the things people are saying to them, I don't know," Lloyd told reporters. "But we're definitely going to have to addre s it, and we're definitely going to have to play better than we did tonight.Arizona was picked just second in the Pac-12 preseason media poll but that was before center Oumar Ballo emerged as a huge force.Ballo was a huge recruit out of Mali several years ago, landing at Gonzaga, where he struggled with an ankle injury and couldnt break into the Zags rotation. Who recruited him to Cam Neely Jersey Spokane? Lloyd, who left Mark Fews staff to take over at Arizona.Ballo followed, then worked to reshape his 7-foot, 260-pound body and developed greater stamina in the proce s.The 20-year-old averaged 21 points and 10.7 rebounds in victories over Cincinnati, San Diego State and Creighton to earn MVP honors at Maui.Even against Utah, when the rest of the Wildcats combined to shoot 25 percent from the field and were 4-for-28 on 3s, Ballo was 10-for-12 and scored 22 points.Ballo leads the Pac-12 in scoring (19.4), rebounding (9.6) and field-goal accuracy (78 percent) but is far from a one-man show. Forward Azuolas Tubelis, a 6-11 junior from Lithuania, also averages 19.4 points and 7.7 rebounds. Texas transfer Courtney Ramey, 6-3 guard, scores 14.8 points per game. Pelle Lar son, a 6-5 junior Ryan Pulock Jersey wing from Sweden by way of Utah, provides 9.9 points, and point guard Kerr Kriisa, a junior from Estonia, averages 13.7 points and leads the Pac-12 with 7.7 a sists.Although his squad is struggling through the worst start in program history, Fox says his players continue to work toward improving.Ill tell you this our team, they take baby steps forward. he said. I know it didnt get us to victory (vs. USC), but I think were taking small steps and well have to take a couple for sure down there.Cover photo of Arizona center Oumar Ballo by Scott Wachtner, USA Today