Cal, UCLA face off after splitting first two Pac-12 games
UCLA coach Steve Alford and California coach Cuonzo Martin share a past coaching at Missouri State and playing for Big Ten teams Indiana and Purdue, respectively, during their college careers in the Hoosier State.
Coming off a split last weekend to start Pac-12 play, Alford and Martin now share the same objective -- stay in pace with the young conference race.
The fourth-ranked Bruins (14-1, 1-1 Pac-12) are coming off an 89-87 loss at Oregon and a 76-63 win over Oregon State. Alford called the victory over the Beavers a "must-win" situation after losing on a last-second 3-pointer made by Oregon guard Dillon Brooks.
"Any time you lose for the first time getting that win the next time is not easy, especially with the heartbreaking way we lost to Oregon," Alford said in a press conference this week. "The way we responded against Oregon State, which tried to shorten the game by slowing things down, I'm really proud of how we played.
"We needed a good bounce-back win."
After losing at home to Arizona, Martin's team also got back on track with an 81-65 win over Arizona State. More promising for Cal (10-4, 1-1) is that it started a game-turning 21-4 run in the second half against the Sun Devils with sophomore standout post player Ivan Rabb on the bench in foul trouble.
"It's really big for us," said Grant Mullins, a graduate transfer guard from Columbia. "It gives our guys confidence. While we have a ton of confidence in him, he can't play 40 minutes a night or he'd just be too tired. When he's off the floor, other guys have to step up, and everyone showed us that tonight."
Cal and UCLA are gradually getting their personnel healthy and prepared to play.
The Golden Bears will soon add much needed depth to their interior game with 7-foot-1 junior center Kameron Rooks, out with a knee injury since Nov. 30, cleared to practice this week. His availability for the UCLA game is questionable.
UCLA center Thomas Welsh returned during the Oregon trip after missing four games with a bruised right knee. He totaled 20 points and 10 rebounds against the Ducks in his first game back.
The Bruins have also cleared this week guard Prince Ali (torn meniscus in his right knee last July) and forward Alex Olesinski (stress reaction in left foot) to start practicing with the team.
"It's seemed like we didn't know a timetable (for the return of Ali and Olesinski), and all of a sudden we get back from the Oregon trip and both Prince and Alex are out on the floor practicing again," Alford said. "They look great so now it's about just being with them, talking to them and making sure they know their options and we support whatever that is."
It will be difficult for Ali and Olesinski to crack Alford's existing eight-man rotation headlined by freshmen T.J. Leaf, a wing player who leads the Bruins with 17.5 points a game, and point guard Lonzo Ball, who had 37 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds in the games in Oregon.
UCLA ranks third in the nation with 93.9 points per game and the Bruins top the nation shooting 54.2 percent from the field.
"UCLA wants to get out and go really quickly," said Cal guard Sam Singer, who is now the team's sixth man after Mullins started in his place against Arizona State. "I don't think we're necessarily going to slow it down, but we have to be smart with how fast we want the game to go."
Based on the stats, Cal should make it difficult for UCLA to get second chances around the basket. The Golden Bears rank No. 1 nationally in defensive rebounding percentage (82 percent).
Rabb ranks in the top 30 in the country in defensive rebounds per game (10th, 7.92), rebounds per game (24th, 10.3) and double-doubles (28th, 6), and is 43rd for field goal percentage (56.3 percent).
"Rabb is a special player and I like their toughness in the backcourt," Alford said of Mullins, Singer and freshman guard Charlie Moore (second on team with 15.3 points per game). "Mullins is a fifth-year guy who knows how to play and shoot the ball.
"Cuonzo's teams are always very good defensively and they are very physical. Like all games, we have to be better in this one than the last one. "
