Bear Down Wildcats

I really can't emphasize enough how hard it is to win on the road, especially in conference play. Every win away from home is a huge accomplishment, especially this year in the PAC.

To date, Arizona is 75-41 (.647) away from the McKale Center since the 2009-10 season. UA is 19-9 in Pac-12 road games in the last three seasons.

That is impressive.

It's even a more impressive stat knowing that 47 times in a row Arizona has won at home.

Co-sign.

Big weekend for the Cats. Not only picked up a roadie, but UCLA and Utah biffed some of the easier opportunities. USC had two wins it its grasp, but couldn't close the deal, up 22.

Miller's teams are mentally tough.

gumby wrote:Co-sign.

Big weekend for the Cats. Not only picked up a roadie, but UCLA and Utah biffed some of the easier opportunities. USC had two wins it its grasp, but couldn't close the deal, up 22.

Miller's teams are mentally tough.

Beware the WearDown! Everyone is back on the Cal bandwagon. We'll see how they do at Oregon, which should be a track meet. Ducks should be focused, especially after losing to their in state rival.

We also always get large, energized crowds. Teams (ASU, UCLA) with otherwise lackluster fan bases will have people come out for us. We get the best shots other teams have every time.

good OP, i 100% agree -- and on a larger scale the true road record over the last several years in PAC12 Conf play is impressive

Spaceman Spiff wrote:We also always get large, energized crowds. Teams (ASU, UCLA) with otherwise lackluster fan bases will have people come out for us. We get the best shots other teams have every time.

so true, yet this past weekend ASU couldnt even fill out the reduced seating area at Wells, i was surprised to see that.

After the opening weekend:

Arizona +1
Colorado +1
USC +1
UW 0
UCLA 0
Oregon 0
OSU 0
Cal 0
Utah 0
Arizona State -1
Wazzu -1
Stanford -1

97cats wrote:good OP, i 100% agree -- and on a larger scale the true road record over the last several years in PAC12 Conf play is impressive

Spaceman Spiff wrote:We also always get large, energized crowds. Teams (ASU, UCLA) with otherwise lackluster fan bases will have people come out for us. We get the best shots other teams have every time.

so true, yet this past weekend ASU couldnt even fill out the reduced seating area at Wells, i was surprised to see that.

Yeah it was the worst crowd for a game at Mckale North in a while. Lot less people than usual.

ASUHATER! wrote:

97cats wrote:good OP, i 100% agree -- and on a larger scale the true road record over the last several years in PAC12 Conf play is impressive

Spaceman Spiff wrote:We also always get large, energized crowds. Teams (ASU, UCLA) with otherwise lackluster fan bases will have people come out for us. We get the best shots other teams have every time.

so true, yet this past weekend ASU couldnt even fill out the reduced seating area at Wells, i was surprised to see that.

Yeah it was the worst crowd for a game at Mckale North in a while. Lot less people than usual.

So we're responsible for ASU's crappy home attendance?

If they wanted their arena filled, they could make tickets more readily available but have always been afraid of us taking over. They'd prefer a crowd of 8,000 over a bi-partisan crowd of 11,000.

Cards football game with Seattle obviously played a part...and the bowl game the night before that went very late.

carolinacat wrote:

ASUHATER! wrote:

97cats wrote:good OP, i 100% agree -- and on a larger scale the true road record over the last several years in PAC12 Conf play is impressive

Spaceman Spiff wrote:We also always get large, energized crowds. Teams (ASU, UCLA) with otherwise lackluster fan bases will have people come out for us. We get the best shots other teams have every time.

so true, yet this past weekend ASU couldnt even fill out the reduced seating area at Wells, i was surprised to see that.

Yeah it was the worst crowd for a game at Mckale North in a while. Lot less people than usual.

So we're responsible for ASU's crappy home attendance?

If they wanted their arena filled, they could make tickets more readily available but have always been afraid of us taking over. They'd prefer a crowd of 8,000 over a bi-partisan crowd of 11,000.

Cards football game with Seattle obviously played a part...and the bowl game the night before that went very late.

Plus the day after New Year's and an early start time. There were just a lot of bad factors for that one. Also, ASU and their fans suck.

carolinacat wrote:

gumby wrote:Co-sign.

Big weekend for the Cats. Not only picked up a roadie, but UCLA and Utah biffed some of the easier opportunities. USC had two wins it its grasp, but couldn't close the deal, up 22.

Miller's teams are mentally tough.

Beware the WearDown! Everyone is back on the Cal bandwagon. We'll see how they do at Oregon, which should be a track meet. Ducks should be focused, especially after losing to their in state rival.

Except the people who vote. Still not Top 25. Who constitutes "everyone"?

ChooChooCat wrote:After the opening weekend:

Arizona +1
Colorado +1
USC +1
UW 0
UCLA 0
Oregon 0
OSU 0
Cal 0
Utah 0
Arizona State -1
Wazzu -1
Stanford -1

thank you, i enjoy this chart

97cats wrote:good OP, i 100% agree -- and on a larger scale the true road record over the last several years in PAC12 Conf play is impressive

Spaceman Spiff wrote:We also always get large, energized crowds. Teams (ASU, UCLA) with otherwise lackluster fan bases will have people come out for us. We get the best shots other teams have every time.

so true, yet this past weekend ASU couldnt even fill out the reduced seating area at Wells, i was surprised to see that.

ASSU only started selling single game tix, the day of the game. This is the first year in a long, long time that I did not attend...as we were in LA.

Also the tickets were starting at $50 which I thought was ridiculous. Sucked it up and bought 3 cheaper ones on stub hub. Student section wasn't completely full because school is out and I'm sure ASSU is too scared to sell them to general public as they know who will buy them. UofA fans did their part (though we shouldn't have to). Roughly 2500-3000 there if I had to guess. Our entire section was Arizona fans as well as the one next to us. Even after the game with the walk to the car, there ASSU fans surrounded by UofA fans like ants on bread.

The last time UofA barely misses the tournament thanks to that damn game was probably equal as worse for attendance and that was before the wall I believe. They're trying more and more methods to keep us out. Just release the damn tickets and get your little revenue from the game.

Since asu already doubles or triples ticket prices for that one game you'd think they want to make as much money as they can. Since there was only eight thousand people there with 2500 being Arizona fans they should just open the tickets they have to the general public a few weeks before the game and guarantee a sellout even though the final crowd would end up being 50 or 60% Arizona fans.

Tickets have been jacked up to keep UA out and with the holidays and Cardinals game no surprise not too many people were there but it was about 40% U of A fans.

gumby wrote:

carolinacat wrote:

gumby wrote:Co-sign.

Big weekend for the Cats. Not only picked up a roadie, but UCLA and Utah biffed some of the easier opportunities. USC had two wins it its grasp, but couldn't close the deal, up 22.

Miller's teams are mentally tough.

Beware the WearDown! Everyone is back on the Cal bandwagon. We'll see how they do at Oregon, which should be a track meet. Ducks should be focused, especially after losing to their in state rival.

Except the people who vote. Still not Top 25. Who constitutes "everyone"?

All the Pac 12 announcers I heard calling games this weekend kept pumping Cal, first after their win over Colorado and then more so following the Utah win. I'm not saying it isn't justified. Hell, they've got a lot of talent and they're starting to figure it out. If they sweep the Oregon trail this week, the East Coast media will take notice.

This from ESPN:
California at Oregon (Eugene, Oregon), 9 p.m., ESPN2, Wednesday: The Golden Bears are starting to hit their stride. They’re 10 seconds away from having a nine-game winning streak, as they lost 63-62 to Virginia in overtime. Cal’s upset of No. 24 Utah on Sunday was further validation. The Ducks are undefeated at home and have a 16-game home win streak dating back to last season.
Prediction: California 70, Oregon 64.

From CBS:
Freshman Ivan Rabb stood out offensively for the Bears with 19 points and 10 rebounds in an active performance. Cal has now won three straight against good teams (Davidson, Colorado, Utah) since taking Virginia to overtime. The Bears might be in the mix for the top 25 on Monday, but more importantly, they're looking more and more like a team ready to make a run at a Pac-12 title.

SI:
The Bears fell out of the AP rankings after they lost to San Diego State and Richmond in Las Vegas over Thanksgiving, but a team that depends on freshmen was bound to hit some speed bumps in the early going. The road has looked a lot smoother lately. Two weeks ago, Cal almost won at Virginia before falling in overtime, and last weekend it opened up Pac-12 play with convincing home wins over Colorado and Utah. As Cal’s freshmen like forwards Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb continue to get comfortable, I expect the wins to keep coming, possibly putting the Bears in position to win the conference.

gumby wrote:

97cats wrote:good OP, i 100% agree -- and on a larger scale the true road record over the last several years in PAC12 Conf play is impressive

Spaceman Spiff wrote:We also always get large, energized crowds. Teams (ASU, UCLA) with otherwise lackluster fan bases will have people come out for us. We get the best shots other teams have every time.

so true, yet this past weekend ASU couldnt even fill out the reduced seating area at Wells, i was surprised to see that.

If I was a member of the BOR, I would be sure to bring that up the next time their AD comes with a new contract extension for a head coach. If our fans are gonna be treated that way by ASU, maybe we shouldn't give comp tickets to ASU on their visit to Tucson. Let them get them like everyone else: in the open market. If they complain, politely explain that we had a lot of fans interested in buying tickets but were denied.

carolinacat wrote:

gumby wrote:

carolinacat wrote:

gumby wrote:Co-sign.

Big weekend for the Cats. Not only picked up a roadie, but UCLA and Utah biffed some of the easier opportunities. USC had two wins it its grasp, but couldn't close the deal, up 22.

Miller's teams are mentally tough.

Beware the WearDown! Everyone is back on the Cal bandwagon. We'll see how they do at Oregon, which should be a track meet. Ducks should be focused, especially after losing to their in state rival.

Except the people who vote. Still not Top 25. Who constitutes "everyone"?

All the Pac 12 announcers I heard calling games this weekend kept pumping Cal, first after their win over Colorado and then more so following the Utah win. I'm not saying it isn't justified. Hell, they've got a lot of talent and they're starting to figure it out. If they sweep the Oregon trail this week, the East Coast media will take notice.

This from ESPN:
California at Oregon (Eugene, Oregon), 9 p.m., ESPN2, Wednesday: The Golden Bears are starting to hit their stride. They’re 10 seconds away from having a nine-game winning streak, as they lost 63-62 to Virginia in overtime. Cal’s upset of No. 24 Utah on Sunday was further validation. The Ducks are undefeated at home and have a 16-game home win streak dating back to last season.
Prediction: California 70, Oregon 64.

From CBS:
Freshman Ivan Rabb stood out offensively for the Bears with 19 points and 10 rebounds in an active performance. Cal has now won three straight against good teams (Davidson, Colorado, Utah) since taking Virginia to overtime. The Bears might be in the mix for the top 25 on Monday, but more importantly, they're looking more and more like a team ready to make a run at a Pac-12 title.

SI:
The Bears fell out of the AP rankings after they lost to San Diego State and Richmond in Las Vegas over Thanksgiving, but a team that depends on freshmen was bound to hit some speed bumps in the early going. The road has looked a lot smoother lately. Two weeks ago, Cal almost won at Virginia before falling in overtime, and last weekend it opened up Pac-12 play with convincing home wins over Colorado and Utah. As Cal’s freshmen like forwards Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb continue to get comfortable, I expect the wins to keep coming, possibly putting the Bears in position to win the conference.

So some, not everyone. Or they wouldn't have fallen out of the Top 25. BTW, Pac-12 announcers pimp ALL the teams in the Conference of Champions. The cheerleading never ends. Probably in their contracts. (Same for all the conferences and their announcers).

gumby wrote:

I haven't bought tickets from the asu AD in years, ever since they started charging $40 for corner nosebleeds. This year I think they were $55 for the upper end and $60 or more for corners. Which just reaffirms my stance that U of A is the greatest thing that has ever happened to asu! When do they sell out in ANY sport when the Wildcats aren't in town? They've managed to ruin the one cash cow they have.

Also reaffirms how dumb they are, pricing out people who can easily get tickets for half that much on Stubhub, all in an attempt to keep Wildcats fans out. Memo to asu: That still doesn't work, as asu season ticket holders sell their seats to Wildcats fans for 4 times face value ($7.25 on the tickets that my friends gave me!). So Wildcats fans still show up, pay less, and sit in seats normally occupied by the few asu fans they already have. While half the arena remains empty... yes half. Just because you cover up 3,000 seats, we know they're still there!

i wonder what kind of crowd we can expect on thursday. holiday season's over and classes are back in session in westwood, but the game doesn't even look close to sold-out atm

maybe the tix will start to fly over the next 48 hours. weird that there are far fewer available seats for the asu game right now, though.

Luuuuuuuute wrote:

gumby wrote:

I haven't bought tickets from the asu AD in years, ever since they started charging $40 for corner nosebleeds. This year I think they were $55 for the upper end and $60 or more for corners. Which just reaffirms my stance that U of A is the greatest thing that has ever happened to asu! When do they sell out in ANY sport when the Wildcats aren't in town? They've managed to ruin the one cash cow they have.

Also reaffirms how dumb they are, pricing out people who can easily get tickets for half that much on Stubhub, all in an attempt to keep Wildcats fans out. Memo to asu: That still doesn't work, as asu season ticket holders sell their seats to Wildcats fans for 4 times face value ($7.25 on the tickets that my friends gave me!). So Wildcats fans still show up, pay less, and sit in seats normally occupied by the few asu fans they already have. While half the arena remains empty... yes half. Just because you cover up 3,000 seats, we know they're still there!

Agree. They've been trying different things over the years since the 2003, when Arizona was #1 and ASSU was actually fairly decent when Ike was on the roster. Arizona fans bought at least 60% of the GP tickets, including standing only tickets. Can't recall their coach at the moment...famous for his "closing the gap" comment.

Since then IIRC they've tried codes, ticket packaging etc.

The funny thing is, a few days for the game on Sunday, ticket prices plummeted on Stubhub, and I grabbed some cheap ones...way cheaper than on their site. Idiots.

Need a split for a chance at 6-3 in first half of conference to be followed by 7-2. My prediction.

Things have changed. Looks like Stanford could be the tougher game, with them playing better, Wallace injured and Cal not coming together just yet.

gumby wrote:Need a split for a chance at 6-3 in first half of conference to be followed by 7-2. My prediction.

Things have changed. Looks like Stanford could be the tougher game, with them playing better, Wallace injured and Cal not coming together just yet.

I'm ready for a road sweep. This is the week it all starts coming together.

gumby wrote:Need a split for a chance at 6-3 in first half of conference to be followed by 7-2. My prediction.

Things have changed. Looks like Stanford could be the tougher game, with them playing better, Wallace injured and Cal not coming together just yet.

Sweep would be nice, but a split should be mandatory. I'm not ready to get too confident after LA. As cliche as it is, going one at a time is necessary, because we are not able to take mulligans without Trier.

dcZONAfan wrote:

gumby wrote:Need a split for a chance at 6-3 in first half of conference to be followed by 7-2. My prediction.

Things have changed. Looks like Stanford could be the tougher game, with them playing better, Wallace injured and Cal not coming together just yet.

I'm ready for a road sweep. This is the week it all starts coming together.

I'm with DC....I expect a road sweep......games will be tough but @UCLA for us mainly, and USC is good so although those two losses sucked, we should sweep Furd & Cal (especially with Wallace out) IMHO. Again, the games (especially Furd) will be close but I think we sweep.

I like the fact that we are deep and tough......I think we have grown as a team and they are rising to the challenge. Yes, I'm a homer, but calling it a sweep now! BTFD.

Really want to beat Cal badly and put that recruiting upstart Cuonzo in his place.....CSM owns the P12!

I expect a relatively close game tonight that will get "Dawkinsed" at some point.

Cal will go off in Wallaces absence, especially after they lose to ASSU tonight.

Bangkok Wildcat wrote:

dcZONAfan wrote:

gumby wrote:Need a split for a chance at 6-3 in first half of conference to be followed by 7-2. My prediction.

Things have changed. Looks like Stanford could be the tougher game, with them playing better, Wallace injured and Cal not coming together just yet.

I'm ready for a road sweep. This is the week it all starts coming together.

I'm with DC....I expect a road sweep......games will be tough but @UCLA for us mainly, and USC is good so although those two losses sucked, we should sweep Furd & Cal (especially with Wallace out) IMHO. Again, the games (especially Furd) will be close but I think we sweep.

I like the fact that we are deep and tough......I think we have grown as a team and they are rising to the challenge. Yes, I'm a homer, but calling it a sweep now! BTFD.

Really want to beat Cal badly and put that recruiting upstart Cuonzo in his place.....CSM owns the P12!

i know! i'm trying to keep my expectations in check, but how sweet would it be for CSM to beat 'furd and (speaking as both a UA and cal alum) get his 300th win at cal this weekend? what a wrench that would be in cuonzo's "be the start of something" campaign if he were to find himself on a five-game skid that included losing to Arizona at home and 'furd...

That'll do, guys. That'll do!

Bet Tolly liked being back in the Bay Area. He has really picked it up.

dirtbags wrote:
i know! i'm trying to keep my expectations in check, but how sweet would it be for CSM to beat 'furd and (speaking as both a UA and cal alum) get his 300th win at cal this weekend? what a wrench that would be in cuonzo's "be the start of something" campaign if he were to find himself on a five-game skid that included losing to Arizona at home and 'furd...

Barring a complete turnaround and hot finish, it looks like Cuonzo is going to blow the one shot he had at this. I want Hurley to fail miserably, and ASU is ASU, but I wanted them to beat Cal last night. A road sweep will be so nice. Two road sweeps in this conference this year just may be what cements a regular season title.

It is amazing how audible the U of A chants were at Stanford during the TV broadcast. It seemed like U of A fans were more vocal than the Stanford fans.

Not sure how we match up with Cal. Who guards Brown?

Beachcat97 wrote:Not sure how we match up with Cal. Who guards Brown?

Keep throwing people at him, make him defend and make sure he is the only one who shoulders the load offensively. In other words, wear him down. I would start with Allen, give Simon a crack at him and work in York as needed.

The bigger key is that other people (Rabb, etc.) do not hurt us. Make Brown be the primary guy and by the last 10 minutes we can get what we need even without Trier. Without Wallace, making sure no one else steps up is the big thing.

From what I've seen from Rabb is that it's easy to get under his skin. When a few calls don't go his way he starts to do dumb stuff like lowering his shoulder to initiate contact in the lane. So I think if Zeus with weakside help from Anderson can force him into some early turnovers or bad shots, he may not have the impact he's had recently and Brown will be forced to be a one man show.

Chicat wrote:From what I've seen from Rabb is that it's easy to get under his skin. When a few calls don't go his way he starts to do dumb stuff like lowering his shoulder to initiate contact in the lane. So I think if Zeus with weakside help from Anderson can force him into some early turnovers or bad shots, he may not have the impact he's had recently and Brown will be forced to be a one man show.

With Zeus, Anderson and Ristic, we can rotate people on Rabb all night. I would support doubling him. Make Brown carry the whole load with 2-3 defenders rotating on him. Brown is really good, but that is a heavy load for anyone. Brown is still dependent on his physical advantages, so grinding on him all night will pay dividends.

I think the danger is if that second guy gets going. We should attack Rabb because he is the most likely #2 man.

Yeah. We definitely have the manpower to swarm and disrupt Rabb. And they're missing one of their key players. Sorta feel like we're gonna win a tight one tomorrow. We need this road sweep. Would set us up beautifully for the Pac title race.

Beachcat97 wrote:Yeah. We definitely have the manpower to swarm and disrupt Rabb. And they're missing one of their key players. Sorta feel like we're gonna win a tight one tomorrow. We need this road sweep. Would set us up beautifully for the Pac title race.

Wallace is a huge loss. He was their most consistent offensive performer. Without him, they really need both Brown and Rabb to produce. Having to deal with both Wallace and Brown with a depleted perimeter rotation would have sucked. With just Brown, we can use multiple defenders on him without worrying about who checks Wallace.

cal without wallance is definitely a bigger loss than us without 'zo... but cuonzo plays a 9ish man rotation, not including wallace, with a fairly balanced albeit inconsistent offense which might take away a bit from a "one man's shoulders" strategy since anyone can and often does step up. like our team, cal's defensive edge this season has been on the glass and by virtue of not committing stupid turnovers. crash the boards and take care of the ball (and capitalize on their loose handles) and we'll be in good shape. cuonzo's guys have also let games slip away due to awful FT shooting, so i like our chances in late game situations against cal, especially with our team's experience in tight games. bear down, and get CSM win #300!

Myron from ESPN picked Cal by 2.

Once upon a time this was supposed to be a huge game (which it still sorta is -- just not top 15 huge). Cal has pretty much been a flop. Im sure they'll play the game of their lives Saturday.

I still say Cats by 5.

dirtbags wrote:cal without wallance is definitely a bigger loss than us without 'zo... but cuonzo plays a 9ish man rotation, not including wallace, with a fairly balanced albeit inconsistent offense which might take away a bit from a "one man's shoulders" strategy since anyone can and often does step up. like our team, cal's defensive edge this season has been on the glass and by virtue of not committing stupid turnovers. crash the boards and take care of the ball (and capitalize on their loose handles) and we'll be in good shape. cuonzo's guys have also let games slip away due to awful FT shooting, so i like our chances in late game situations against cal, especially with our team's experience in tight games. bear down, and get CSM win #300!

Maybe yes. Without Wallace, they have only 4 guys averaging over 5 ppg. One (Matthews) takes about 2x as many 3's as 2's, so we really just have to guard the line. I've never seen Bird do much creating, which leaves essentially 2 guys who can create.

If they need production from guys like Domingo and Rooks, we should be in pretty good shape. If we can have an average offensive game, they lost a lot of firepower with Wallace, and it isn't something Matthews or Bird will likely replicate.

We just need to do what we do. Total cliche, I know. But I like our collection of experience and size vs. their youth and athleticism.

SS nails it with his analysis.

Cal without Wallace permits us to rotate on Brown the Streaker. Both Allen and Simon can match his speed and both like a D challenge, and Gabe can get it done by forecasting Brown's floor positions.

Backcourt and Frontcourt, we rotate on Brown and Rabb.

az91 wrote:It is amazing how audible the U of A chants were at Stanford during the TV broadcast. It seemed like U of A fans were more vocal than the Stanford fans.

I noticed the same thing... it was damn impressive, and I was surprised the broadcasters did not comment on it.

Harvey Specter wrote:

az91 wrote:It is amazing how audible the U of A chants were at Stanford during the TV broadcast. It seemed like U of A fans were more vocal than the Stanford fans.

I noticed the same thing... it was damn impressive, and I was surprised the broadcasters did not comment on it.

They did. Walton talked about "The U of A chants raining down from the rafters..."

Before Saturday's games:

UofA. +2
Wash. +2
USC +2
OU +1
Utah +1
Cal E
Col. E
UCLA. E
Stan -1
ASU -2
OSU. -2
WSU. -3

+5 should win the Pac this year

EOCT wrote:SS nails it with his analysis.

Cal without Wallace permits us to rotate on Brown the Streaker. Both Allen and Simon can match his speed and both like a D challenge, and Gabe can get it done by forecasting Brown's floor positions.

Backcourt and Frontcourt, we rotate on Brown and Rabb.

The wildcard in all of this is Matthews. If he's hitting from deep then that will alter strategy.

This team is going to be kicking themselves for these three road losses. All should have been won

rgdeuce wrote:This team is going to be kicking themselves for these three road losses. All should have been won

Kudos for calling that one... You clearly nailed it.

Unfortunately the wildcard was an ace tonight.