Cal: 77, Stanford: 69
Tied with Cal atop the Pac-12 a week ago, back-to-back road losses in the state of Washington now have Stanford backing toward a wall.
The Cardinal aren’t quite in a must-win situation, but being just one game behind has them all the way at fifth place. A win over the Bears would even up their conference records and put the deflating pair of losses in the rearview.
But Cal is undefeated so far this season at home, and with a longer-than-normal week of practice leading up to the Sunday game, it’s hard to imagine Mike Montgomery not having his team well prepared.
Stanford shot 35.9 percent in losing to Washington and 40.7 percent in losing to Washington State. In each game, a different starter took a turn shooting sub-20 percent.
The Cardinal’s numbers will likely normalize — the team especially bricked from 3-point range — but Cal is a staunch defensive team.
When the final buzzer sounds on Sunday, the Cardinal will likely be riding a three-game losing streak.
On the bright side, backup forward Andrew Zimmerman has slowly cultivated the best beard in the conference.
— Jack Wang
Cal: 74, Stanford: 66
The Cardinal could win big.
Stanford’s star defender Josh Huestis could shut down Allen Crabbe, Harper Kamp could get into early foul trouble, Jorge Gutierrez could start forcing shots and the Cardinal could come away with an easy win.
Or Crabbe could catch fire, Gutierrez and Justin Cobbs could penetrate right through Stanford’s defense, the Cardinals’ players could go cold from the outside and the Bears could win big.
Neither of those scenarios are likely to happen.
I like Cal in this one, not because the Bears are playing at home but because, right now, they are the better team.
Stanford is still a young team. Chasson Randle, while clutch, is still only a freshman. Gutierrez, meanwhile, has seen it all in his four years in Berkeley.
Look for Gutierrez to effectively neutralize Randle in the first half, and Huestis to do the same for Crabbe. Josh Owens will score early, but the Bears will go on a run at the end of the half to take a modest lead. Crabbe will catch fire in the second half, and all signs will point to a Bears win. But Stanford’s guard will start shooting — and making – threes, and Cal will need a big offensive possession before heading to the charity stipe to close out the game.
— Jonathan Kuperberg
Comment Policy
Comments should remain on topic, concerning the article or blog post to which they are connected. Brevity is encouraged. Posting under a pseudonym is discouraged, but permitted. The Daily Cal encourages readers to voice their opinions respectfully in regard to the readers, writers and contributors of The Daily Californian. Comments are not pre-moderated, but may be removed if deemed to be in violation of this policy. Click here to read the full comment policy.