Cal (7-10, 2-8) at Arizona State (4-8, 1-5)
Time: 8 PST – 10 CST – 11 EST
Place: Wells Fargo Arena, Tempe, Ariz.
TV: FS1
Opening Tip:
The struggles on the Pac-12 gauntlet amid the pandemic have been real for both the Bears and the Sun Devils. California has lost three out of four and seven out of nine while Arizona State has lost six in a row amid four postponements and a cancellation as this dates back Dec. 16 when they lost a home game to UTEP.
The Bears are looking for revenge after losing, 70-62, to the Sun Devils in Berkley on Dec. 3. Arizona State has a six-game winning streak in the series after Cal had taken four in a row in 2016 and 2017.
Vs. The Spread:
Cal:
- The Bears are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games
- The OVER has been the play in 10 of Cal’s last 11 games
- California is 1-9 SU in it’s last 10 road outings
Arizona State:
- The Sun Devils are 1-7 ATS in their last eight games
- The total has gone over in 13 of ASU’s last 20 games
- The UNDER has been the play in 6 of the last 7 games in Tempe
Last Time Out:
Grant Antecivich and Joel Brown scored 15 points each as Cal fell to USC, 76-68, at Haas Pavilion in Berkley Saturday night. The Bears led 55-51 with 10 minutes left in the game, but the Trojans used the playmaking of Ethan Anderson and the inside play of Evan Mobley which put him on the line where he made six free throws and made a layup inside of 4:17.
Arizona State found itself down 32-8 to Arizona in the first half and never recovered as the Wildcats took an 80-67 win over the struggling Sun Devils. Remy Martin had 24 points and Jalen Graham had 14 points and 11 boards.
| Teams | Spread | Money Line | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | +7½ (-105) | +280 | O 143½ (-105) |
| Arizona State | -7½ (-115) | -350 | U 143½ (-115) |
Bears Stat Pack:
- Grant Anticevich has dominated offensively over the past three games, averaging 16.6 points on 61.2% shooting.
- Andre Kelly is shooting 67.7 percent (44-of-65) from the field against Pac-12 opponents.
- The Bears are moving forward under Coach Mark Fox as they took both UCLA and USC to the wire last weekend as they lost by a combined 12 points despite the talent differential.
Bears Grease Board:
Cal is going through growing pains in the second season of Mark Fox’s rebuild. Consider that the Bears finally had a full roster against USC after injury problems and the general problems with covid have been huge storylines in their season. The Bears have to feel that they can exploit the struggling Arizona State defense with healthy stars in Matt Bradley (17.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and Grant Anticevich (10.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg). Makale Foreman and Ryan Betley shoot around 36 percent from the field and have canned 38 triples each. The Sun Devils’ opponents have teed up the three-ball at a 36.2 percent clip.
Sun Devils Stat Pack:
- Josh Christopher is the sixth-best freshman scorer in the nation and is the only Sun Devil to start in all 12 games and is averaging 15.7 points per night.
- Remy Martin is a beast off the dribble as well as from three. He currently has made 50-of-57 free throws in getting to the rim.
- ASU’s four turnovers at Oregon State tied for the second-fewest by a Sun Devil squad in the past 25 seasons.
Sun Devils Grease Board:
The Bears have had even more problems vs. the three as their opponents have teed it up at a 39.7 percent clip. Remy Martin (17.4 ppg, 4.2 apg) and the Sun Devils (32.4% -3), in general, have been looking to get their three-point arsenal afire. Freshman poet forward Marcus Bagley has led so far and could be an issue in a constant mismatch. Neither team is great on the offensive glass, so if the three-ball isn’t dropping both teams could find plenty of long rebounds, which start fast breaks. Another fast break starter is turnovers as ASU forces 16.4 per game and they turn it over only 11.1 times. It could be points a plenty in Tempe.
Winner: Arizona State 80, Cal (-7½) 74
O/U: Take OVER 143½
