In the second half, he scored all of his points.
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After finishing the regular season 16-13, 8-10 in conference play, Utah earned the seventh seed in the Pac-12 tournament bracket, drawing Cal in the first round. Just 2-5, but if they can somehow sweep Arizona and Arizona State, it would mark one of the greatest turnarounds in conference history. “I couldn’t get it done for my team”. “You’re on a neutral site, you’ve played all these teams, so it’s not like you’re trying to pick out matchups – you just have to go out there and win”.
After Cal couldn’t convert on its next possession, York buried a deep 3-pointer to give Arizona (23-7, 11-6) a 62-61 lead with 19 seconds left. Arizona has the size to contend with Cal in forward Ryan Anderson (15.8 points, 10.1 rebounds per game) and 7-foot center Kaleb Tarczewski, but the Wildcats struggled to contain Utah’s Jakob Poeltl and Colorado’s Josh Scott last week. Bird missed on a drive in traffic, Tarczewski grabbed the rebound and the big Arizona center’s free throws with. They finished 18-0 at Haas Pavilion for their first flawless home record in 56 years, but they are 3-8 in road or neutral-site games. “We have a lot of guys who can make shots on this team so it makes it a lot more hard for other teams”. “At that point, the basket is like a sea to me”. Their propensity to lose close games, however, is not Utah-specific – 10 of their losses came by 10 points or fewer.
If Cal beats Arizona, the Bears clinch their first round bye and at least a 3 seed.
In the afterglow of No. 18 Arizona’s 64-61 win over No. 25 Cal, Gabe York raised his arms in jubilation as he walked across midcourt.
York was also motivated by his play last week.
“It was a poor job on our part chasing him off the screen”, Martin said. We have to get him off the line. “He can’t catch and shoot a 3-pointer”.
Rabb’s first 3-pointer of the season – on his first attempt – started a 10-3 run that gave California its 61-53 lead. 7 seconds left completed the scoring.
“I think that’s our best win of the season”, Miller said, “and the reason I feel that way is because we beat an outstanding team”.
Sure, they defeated a white hot Cal team but they were on their home floor and that won’t be the case come tournament time.
Cal had a 44-31 rebounding edge and had 18 offensive rebounds that led to 28 second-chance points.
No. 24 SMU 80, UConn 54 • In Dallas, SMU junior Sterling Brown scored 20 points in the final home game for seniors Nic Moore and Markus Kennedy, the only players with coach Larry Brown for all four of his seasons during an incredible turnaround for the Mustangs.
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Cal’s Jabari Bird had 13 points and Mathews had 12.
