NCAA Rivalry Week: UCLA vs Cal LIVE Radio Broadcast; Bruins and Bears Vie for Wide-Open Pac-12
ByThe UCLA Bruins (23) have put together an impressive month to climb back into the AP top 25 and have also had help in catching up to Arizona (4) in the Pac-12.
One of the those teams that did UCLA a solid is their opponent Wednesday night, the California Golden Bears. Thanks to losses to Arizona State and Cal, Arizona has fallen from first in the nation to fourth and has also put UCLA within one win behind behind the Pac-12 leaders.
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Since UCLA's Jan. 9 loss to Arizona, the Bruins are 8-2 and the majority of their remaining schedule is against the bottom half of the conference. With one of the more potent offenses in the country, UCLA seems primed for a deep run in March.
However, their current opponent comes into this matchup with a similar confidence. Four losses in a five game span have been the one blemish in Cal's Pac-12 schedule. They are tied for third with Arizona State at 8-4, one win behind UCLA and two behind Arizona.
Unlike UCLA, the Golden Bears still need to play Arizona, Arizona State and Colorado, three of the conference's better teams. Cal also lost the previous matchup with UCLA, although that was a road game.
Jordan Adams, UCLA's leading scorer and one of four players averaging double digits, acknowledged the conference is a tight one. After playing Cal, the Bruins go to Palo Alto to play Stanford, who are only two wins behind them.
"You really have to be focused. Every team in the Pac-12 can beat each other," Adams told reporters, according to ESPN. "Today was about me figuring out what to do - I just wanted to cut to open areas on the court."
UCLA has beaten both Cal and Stanford this year at home where they are 15-1. These back-to-back games will be on the road, where the team is 3-3.
Cal will no doubt draw a lot of its confidence from being the first team to beat Arizona this year, who was a team many believed was a lock for Pac-12 champs.
"At first, a lot of people were talking that (the Wildcats) were just going to sweep the conference and no one can beat them," said Cobbs, according to ESPN. "Everybody's beatable in this conference. With Arizona State knocking off Arizona, it tightened things up a little bit. ... It's time to play, we're fighting for a Pac-12 championship now, there's only six games left."