Golden Bears Claw at Wildcats' Lead but Fall 81-100 in Fierce Showdown
The California Golden Bears faced a tough challenge against the Arizona Wildcats, with the final scoreboard reading 100-81 in favor of the visitors. The Golden Bears now stand without a rank, while the Wildcats hold onto their impressive fourth rank nationally. Despite a spirited effort, especially in the second half where they outscored their first-half performance by nearly double, it wasn't enough to overcome the deficit created by Arizona's dominant first half.
The game at Haas Pavilion saw an attendance of 5,947 fans who witnessed an intense battle where neither team was willing to give up easily. The home team displayed resilience and managed to match Arizona's seven steals while also contributing four blocks to their defensive efforts. However, California struggled with personal fouls throughout the game, committing 22 compared to Arizona's 19.
Offensively, California put up a strong fight with an assist-to-turnover ratio slightly better than that of Arizona at 1.17 compared to 1.13 for the visitors. The Golden Bears made nine three-pointers from thirty-one attempts resulting in a three-point percentage of twenty-nine percent and were able to convert fifty-nine percent of their free throws.
Arizona Wildcats showed why they are one of the top teams in college basketball with impressive statistics across the board. They shot sixty-three percent from two-point range and forty-six percent from beyond the arc while maintaining a fifty-nine percent field goal average overall. Their fast break points stood out significantly at twenty-four compared to California’s ten.
Despite being outrebounded by eleven boards overall – forty-five for Arizona against thirty-four for California – and facing more blocks against them (four by California), Arizona capitalized on turnovers scoring seventeen points off them just as much as California did.
Looking ahead for fans of The Golden Bears is another opportunity for redemption when they host the Arizona State Sun Devils at Haas Pavilion on December 31st at 5:00 PM local time (Pacific). This upcoming conference game will be broadcasted live on Pac-12 Network for supporters unable to attend what promises to be another exciting matchup as part of college basketball's regular season schedule.