RTC Live: UCLA @ California
Posted by rtmsf on January 6th, 2010
Tonight’s game between Cal and UCLA in Haas Pavilion has the air of a changing of the guard in the heirarchy of the Pac-10, as it is Mike Montgomery’s Bears who are looking toward March with a hopeful eye while the regal Bruins from SoCal are merely struggling to keep their heads above water. Coming into this one at 6-8 (1-1), much has already been written about UCLA’s foibles this year, but Ben Howland knows that there are no “down” years in Westwood and if you expect to keep the bluebloods off your back, his team will have to start winning games very soon. Cal will be without their glue guy off the bench, Jorge Gutierrez, who tweaked his knee over the weekend, but UCLA has also benched (at least for the tip) its starting point guard, Jerime Anderson, who comes in averaging 6/4 per game. After some early-season struggles (particularly with Theo Robertson out of the lineup), Cal has looked much better in recent weeks, playing #1 Kansas tough in Lawrence, and dominating Stanford in their Pac-10 opener. According to KenPom.com, the Bears have the third-most efficient offense in the country, which is somewhat surprising given how poor that offense looked in the 2kSports CvC games in New York in November. As for UCLA, they are going to have to start a winning streak soon if they endeavor to save their season, as the clock is running out on the Bruins. Join us tonight for what should be a raucous environment in Berkeley on RTC Live!
