Here's another installment of our Q&A series with our fellow SBN blog, California Golden Blogs.
1. California crushed the Wildcats on Thursday night. What did you see from the Bears that you liked?
A lot really. Good shooting, good hustle, good energy on both sides of the ball. Only question is can they replicate that two games straight...Cal has usually destroyed teams on Thursday only to come out flat on Saturday. Could be a nailbiter against the Devils with that matchup zone of theirs.
2. After an embarrassing defeat to Oregon State, Cal has played quite well in back-to-back victories. What has Mike Montgomery done to right the ship?
I dunno. Yell at his guys more? There haven't been any real adjustments to the way Cal has played. We play standard halfcourt offense and try to find the best shot we possibly can without a true big. Our win against Oregon was ugly (if you didn't watch it that score looks a lot nicer than it actually was), and our win against Arizona was pretty. Both times we just shot lights out early in the second half to end it.
3. One of our writers will be in attendance on Saturday. What is the best part of the Haas Pavilion experience, and what should he do after the game is over?
Haas used to be a formidable homecourt advantage, but the Ben Braun years really took the life out of the crowd after each team performed worse than the previous one. It was back in force Thursday night, and it should be packed to the brim on Saturday with the Bears one win away from at least a share of the Pac-10 title in 50 years.
So if you guys win, tell your man to charge homecourt and start trashtalking like Eddie House. If not, flee. Top Dog isn't too far away--get the best weiners in the Bay Area and head home.
4. What does ASU need to do to beat California?
Pressure shots until the shot clock expires. Get out in transition and grab easy points for your offense. Make sure the Bears don't exploit the inside with Boykin like they did in Tempe. Take them out of their comfort zone like Oregon State did last week and you should be in it until the end.
5. How can you possibly stop Eric Boateng? He went 11 for 11 from the field against Stanford on Thursday.
Boykin made Boateng work for his points last time (19 points on 15 shots is pretty good, but not as crazy as what he did in Maples); I guess we'll employ the same strategy again of playing him straight up and forcing other guys to hit shots. They couldn't do that in Tempe and hopefully they can't do it in Haas.
6. Which team in the Mountain West Conference has the best mascot? Since, after all, they supposedly will have 4 bids to the big dance...
No contest. New Mexico's superhero the Lobo.