UCLA Basketball Vs. Cal: TV Schedule, Odds And Preview

Jan 18, 2014; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Jordan Adams (3) controls the ball during the first half against the Utah Utes at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

This game between the UCLA Bruins (15-4, 4-2) and the Cal Bears (14-5, 5-1) was going to be a great Pac-12 match-up anyway, but circumstances as of late has made this a one of the more crucial games for both of these Golden State rivals. UCLA is coming off of a win against Stanford behind an epic night from Tony Parker. Cal needs to recover form losing… to USC. That is not a misprint.

TV: ESPNU

Location: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA

Tip-Off: 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET

Odds: UCLA -6.0

Ticket Information: uclabruins.com/tickets

Preview: So here is the situation, UCLA needed a big win against Stanford after a horrible game at Utah. They proved that they can recollect themselves and come out with a big win over the Cardinal. But it gets harder as the Golden Bears visit Pauley.

Cal had been hot. They unexpectedly started the conference season 5-0 and have been impressive in every one of those victories. This past Wednesday, they went down to Galen Center to face, then last place, USC. They got dismantled in one of the quietest games ever. Cal is not going to take that lightly.

Senior Justin Cobbs is the leader of the Bears and should have them pumped up going into Pauley Pavilion. It has been four days since their last game and the anticipation to start winning again is probably eating at Cal.

Cobbs is leading the Bears in scoring with 15.3 per game and added 6.4 assists. He gets to dish it off to the two guys that have had an insane control of the boards. Richard Soloman and David Kravish are getting 10.4 and 7.5 rebounds per game, respectively. That will be a problem for the rebound deficient Bruins.

The Bruin’s center, Tony Parker has had a few games where he is very good, you could almost say unstoppable. He scored 22 points against Stanford because he was very active and determined to get his game going.

In this game, he needs to find a way to get around Cal’s big men if he wants to continue his dominance, which is a bit up in the air because Parker is known to be inconsistent. What would help is if another one of the Bruin’s big men takes charge and alleviates some of the pressure UCLA is going to have under the basket. That would be a start to help Parker get going.

Look, both teams are up tempo and we are going to see a lot of fireworks in this game. UCLA wants to continue their rise to the top of the Pac-12 and Cal does not want to give up two in a row. This game is going to determine a lot in the conference when it is over. Get your popcorn ready basketball fans, this is going to be a doozy.

Prediction: Cal 88 – UCLA 89

Mike W.R.

Twitter: @TheBigDisco