Caleb Love, Oumar Balllo power No. 4 Arizona to a 100-81 win over California in Pac-12 opener
Arizona guard Caleb Love (2) shoots against California guard Jalen Cone, left, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Berkeley, Calif., Friday, Dec. 29, 2023. Credit: AP/Jed Jacobsohn
BERKELEY, Calif. — Caleb Love scored 22 points, Motiejus Krivas had 18 and No. 4 Arizona beat California 100-81 on Friday night in the Pac-12 opener for both teams.
Oumar Ballo added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats (10-2). Pelle Larsson had 12 points and seven assists.
It was the perfect bounce-back game for Arizona after taking a three-day break following a 96-95 loss in double-overtime to then-No. 14 Florida Atlantic last Saturday.
“We have high standards and our guys wanted to respond from our last game, and we want to establish a standard of how we play,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “I thought we did that in the first half. I just think our guys came out and played with spirit and energy and kind of really took it to them right away.”
Love scored 20 or more points for the fifth time this season and the 31st time in his career. He shot 7 for 10 from the field.
Love also got a technical foul for taunting. He drew the call after making a powerful dunk over Gus Larson and glaring at the California player in the second half.
“If you make a highlight play and even look at the guy you had the highlight against, it’s like an automatic technical,” Lloyd said. “I don’t think he said anything. I think he maybe looked at the guy, showed him up, or something like that.”
California guard Jalen Cone (15) shoots against Arizona forward Filip Borovicanin (1) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Berkeley, Calif., Friday, Dec. 29, 2023. Credit: AP/Jed Jacobsohn
Jaylon Tyson had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Jaylen Celestine added 14 points as the Bears (4-8) lost for the seventh time in nine games.
Cal fell behind early, made a little run in the second half, but couldn’t quite get it going.
Arizona never trailed and led by double digits over the final 34 minutes. The Wildcats have won 14 straight against Cal.
“We know Cal is a team, they always get up big in the first 4-10 minutes,” Ballo said. “We had to come out and try to outscore them and make some steps to make them uncomfortable.”
California guard Jaylon Tyson (20) shoots against Arizona center Oumar Ballo (11) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Berkeley, Calif., Friday, Dec. 29, 2023. Credit: AP/Jed Jacobsohn
The Bears have shown dramatic improvement under first-year Cal coach Mark Madsen, but were no match against the Wildcats.
Arizona sped to an early lead and extended that advantage to 31 points.
“Our defense was not good enough,” Madsen said. “They made shots, they ran it down our throat and they established a dominant post presence inside.”
The Wildcats shot nearly 70% in the first half and were equally effective on the defense side while outhustling and outmuscling the Bears.
Arizona made 13 of its first 16 shots and got consecutive 3-pointers from Love during a 14-0 run.
BIG PICTURE
Arizona: This had the makings of a blowout and it was exactly that. The Wildcats did just about anything they wanted against the smaller, slower Bears and set the pace early with a 14-0 run. It was the 17th time this season that Arizona has had a 10-0 run or more, second-most in the country behind Houston. It’s the fourth time this season that the Wildcats have scored 100 or more.
California: The Bears didn’t shoot well and kept hurting themselves trying to attack the lane, where they were stymied by the powerful Ballo and his 7-foot-2 freshman backup Krivas. The Arizona twin towers repeatedly altered shots and prevented Cal from getting anything going in the paint. The Bears never found any consistency with their offense and paid the price.
UP NEXT
Arizona: At Stanford on Sunday.
California: Hosts Arizona State on Sunday.
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