Golden Nuggets: The Start of a Big Week for Cal Sports

Monty talks about the upcoming matchup against Kansas.

On Cole Aldridge:

He's very big. He's got great hands, and they use him a lot. They play a lot of high-low basketball. They go to him and make him very effective. I don't know who else we'll see in terms of an offensive player down below, but he's plenty good enough right now.

On Xavier Henry:
He's strong, aggressive and he can shoot the ball. He's a big wing player. He was a very highly-touted player coming into the program. He's a double-figure scorer for them as a freshman. I think part of that is because of the emphasis on their low-post game. People have probably elected initially to double up or play off and try to protect the inside, and he's taken advantage of that. I would guess that might balance out as time goes on, but right now, for a freshman to come in and average 18 points a game is pretty impressive.

On what it will take to win the game:
It's not about individual matchups. It is matchups within matchups, but it's about the team. For us to have any chance, we're going to have to play very well together. We're going to have to help each other out. If we execute, we'll have a chance, but if we don't, we're not going to be able to get things done. I'm not just talking about this game; I'm talking about generally across the board. People will have their hands full with their individual matchups, and we'll have to get help where we can.
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On coming off of the two-week break for finals after two decisive victories:
It's been kind of tough. Finals have been kind of tough on the players. We've had days off in between, and everybody has finals after practice. Guys have probably been up late studying. We've gotten some things done, but as is normal, it's been a bit lethargic at times. We haven't practiced real long, but we've tried to get a couple things done in some areas that we weren't happy with. 

After the jump we look at the Bears' first day in San Diego (as well as video from their trip to the zoo), some difficulty Utah has had selling bowl tickets, a look ahead to the week in basketball, and more.

Cal Football

• Utah has had some difficulty selling tickets to the Poinsettia Bowl.  Utah expects to sell between 3,000 and 4,000 tickets.  Cal has already sold about 4,000 tickets.  Bowl officials are expecting a turnout of between 30,000 and 35,000.
• Using the same reason most journalists have for expecting a Cal loss, Wilner thinks Cal will have no motivation and will lose to Utah.
• Troy Taylor, Mike Pawlawski, Kevin Riley, and Jeff Tedford are all puzzled by the lopsided nature of each of Cal's losses this season.
• Here are some photos from the Bears' first day in San Diego.
• Jeremy Ross talks bacon cheeseburgers, taxonomy, strange creatures, and more in his video of their trip to the zoo.