Another Cal WBB Upset Bid Falls Short, #9 ASU Prevails 64-49

The big home weekend for Cal hoops continues as the Women's Basketball team hosts #9 Arizona State, looking to seek revenge for last month's 67-52 loss.

NO TV for this game, which is crazy. But you can watch the game for free online (mobile, too) HERE. It's PLAY 4 KAY weekend, and the Bears will be donning pink jerseys for the game and fans attending are encouraged to wear pink. The first 250 kids to attend will get pillow cases. Think my short youthful appearance can pass as a kid today? Nah...

The outlook on the team was much better then, but after that loss the Bears would lose to Arizona and get "upset" by Utah and now all of a sudden we're looking at a 11-12 team that needs a winning streak to keep any sort of postseason chance alive. Both of the Bears' conference wins have come against other lowly teams in Colorado and Washington State at home. Cal came close to notching an upset over Stanfurd twice, but failed to do so. Now Arizona State comes to town and Cal gets another shot at notching a signature win that they can build on for the future.

And what a signature win it could be! Arizona State comes in at #9 in the country, 20-4 and 11-1 in Pac-12 play. The one loss? A blowout loss to Oregon State. In other words, Arizona State has yet to lose a game they're not supposed to. What can Cal do to change that?

• Depth is key: The last few games the Bears have shown they can hang with any team, as long as it's the first half. After that, youth and fatigue wind up being too much to overcome and the more experienced teams in the conference (That is, all of them) pull away. With a full week off after the loss to Stanfurd, and the "full" 8 woman rotation, maybe the Bears will be well rested and can hang with one of the nation's top teams for a full 40 minutes.
• Turnovers are key: The Bears committed 26 turnovers to open Pac-12 play in Tempe and they could not overcome them. When you're playing any team, let alone Arizona State, you have to be careful with the ball. It's a lot to ask for one of the nation's youngest teams to show the kind of poise needed to topple ASU, but the Bears have the talent and coaching that could lead to a big win.
• Make shots: These all seem pretty obvious right? Yeah, I'm pretty new to this thing, but what I do know is that Arizona State's defense resembles the Cal men's basketball team. The Sun Devils don't appear to be that special on offense, and mainly have a 20-4 record thanks to their suffocating defense. They are only allowing 52 points a game and 30% FG shooting. Times we'll see Cal try to force shots resulting in gut wrenching missed layups and of course, turnovers. When you have a chance inside, convert!

Remember, livestream only. I'll be on @GoldenBlogs with some live tweets. Hope we can get the big win! GO BEARS.