The Pac-12 released the official seedings and bracket for this year’s conference tournament on Sunday afternoon, seeding Utah seventh. It looks to be a favorable first round matchup for Utah, as the team faces 10th-seeded Cal, who the Utes swept in the regular season this year.
In their previous two matchups this season, Utah has beaten Cal by five and six points, respectively. Utah has won the rebound battle in both contests and has scored at a level of greater efficiency than the Golden Bears as well, averaging 53 percent from the floor against Cal.
None are favored by the Cal matchup more than sophomore guard Malia Nawahine. During the Utes’ Jan. 10 visit to the Haas Pavilion, Nawahine set a new career-high with 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor. Fast forward to the Feb. 19 matchup with the Golden Bears in Salt Lake, and Nawahine notched another 20 points on a similar 8-of-10 shooting.
In addition to her scoring against Cal, Nawahine is also averaging four rebounds and four-and-a-half assists, while shooting a scorching 81 percent from the floor. She’s also a combined 5-of-7 from behind the three-point line. Despite her stellar play against the Golden Bears this season, Nawahine denied there is anything particular about the matchup to make it favorable.
“It’s just different — every time, different teams, different games,” Nawahine said.
While Cal has proven a great personal matchup for Nawahine, it has also been a point of pride for the rest of the team. In that Jan. 10 matchup with the Golden Bears, Utah put together some late-game heroics to steal a win on the road against then No. 21-ranked Cal. It was a game the Utes were expected to lose, and the win marked a turning point for the team, according to junior forward Paige Crozon.
“When we came back and beat Cal … It was like, we are a really, really good team. If we can play like that for 40 minutes, that’s pretty special,” Crozon said.
Should the Utes earn their third victory of the season against Cal on Thursday, they would see No. 2 seed Arizona State in the second round. The Sun Devils finished the regular season tied with Oregon State for the best record in conference play at 16-2. Currently, the Sun Devils rank ninth in the nation, according to the latest AP poll.
Utah tips it off this Thursday against the Golden Bears in Seattle at 12:30 p.m. MST.
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