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BERKELEY, Calif. — Long ago, the Arizona Wildcats were tagged with the notion that their success in big games depended on having all three of their standout players healthy and out of foul trouble.

On Friday, in a 69-55 loss to California at Haas Pavilion in their Pac-10 opener, there were some additions to that theory.

The Wildcats also need all three of them — Jordan Hill, Nic Wise and Chase Budinger — playing well. Then they need the entire team to be aggressive. And tireless.

Arizona had a strong performance from Hill, who bounced back from a lower leg muscle strain, the usual solid effort from Wise and precious little else. Budinger suffered his third straight poor-shooting game, going 4 for 16 from the field and missing 4 of 5 three-point attempts, while the Wildcats did not score a single field goal in the final 5:50.

"We've said all year our margin of error is very thin," UA interim head coach Russ Pennell said. "We've got three guys that are really good basketball players and some others that are getting better. Jamelle (Horne) had a nice second half, but for us to be on top of our game, we have to have Chase playing well and Nic and Jordan, and tonight one of those guys had a little bit of an off night."

While Wise said he didn't think the Wildcats had to have Budinger shooting well, noting that they beat Kansas on Dec. 23 when Budinger was 1 for 9 from the field, the Wildcats were only 3 of 13 from three-point range on Friday.

When asked if Budinger's difficulty put more pressure on him to produce, Hill paused briefly.

"Not really," Hill said. "I don't know how to answer that, but we've still got other people who can score offensively, too. It's just that Chase's shots weren't falling like they should have been."

Hill led the Wildcats with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Wise chipped in 16 points and three assists, Arizona received only one point from players outside Horne and the top three players. That belonged to Garland Judkins, who hit 1 of 2 free throws with 28 seconds left and the game long over.

As it turned out, Judkins' foul shots were only the Wildcats' sixth and seventh of the game, hinting of their general lack of aggressiveness.

Aside from some early dominance from Hill, who scored eight of Arizona's points while the Wildcats built an early 14-10 lead, the Wildcats played mostly flat throughout the game. Then once Cal began solving their zone defenses, shooting 50 percent from the field in the second half, the Wildcats were quickly done for.

"I felt our team didn't take the fight to Cal," Pennell said. "They had us back on our heels a little bit and we just didn't show the grit and toughness that we need to be a consistent team. There were stretches we did, but one thing we're going to have to do is get better at competing on the road in environments like this."

Hill said he felt a little sore but generally OK, and he dominated Cal inside in the first half before slowing slightly in the second. He had been without any contact practice since straining a muscle in his lower left leg last Saturday and missing the Wildcats' game with Weber State on Tuesday.

"I thought Jordan's lack of practice showed a little bit tonight," Pennell said. "He missed some shots right around the goal that he normally makes, and that's just a lack of rhythm and practice at game speed. There's a big difference shooting against a manager with a pad against you than it is (facing) a Pac-10-caliber player."

Cal was not only was physical but also effective offensively. The Golden Bears hit 7 of 15 from three-point territory while helping force 12 UA turnovers — nine in the first half.

Cal was led by Patrick Christopher, who had 23 points, while Jerome Randle scored 14 and Theo Robertson had 13.

"I felt great," Christopher said. "We came out with a great level of intensity."

Randle and Robertson were the Bears' biggest three-point threats, but Christopher responded by taking 18 shots and hitting half of them. Christopher said it helped that the Bears had been practicing their zone offense all week, knowing they would face zone defenses from Arizona and ASU, and quickly adjusted after some initial trouble against the Wildcats.

"We been working on it with the scout (team) all week," Christopher said. "Once we got comfortable out there, we started playing Cal basketball."

Cal led 36-30 at halftime and built double-digit leads midway through the second half. The Bears closed the game out with a 14-4 run over the final eight minutes.

Arizona did not make a field goal after Horne made a three-point play off a rebound basket with five minutes left.

"I don't know if it was fatigue during the last five minutes," Pennell said. "I think it was more a realization that Cal was on their game and we were probably not going to climb back in the game. We got close a couple of times but were never able to really put any pressure on them."