Cal Guards Step Up, Lead Dominating Comeback Over Oregon
by Avinash Kunnath on Feb 24, 2011 8:27 PM PST
in California Golden Bears Men's Basketball
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PrintIt's been the winning formula all year for the California Golden Bears: clutch perimeter shooting, incredible second half comebacks, and Brandon Smith playing a literally perfect game. That's how we've done it all year long, and it made perfect sense that we'd earn our first victory at Phil Knight's mausoleum in the same fashion.
Jorge Gutierrez: 23 points (16 in the second half), 8 of 13 shooting, 5 for 5 from the line, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal
Allen Crabbe: 19 points, 6 of 14 shooting, 4 of 8 from downtown, 3 for 4 from the line, 6 assists, 3 steals
Brandon Smith: 18 points, 5 of 5 shooting, 4 for 4 from downtown, 4 for 4 from the line, 3 assists, 3 rebounds
With the Oregon Ducks defense sinking inside to prevent Harper Kamp and Markhuri Sanders-Frison from dominating them again (held to single digits in scoring), the guards needed to have big games, and they all stepped up huge. Smith, Gutierrez and Crabbe all nailed crucial threes down the stretch, and Richard Solomon had some huge spot duty. After struggling with it last game, Cal broke Oregon's press expertly, and their offense executed great down the stretch, shooting 62%, 56% from three point land and nailing 12 free throws.
And let's not forget the defense that started the offense, as everyone stepped up and totally flustered the Ducks from even getting good shots off after a half where they couldn't miss anything. Cal disrupted passing lanes, rotated much better, and Jorge led the charge. Cal outscored Oregon 50-26 down the stretch and wiped out the hot shooting of the Ducks halfway through the 2nd. What a comeback, and what a great way to keep the momentum from the UCLA going in the right direction.
Cal now is two wins away from playing postseason basketball. Let's finish this season like we finished this game.
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Guards
and Dick Solo were huge today.
Not so much in the first half, but the comeback was big big big.
Keep it going Bears!
My eyes survived watching the game on that floor
I kinda got used to all the trees. But I never got used to the invisible half court line. It was weird not to see one on the floor.
Yes, I am an Old Blue. Now get off my lawn.
WHAT?!
no bear, no care
by EchoOfSilence on Feb 24, 2011 8:46 PM PST via mobile up reply actions 1 recs
THIS IS BEAR TERRITORY!!!
no bear, no care
by EchoOfSilence on Feb 24, 2011 8:46 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Er, Cal can, in all likelihood, play postseason basketball no matter what happens
I’m sure the CBI wouldn’t turn them down.
By contrast, I’m not sure even three more wins would get the team into the NIT, which is much more difficult to get into than most people realize. There are usually 15 or so “burst bubble” teams and a bunch of automatic bids for teams that win conference regular seasons but lose in their conference tournaments. There’s not a lot of room left over for teams that aren’t really in the bubble picture.
"We don't want our people to be preoccupied with seminude, crazy men jumping up and down who are chasing an inflated object," said Sheik Mohamed Osman Arus, head of operations for the Hizbul Islam insurgent group.
According to the Bracket Project, we are currently a 7th seed in the NIT: http://bracketproject.50webs.com/nit.html
Wazzu is a 3 seed and USC is a 6 seed. Two more wins should move us up a little.
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Feb 24, 2011 8:59 PM PST up reply actions
Plausible, but keep in mind:
“7th seed now” likely means “ousted in March.”
It’s a little bit of an odd thing, but once those small conference tournaments start, we’re rooting hard for top seeds to hold serve. Unlike for NCAA bubble teams, when you’re an “NIT bubble team”, every single conference has the possibility of “stealing” a bid.
I find USC’s low ranking a little bit curious since they’re potentially still capable of earning an NCAA at-large and, frankly, have a far better profile than WSU at this point, but I suppose it’s splitting hairs when you get this far down into the pecking order.
"We don't want our people to be preoccupied with seminude, crazy men jumping up and down who are chasing an inflated object," said Sheik Mohamed Osman Arus, head of operations for the Hizbul Islam insurgent group.
Could be
I guess we have no choice but to win the Pac-10 tournament.
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Feb 24, 2011 9:09 PM PST up reply actions
I wouldn't argue with that outcome
"We don't want our people to be preoccupied with seminude, crazy men jumping up and down who are chasing an inflated object," said Sheik Mohamed Osman Arus, head of operations for the Hizbul Islam insurgent group.
NIT is going to be a reprise of the Pac-10 tourney minus Washington and Arizona and a couple of the cellar dwellers.
California Golden Bears: 2nd place is nothing to sneeze at!
by atomsareenough on Feb 24, 2011 10:06 PM PST up reply actions
Not that his RPI is really correct
but Jon Lunardi’s RPI on EPSN (insiders only) has us at 76 (before tonight’s win) and ahead of Wazzu (81), USC (88), and few of these slightly higher ranked teams on the bracketproject site.
I think we will definitely be NIT bound if we win three more games (especially since the win in the Pac-10 tourney wouldn’t be the play-in game).
by LEastCoastBears on Feb 24, 2011 9:14 PM PST up reply actions
Statsheet.com is now the place to go for RPI (and, indeed, a heck of a lot of other stats)
They also have recap articles written by robots!
"We don't want our people to be preoccupied with seminude, crazy men jumping up and down who are chasing an inflated object," said Sheik Mohamed Osman Arus, head of operations for the Hizbul Islam insurgent group.
Fixed:
StatsheetCaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com is now the place to go for RPI (and, indeed, a heck of a lot of other stats)
They also have recap articles written by robotslawyers!
Drinking the Kool-Aid. Pumping the sunshine. Livin' the dream. Go Bears!
by dballisloose on Feb 24, 2011 9:33 PM PST up reply actions
You should see what they're writing over at ATQ...
Are you kidding? Nothing will ever be called against fucking Cal. It’s been this way all year.
I mean, why do we even bother playing Cal if the rules of basketball don’t apply to them?
Cal always gets calls? They obviously didn’t see the news that Montgomery got reprimanded by the Pac-10 for being critical of the ref’s officiating
They probably think Harper stepped out, too.
California Golden Bears: 2nd place is nothing to sneeze at!
by atomsareenough on Feb 24, 2011 10:07 PM PST up reply actions
Yea
That was actually the main comment, and the comments up top were replies on how the referees always call Cal’s way.
lol oregon oklahoma 2006
Remember, the enemy's end zone is DOWN!
by GoldBlooded on Feb 24, 2011 10:29 PM PST up reply actions
Where is this Cal team that gets all the calls?
I’ve been looking for that team all my life and would like to see it.
Yes, I am an Old Blue. Now get off my lawn.
Don't wanna be a wet blanket, but ...
Cal doesn’t get all the calls in rugby. The recent slogfest against UBC is testimony to that. LOTS more penalties than normal for the Strawberry Canyon lads
The Bears — in rugby, at least — are not penalty-prone. That’s largely because of discipline and the players’ knowledge about rugby’s law.
But, at times, the discipline does break down; at times, weather conditions make some penalties more likely and, at times, officials just seem to have a bug up a crevice about Cal.
About crew I cannot say.
What a joke.
California Golden Bears: 2nd place is nothing to sneeze at!
by atomsareenough on Feb 25, 2011 9:45 AM PST up reply actions
They got out-scored by 21 in the second half.
That’s more than some questionable refs.
The irony was that they were whining incessantly about Cal's whining.
But yeah, Cal’s a really frustrating team to watch your team go against because Cal is so adept at forcing contact and drawing fouls.
The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS
I think there's something else
there’s no one on your team out-working this guy. You might have better players, or more talent or height, but no one will outwork, outhustle, outannoy, outscrap JORGE.
by LeonPowe on Feb 24, 2011 11:50 PM PST up reply actions 2 recs
Awesome photo. Begs for a LOL-Cat photoshop.
“Mister Harper, is a little uncomfortable, you know?”
by ManBearColts on Feb 25, 2011 2:04 AM PST up reply actions
What? Oregon fans being petty and desperately looking for something to blame for their team underperforming?
I’m shocked. Shocked I say!
duck fans are usually so rational.
I'm thinking of having a little party down in Newport.
by SoCal Oski on Feb 25, 2011 7:50 AM PST up reply actions 2 recs
Woo Hooo!!!!!!!!!!
What a great, great win! I love this team!!!!!! And I said team, because that’s what the ducks don’t have, they’re not a team, they are just a bunch of players occupying the same space on the floor. We are a team. WE care about each other. WE are the Bears!!!!
Suck it Ducks and your abomination of a court.
GO BEARS!!!!!!!!!
Am I known as Cugel the Clever for nothing?
USC going to upset Arizona at the Galen Center
probably not good for our quest for 4th place but probably doesn’t matter in the long run
Our split against them is looking better though, so it might improve our NIT resume.
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Feb 24, 2011 9:35 PM PST up reply actions
I wouldn't say "solid"
They still probably have to win out IMO…maybe a loss to UW and two wins in the Pac-10 tourney. They have two great wins and a handful of terrible losses.
*Insert something witty here*. Oh, and Stanfurd Sucks.
The NCAA doesn't care that much about "terrible losses"
They’re much more interested in a team’s ability to beat good teams than in its ability to lose to bad ones, because there aren’t any bad teams (at least not that bubble teams will be playing) in March Madness.
Beat Washington and they’re probably in the tournament, at least assuming they don’t totally flop in their other games.
"We don't want our people to be preoccupied with seminude, crazy men jumping up and down who are chasing an inflated object," said Sheik Mohamed Osman Arus, head of operations for the Hizbul Islam insurgent group.
I really doubt that
I think they’d have to win out in the regular season and then win one or two in the Pac-10 tourney.
*Insert something witty here*. Oh, and Stanfurd Sucks.
this is a very good team
we have a very good starters including Solomon
what a game
what a team
what a coach
Wow, speaking of officiating
St. Mary’s just got completely hosed in OT of their game against Gonzaga. Did the WCC borrow the Pac-10 refs for that one?
The play that opened the overtime was reminiscent of a certain infamous incident at Pauley, insofar as the officials just completely ignored a black-and-white rule of basketball (in this case, giving a Gonzaga player about seven seconds in the paint to make a shot)— and it went downhill from there.
"We don't want our people to be preoccupied with seminude, crazy men jumping up and down who are chasing an inflated object," said Sheik Mohamed Osman Arus, head of operations for the Hizbul Islam insurgent group.
Listening to the game on the radio
I thought we were dead in the water in that first half. I’ve thought that a thin rotation and little nagging injuries have caught up with this team four or five times now, and they keep proving me wrong.
Great win!
The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS
I got to watch the game at a sports bar here in San Diego (THANK YOU, Players Pub). It was AWESOME !!!!!!
The difference was deciding to guard JCatron and having a defensive presence outside the arc in the second half. Okay, hitting the treys didn’t hurt either. GREAT job on the ugly floor, Bears.
I'd like to smell the Roses before I die.
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