Oregon State Torches Cal's Defense, Dimming Chances For At-Large Bid

TwistNHook: Who wants to grab the recap for tomorrow?

norcalnick: I don't think there will be many takers after this one...

ragnarok: I could rant for a little bit, but I'm not sure it would be healthy.

Avinash: I'll probably end up doing it. But it's going to get pretty nasty. Is that ok?

ragnarok: I see no reason it shouldn't.  I can't think of a single positive thing to say about tonight's game.  And I'm usually pretty sunny.

Berkelium97: It looks like it's a good thing I missed tonight's game.  I received an update on the score at half and was optimistic.  I guess that second half didn't go to well...

ragnarok: I was actually pretty optimistic at halftime too, but pretty much nothing went the Bears' way during the second half.  Shots didn't drop, defense was poor, rebounding was worse, and Jerome Randle not only didn't have a great game, he was strangely silent most of the way.  Like he wasn't able to attack the Beaver's defense, so he just passed it off to the other players.  Without him making things go, our offense is ordinary.

Mostly, though, it was a lack of effort out there.  Bears were outhustled pretty much everywhere on the court.

Avinash: Our defense failed us. Monty's too stubborn not to zone an awful jump shooting team...instead he lets OSU get to the basket over and over and over...opening up the jump shots...god. I'm angry.

ragnarok: The fucking backdoor cuts in the fucking Princeton offense, fucking lazy help D, fucking Roeland Shaftenaaaaaaar...the list of things you could complain about goes on and on and on...

norcalnick: The stupid fucking off-the-ball fouls that led to 36 fucking free throw attempts...

TwistNHook: And that stupid fucking Bob Gregory kept calling the, oh wait, wrong unreasonable criticism???

Carry on, then!

Avinash: Our defense was clearly being coached by Gregory tonight. We got bent and broke like a one dollar condom!

Hydrotech: FUCKING NATE LONGSHORE - HE'S THE REASON FOR TONIGHT'S LOSS!

TwistNHook: ALLLLAMMMMAARRR!!!

PS FIRE LONGSHORE!

ragnarok: I wonder if Nate Longshore has a profile on LinkedIn.  He's probably working some random-ass white-collar job right now...THAT HE SHOULD BE FIRED FROM!!!!!

what did he major in, anyway?

TwistNHook: Crushing Dreams Studies.

Hydrotech: Advanced Interceptions Studies.

ragnarok: Did he take graduate-level courses?  Is that where he learned to save his interceptions for only the most soul-crushing times late in games?

Berkelium97: Nate does have a linked in profile.  It's how CGB found out that he's working for some private jet company in SoCal.  At least he's not an air traffic controller...

ragnarok: Nate Longshore pushing tin...now there's a scary thought...

Avinash: MONTGOMERY CAN'T CLOSE A GAME! HE DOESN'T HAVE ANY BALLS, THEY'VE BEEN SURGICALLY REMOVED!

norcalnick: He's got that Warriors taint all over him.  HIRE BOZEMAN!

TwistNHook: JELANI GARDNER FOR COACH!

Avinash: I think I'll just use this email thread for tomorrow's recap. Need more!

TwistNHook: Knock Knock

Who Is There?

Joe Burton.

Joe Burton Who?

Exactly. 

norcalnick: I'd make more jokes, but I just got thrown out of the thread for letting an elbow hit my throat.  Sorry to let everybody down.

Avinash: How much of President Obama's stimulus package went to paying off Pac-10 refs?

norcalnick: The same amount that went to stimulating the job market for stanfurd tight ends?

ragnarok: I doubt Craig Robinson needs much in the way of stimulus payments.  I just looked it up, and Robinson's base salary (starting at $750,000 annually) is almost double that of his presidential brother-in-law.

Avinash: Breaking news: ragnarok is reporting Craig Robinson is paying off Pac-10 refs!

norcalnick: Breaking news!  Craig Robinson has contacted CGB to remove this post under threat of lawsuit!

Avinash: TwistNHook will remove this post at any minute! READ THIS WHILE YOU STILL CAN!

ragnarok: I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE YELLING ABOUT!!!!!!!!

oh, wait, yes i do.  tonight's game sucked.  a lot.  it was horrible to watch, the beaver's orange colors may have permanently damages my television, and the Bears may have just torpedoed their chances at an at-large bid.  at the very least, their margin of error is gone, gone, gone...

Avinash: We all saw this coming. Except for Monty, who I think was falling asleep on the bench.

norcalnick: This last week I convinced myself that the Bears had turned the corner with the Washington sweep.  The team seemed so confident, so calm.  They weren't phased when UW made a few runs to cut Cal's big lead.  They weren't phased when Klay Thompson went bonkers.  I really did think that Cal would finally put the whole "playing down to OSU" thing behind them.  Now all I can do it pray we miss them in the Pac-10 tourney while I work on my Robinson Voodoo doll.  How's that hopey changey stuff now?!?

ragnarok: I don't think the Bears ever looked flustered, but I don't think they ever looked comfortable running their offense, either.  OSU really is a bad matchup for the Bears -- not athletically, of course, but stylistically.  They don't wanna play that way, and Monty seems unwilling or unable to either shuffle his lineup or his strategy to try and neutralize what the Beavers do well.

ok, i'm going to bed.  my challenge to whoever is still awake at this point:  is there anything positive you can say about tonight's effort?  anything at all?

Avinash: We'll either crush Oregon on Saturday, or our season will be over. Is that positive?

norcalnick:  When I can't answer a question about a game I usually head to the box score.  So I took a glance, and well...uh...there's a whole lot of ugly.  Markhuri had a pretty good game when he wasn't elbowing Ozmodiar, the invisible alien that only the refs can see.  Other than that?  Nobody made more than 4 shots.  Nobody pulled down more than 5 rebounds.  Nobody had more than 1 steal.  Shall I go on?

Berkelium97: The best part is that next year's team will probably be better able to deal with those pesky Beavers?  This is the last time we have to play OSU this season (unless, by some awful luck, we run into them in the Pac-10 tourney)?  That's all I've got.

Avinash: Good chance of playing them in the Pac-10 tourney. Maybe even the NIT.  Can you FEEL THE BEAVER FEVER!