Well, that sucked. OSU took Cal behind the woodshed and then, I guess, did whatever it is people do to other people behind woodsheds. Nobody has ever really explained that to me. They just tell me about the process of getting to behind the woodshed and then really offer few, if any details after that point. Hmm.
Well, hopefully behind the woodsheds of America is a Cal victory over Oregon. To figure out more about these Duck-related basketball opponents, we went straight to the source. Addicted To Quack. Their parole officer let them out of their court-ordered ankle bracelet just long enough to answer some questions. Check out their answers after the jump. GO BEARS!
I think at this point, Oregon fans want almost anyone other than Ernie Kent to coach the men's basketball team. Although I think Chip Kelly is a bad choice. After all, he only won 10 games for Oregon this year. The sad state of affairs of Oregon men's basketball makes me note that 10 win total was 2 wins more than Ernie had all last season.
I liken our situation a lot to Cal's when Ben Braun was the coach. A couple of losing seasons in a row and the coach gets sent packing. Braun had 5 trips to the NCAA and 3 NIT runs but 3 of the last 4 produced a conference record of 6-12 each season. Although Ernie has done good things for Oregon (the new arena being a very small part), it's hard to justify him keeping his job, especially in a down Pac-10 basketball year.
I'm ready to see him go. I think TP and Ernie are tied at the hip in this one. We're ready for a clean slate both in coaching and on the court. No one can take away what TP has done from the three point line, but he just didn't live up to the billing without Aaron Brooks passing the ball.
Putting pressure on other players. A lot of success Cal had last time was by exploiting us around the perimeter, messing with our guards and forcing bad turnovers. Another key point was Cal being able to go one on one with Dunigan. When Oregon gets behind, the team tends to forget Big Mike and start to go at it alone, turning the ball over and causing easy buckets for the opponent. He is a dominating force inside but if he isn't being looked to or the outside shot isn't there, all he can do is clean up the garbage.
4. What non-Ernie Kent related steps does Oregon need to do to take that next step towards making it to the tournament?
Thankfully everyone minus USC gets invited to the tournament this year, no matter how much we stink.... Wait, you did mean the Pac-10 tournament right? The NCAA's? Oh well then. Um, the only requirement would be winning the Pac-10 tournament. In order to do that, we need to make open shots and be careful with the basketball. In my opinion, we need to slow the ball down and shorten the games up quite a bit. To be honest, I think most of us would be happy with a solid, 40 minute performance out of the team, even in the loss.
5. Predict a final score. Show your work
Oregon will try to go zone which worked well against the LA schools but just like in the first meeting, the mighty Golden Bears will rain down 3 pointers of pain through out the game. Mac Court will feel like a shadow of it's former self as the crowd leaves 10 minutes into the game. The Pit Crew will chant "Not Enough Beer!" as they leave at halftime. 72-51 Bears