Cal MBB Preview: Oregon St. offers hope for ending our losing streak

Having just passed the halfway mark in conference play the Bears look to continue their search for their collective identity. Oregon State has struggled during conference play and enters Saturday’s game with a 3 game losing streak. We all know by now how well OTHER teams have been shooting the three ball at Haas, but the Beavers are currently shooting 32.3% from three, however, they are making a respectable 53.1% of their 2 pt attempts.

On defense, the Beavers don’t fare much better. Opponents are currently averaging 35.8% against them from 3 and 46.4% from 2. As Rob said the other day, LOOK AT IT.

That said, here are a few things the Bears should hope to capitalize on:

1. Since the Beavers aren’t shooting super well from 3, Cal could come out in man to man defense and have Marcus Lee and Kingsley Okoroh lock down the paint.
2. The Bears big men have a slight size advantage, especially in the paint. Drew Eubanks is 6-10, whereas Lee is 6-11 and Okoroh is 7-1.
3. Oregon State turns the ball over a good amount. If the Bears can establish their full court press well enough to razzle the Beavers they should be able to force quit a few turnovers.
4. Right now they are only averaging 67.6 points per game compared the Bears 70.4 points per game. This means that even if the Bears offense stagnates, we should still be able to theoretically pull off a win.

Predicted Starters:

California:

PG - Darrius McNeill

SG - Juhwan Harris-Dyson

SF - Justice Sueing

PF - Marcus Lee

C - Kingsley Okoroh

Oregon State:

PG - Stephen Thompson

SG - Ethan Thompson

SF - Seth Berger

PF - Tres Tinkle

C - Drew Eubanks

We’ve seen a good amount of improvement over the last few weeks. A solid win at home in front of a Saturday crowd would be nice reassurance for these guys that they are doing something right. Go Bears!

What are your thoughts on the matchup Cal Fans?