The California Men's Basketball team did not accomplish their lofty goal of winning the Pac-12 tournament last week. As a matter of fact, they didn't even come close. After blowing the doors off of Washington State 84-59 in their opening round game, Cal fell back to earth the next day against the top-seeded Arizona Wildcats, losing 73-51.
While the result wasn't a happy one for Cal fans, it was a fitting result to end the season for Cal, who despite showing flashes of brilliance, never was able to fully get their act together all season. The fact that Cal looked dominant one day and inferior the next day pretty much sums up the entire season for Cal. They either looked really good or really bad.
Now, in the game against Arizona, I thought Cal actually did a lot of things well. They played hard and physical, and they didn't let Arizona destroy them like they did the last time they faced each other in Tucson. Jabari Bird himself said after the game: "We went out there, competed, played hard. We didn't give up like we did the last game." The fact that Cal played hard, competed, and didn't just roll over and die was certainly a nice thing to see, but all the same, it was still a 20+ point loss and a reminder that this program has a long ways to go before they can actually compete for a national championship.
Probably the best part of the Bears' trip to Vegas was watching David Kravish go out on a high note. Yeah, he struggled against Arizona, but against Washington State he was dominant, scoring 25 points and grabbing 8 rebounds. To see him end his collegiate career with a dominant performance like that was certainly heart-warming knowing how hard he has worked and what he has meant to the program. Cal fans should definitely remember this trip to Vegas for his dominant performance over Washington State.
Going back to my point about this being a fitting end for Cal, head coach Cuonzo Martin has to find ways to get Cal to play more consistently next season. There was certainly enough talent on this roster to make the NCAA tournament, but what did Cal in was their inability to consistently play at a high level. If Cal played every game like they did against Washington State and even Arizona, they would have made the field of 68. Instead, Cal struggled to consistently bring the same level of intensity and passion to the floor every night, and that is why the best they could do was go to the CBI, an invitation that Cuonzo Martin declined.
As for what I'll be blogging about on "Bear Territory Tuesday" during the off-season, I don't entirely know, but rest assured that I'll keep this segment chugging along as a staple of my blog during the off-season and for years to come. There are some exciting things that I can turn my attention to like recruiting, the NBA draft, and even how some other Cal Bears are doing now that they are pros. I'll find things to talk about during the off-season, but I just haven't mapped out what it is exactly that I'll be talking about each week. But that's part of the fun. I'm in just as much suspense as you are. As a matter of fact, 45 minutes ago, I didn't even know what exactly I was going to write about this week. A lot of things just come at the spur of the moment.
I've had a great time blogging about Cal hoops on here and I am even more excited to see how things go during the off-season as I continue to build "Bear Territory Tuesday". And yes, you may have noticed that sometimes it's Tuesdays and Thursdays. But if there is one thing I can tell you for sure, it's going to be on Tuesdays from now on. The main reason is that it fits better with the flow of the basketball season. Cal plays games typically on Wednesdays or Thursdays and either Saturdays or Sundays, sometimes Fridays.
Anyways, rarely is there a Tuesday game and Tuesday is a nice time of the week to recap what happened in the past week. So I guess while there is a lot of mystery of as to what I'll blog about on "Bear Territory Tuesday" going forward, it's nice to know that it will firmly be on Tuesdays. I guess that's a start! Go Bears!
---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord
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