Bear Territory Thursday: Cal gets a reality check against Arizona

     Cal got a reality check against the #5 ranked Arizona Wildcats tonight, getting blown out by the score of 99-60. It was a game that Cal never was really in outside of the first 4-5 minutes of the game. After a score of 12-12, Arizona went on a 9-2 run and never looked back. Arizona continued to add insult to injury the rest of the way, not letting up for even a second. As a result, Arizona secured another Pac-12 regular season title and Cal secured a losing record in the conference. Arizona's forward Brandon Ashley led the way with 21 points and 6 rebounds.

     The harsh reality for Cal is that their 5th gear is Arizona's 2nd gear. Arizona simply has 3-4 extra gears that Cal doesn't have. This isn't to say that Cal couldn't have played better, because they certainly could have. Jordan Mathews for example was practically invisible, scoring just 3 points on 1-5 shooting and Tyrone Wallace only scored 16 points, shooting an inefficient 7-18 from the field.

     Had both of those guys played better with Jabari Bird and David Kravish producing more, Cal could have made things interesting. In addition, Sam Singer played well tonight, scoring 13 points and grabbing 4 rebounds on 5-8 shooting from the field and 3-3 shooting from the foul line. Cal got the bench production they needed, but their starting lineup really let them down.

     Cal doesn't have much time before they face Arizona State on Saturday at 11:30 AM PST, but perhaps that's a good thing. Cal needs to put this loss out of their minds and focus on getting some revenge against an Arizona State team that embarrassed them earlier in the season in Berkeley. In addition, Cal could be playing for a #7 seed in the Pac-12 tournament which could help them avoid Arizona until the championship game.

     I'll talk more about this in my Pac-12 tournament preview, but I do think Utah is vulnerable in a way that Arizona is not. Cal played Utah tough for a half on the road and Utah has lost four times this year in the conference going into their game tonight at Washington State. If Cal could face Utah instead of Arizona in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament, that would be huge, so even though tonight's loss was ugly, that doesn't change the fact that a lot is still riding on Saturday's game at Arizona State.

---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord 
   

Bear Territory Thursday: Cal enters Rocky Mountain road trip with a lot of momentum

     Cal's Rocky Mountain road trip starts tonight at Colorado at 6:00 PM PST and concludes Sunday at #11 Utah at 5:30 PM PST. This is undoubtedly the toughest road trip Cal will go on all season, and thankfully they are entering this road trip with a lot of momentum, having won their last four games against Washington State, Washington, USC, and UCLA. Three of those four games were decided by two points or less, but for Cal any win is a good win after the way they started Pac-12 play (1-6).

     Cal's hot winning streak has vaulted them to 7th in the Pac-12 with a 5-6 record in the conference, which is huge just in terms of their positioning for the Pac-12 tournament. A top-four seed and a first round bye in the Pac-12 tournament is now in sight, which in and of itself is a miracle judging by how poor their season started.

     What's better is that the team seems to have a lot of confidence in who they are. In their post-game press conference after defeating UCLA, Jabari Bird said about their turnaround "We're on cloud nine". The confidence can be seen across the board in all players. Dwight Tarwater hit the game winning shot to beat UCLA, Tyrone Wallace hit the game-winning three at the buzzer to defeat USC, and Sam Singer hit the game-winning three to defeat Washington. As for Jabari Bird, against UCLA he posted 16 points and was playing with way more energy, passion, and excitement than we have seen from him all season.

     The player who has undergone the biggest metamorphosis in this four game winning streak is Sam Singer. We've all known how great of a pass-first point guard he is and what he brings on defense, but his shot has been faulty over the course of his young career. But ever since he hit that game-winner in Washington, he has suddenly morphed into a three-point shooting threat, shooting 3-4 from beyond the arc against UCLA. In the post-game press conference after the UCLA game, Singer said "I knew at some point they were going to start falling. It's about keep shooting confidently and keep working hard."

     Singer's transformation is huge for the team because the team has been in desperate need of other guys to score besides Jabari Bird, Tyrone Wallace, David Kravish, and Jordan Mathews. When Cal gets other guys scoring the ball besides their "Big Four", Cal is a very tough and dangerous team. Singer in particular becomes a very dangerous player because he does everything else on the court extremely well.

     With all this confidence and momentum, what can we expect from Cal in this tough road trip to the Rocky Mountains? I think a split is conceivable, but a sweep is highly unlikely. This has much more to do with who they are playing than how they are playing. There are three factors that make this road trip tough: They're on the road, they're playing at high elevation, and they are playing one of the best teams in the country in Utah.

     Utah is ranked #11 at the moment and they haven't lost a game at home all season. Utah fans can get pretty crazy when their teams are doing well, so I anticipate that Salt Lake City will be a fairly hostile environment for Cal. Cal should not at all expect to win that game. As for tonight's game against Colorado, I think odds are good Cal gets the win, especially since they are coming in with a lot of momentum. Colorado is favored by 7 points, but I think the game can be a lot closer than that. Colorado is #9 in the Pac-12 with a 4-6 record in the conference, so there really isn't anything particularly intimidating about them other than the altitude.

      Cal should feel really confident that they can win tonight. If they win tonight, Cal will then be going into Salt Lake City on a five game winning streak, and at that point they can just play footloose and fancy free. All the pressure will be on Utah and none of it will be on Cal. If Cal gets the win at Utah as well as at Colorado, then their season will go from having a faint pulse to make the NCAA tournament to having a legitimate chance.

     Teams do get rewarded for finishing the season strong as well as get punished for finishing the season weak. If Cal gets both wins in the Rockies, they will be in a prime position to finish the season very strong with their next game being at Stanford, a game that I will preview next week.

     In conclusion, Cal basketball is looking a hell of a lot better than it was two weeks ago. They've won four straight games, vaulted to 7th in the conference, and the team is playing with a tremendous amount of confidence. Hopefully they can continue to build off of their success and shock the nation this week in the Rocky Mountains. Go Bears!

---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord 

Bear Territory Thursday: Is there life for Cal?

     Right when it appeared as though their season was over, the California Golden Bears somehow managed to get two gutty wins on the road against Washington State and Washington last week, giving the Cal faithful a flicker of hope that the season could be salvaged. When Sam Singer hit the game-winning three against Washington, not only did I scream at the top of my lungs, I realized that there may be some hope for Cal to turn its season around.

     I understand that I've been talking about Cal needing to "turn its season around" for the past month, but perhaps they finally turned the corner of sorts up in the Pacific Northwest. What makes things so much better is that this weekend they have two home games against USC (tonight) and UCLA (Saturday), so it is certainly conceivable that Cal enters their Rocky Mountain road trip on a four game winning streak. Knowing Cal, it wouldn't surprise me at all if they lost both games, but all the same, a four game winning streak looks like a serious possibility and that should make Cal fans very excited and nervous for this weekend.

     What I'm going to say next is all too familiar for those of you who read my weekly Cal basketball reports: Cal needs to win both games at home this weekend. Like every game for the past month, these next two games against the Southern California schools are must win games for Cal. If they win both games, there is hope for a split in the Rocky Mountains against Utah and Colorado before coming back to the Bay Area to give Stanford some payback. If Cal splits or loses both games this weekend, then all momentum from these last two wins is lost.

     Cal has unfortunately put themselves in a situation where no win really saves them and every loss really hurts them. Even if they win both games this weekend, they will still be 5-6 in the PAC-12 with that horrible loss to CSU-Bakersfield hanging over their heads. What I'm saying is that Cal's NCAA tournament resume is still likely beyond repair, but that doesn't mean they don't have anything to play for. They still have seeding in the PAC-12 tournament to play for as well as securing an NIT bid in the likely event that they miss the NCAA tournament.

     The world of college hoops is certainly an up and down world, and Cal fans got a taste of that this past week when they watched their team get two dramatic wins on the road. What Cal fans can only hope for is some sort of consistency in the direction of winning basketball games. A four game winning streak would certainly be a step in the right direction and a reason for Cal fans to smile in what has overall been a disappointing season.

---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord for NBA news 

Bear Territory Thursday: 2014-15 Cal Men's Basketball Preview

                                         (credit: www.cougcenter.com)

With the college basketball season starting in six weeks, it's time for me to start my coverage of the Cal Men's Basketball team on here in my new segment "Bear Territory Thursday". Once a week I'll be doing a blog post on the California Golden Bears since I currently go to the school and I really got into the team last season. I got season tickets last year, missing only one game (the Fresno State game), and I got my season tickets again this year. Having followed the team really closely last year while also tweeting about them, I feel like I have ample knowledge about the team to start covering them more in-depth this season.

I hope that this segment will provide Cal fans a fun place to stay updated on the team and non-Cal fans a window into the college game. Now that I've set up an introduction to this new segment, let me dive into my season preview for the 2014-15 California Golden Bears.

The California Golden Bears are coming off a season that was filled with lots of highs and lows. The ultimate high point of the season was Justin Cobbs' game winning shot from the corner to down #1 ranked Arizona at the buzzer. I was present at that game and got to rush the court with my fellow students. It was an unbelievable moment and one that will forever go down in history as one of the greatest moments in the history of Cal athletics.

                                         (credit: www.sfgate.com)

The low point of the season was missing the NCAA tournament. Losses to Utah, Stanford, USC, and Colorado down the stretch cost the Golden Bears a spot in the NCAA tournament. After having such a high point with the win over Arizona, it was unfathomable to think that Cal would actually miss the tournament.

However, despite the low of missing the NCAA tournament, Cal got a second wind in the NIT and ended up losing to SMU in a heart breaker. During the NIT, Cal freshman shooting guard Jabari Bird started to show flashes of why he was a McDonald's High School All-American and why many NBA scouts had such keen interest in his talent, scoring 20 points on 3/6 three-point shooting in the game against SMU. It was disappointing to go out on a loss, but it was also encouraging to know that the future of the team appeared to be in good hands.

                                                (credit: rushthecourt.net)

Going into this season, what is probably going to be the biggest challenge is moving on from seniors Justin Cobbs and Richard Solomon. Cobbs was one of the best point guards in all of college basketball and Richard Solomon also came into his own as one of the best big men in the country. When Cal needed a basket in crunch time, they always counted on Justin Cobbs and Richard Solomon to deliver the goods. Now that those guys are gone, others will have to step up.

                                                    (credit: mercurynews.com)

The good news is that there appears to be other guys ready to fill the void left by Cobbs and Solomon. The guy most ready to fill that void is David Kravish, who plays the power forward position. Kravish is going to be a senior this year and he is coming off his best season in a Golden Bears uniform in which he averaged 11.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game. He too was one who the team could count on in crunch time, remaining consistent and steady throughout the season.

If there is anything certain and definitive that I can tell you about the Cal Men's Basketball team, it is that David Kravish will come to play every night. He will score, he will rebound, and he will defend. He will always play a complete game on both ends of the floor.

As for the rest of the team, that really remains to be seen. Jabari Bird, who I've already mentioned has the talent to be really good this year and turn Cal into a legitimate threat to win the Pac-12. If Bird turns into an NBA first round pick, Cal could be scary. However, it's no slam dunk that he becomes that kind of player since he still seems to be a work in progress.

                                                  (credit: usatodaysportsimages.com)

The other two players who legitimately can fill the void left by Cobbs and Solomon are Tyrone Wallace (junior) and Jordan Mathews (sophomore). Wallace is a 6'5 combo guard who played a lot of shooting guard last season, but seems to be more of a natural point guard. His driving, ball handling, and passing abilities are fantastic, but his outside shot comes and goes. While it is was encouraging that his three point percentage improved from 22.4% in his freshman year to 32.1% in his sophomore year, his three point shooting was still a weak spot for him and one that he'll have to continue to improve on if he wants to be effective at the shooting guard position.

 He didn't have the kind of season that everybody hoped he would have in his sophomore year after there were whispers of him being a potential first round pick in the NBA draft. He only averaged 11.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. More importantly, he wasn't reliable down the stretch when Cal needed him to step up. There were some games when he evaporated and appeared to be invisible as Justin Cobbs, Richard Solomon, and David Kravish carried the load.

With Cobbs and Solomon now gone, Wallace will get a chance to prove that the hype around him is legitimate. If he backs up the hype along with Jabari Bird, Cal will have a really competitive team that will be tough to beat whether they are at home or on the road.

As for Jordan Mathews, who is a natural shooting guard, he too could be really good. His 32 points against Oregon on the road last season raised some eyebrows across the PAC-12 and gave people reason to believe that he could be something special. But like Wallace and Bird we'll have to see if the hype around him is legitimate. If he can come into his own, Cal's new head coach Cuonzo Martin will have four quality pieces to work with. 

As for the rest of the team, there isn't anybody who can be expected to fill the void left by Cobbs and Solomon, but there are guys who can be really nice pieces to go alongside the four guys I just mentioned. Sam Singer is a really solid point guard who passes well, defends well, and doesn't turn the ball over. His assist to turnover ratio last season was above 2.0 which I found to be remarkable for a freshman.

Incoming freshmen Brandon Chauca, a 5'9 point guard, and Kingsley Okoroh, a 7'1 center, will also be players who could make a difference on this Cal team. Chauca was really good at scoring the ball in high school and Okoroh has the potential to be a force in the paint.

Swingman Roger Moute a Bidias and power forward Christian Behrens should also be able to provide quality minutes off the bench as well. Moute a Bidias might be in for a breakout season of sorts, but the lack of minutes he got last year makes it really hard to gauge where his ceiling is.

                                          (credit: sfgate.com)

Last but certainly not least is the departure of head coach Mike Montgomery and the arrival of new head coach Cuonzo Martin, who coached last season at Tennessee. Martin has a good track record and the players at Tennessee from what I've heard really loved him. What helps confirm this to me is that one Cal player I talked to said he loves Coach Martin and that he is excited to play for him.

Also, for what it's worth, I've been hearing from people close to the team that Martin is really making the team work hard and put in the extra time so that they can get a grip on his basketball philosophy. In addition, other Cal players have told me to expect big things this season, implying that they are really buying into Martin's coaching method and philosophy.

To sum this all up, what I will say is that Cal has the potential to be as good as they were last year and possibly better. If Jabari Bird and Tyrone Wallace show why they were hyped to be first round picks in the NBA draft, Cal could make a deep run in the NCAA tournament. If those guys fail to live up to the hype, then Cal will be in a dog fight to make the NCAA tournament. The uncertainty surrounding Bird, Wallace, and Mathews is the biggest question mark going into the season. Until we see how those guys pan out, we won't be able to figure out the ceiling of this Cal team. Go Bears!

---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord 

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