For us to beat Arizona everything would have to go right. Our first half shooting, whether it was a product of their defense or bad luck, settled it early. It's obvious why the Cats are projected as a Final Four team. Despite the talent differential and the tough start, the Bears didn't get demoralized and scored buckets.
We just have to recognize that we're good enough to turn the page on the Fox era. At the very least, the 2nd half says we're better than Arizona's bench. Time to go win some conference games!
Going into this game we knew that Zona was going to be tough. After some strong encouraging performances against a couple decent programs I thought we might be able to hang around and make it interesting. After a truly UGLY first half where nothing seemed to go right, (credit the cats D, our nerves?) safe to say I was feeling a bit triggered. But there was one moment which stuck with me that quelled the urge to get an early start home. Grant Newell nailing his 3pt effort at the buzzer was a thing of beauty. With sticking around for the 2nd half decided we were treated to a continuation of the MasterClass that is Arizona Wildcats basketball ball. Except the Bears this half started to play. And it had many good moments. For me seeing Gus growing up and Grant shaking off his funk were huge moments. Coupled with Jalen Celestine showing off his smooth stroke and Jaylon returning to form couldn’t help feeling we will be alright.
So the Bad? I’m afraid Arizona has returned to the days of the toughest games they face are the scrimmages among themselves. That 7’2” backup dude looks like he could be a lottery pick in a few years. So yeah we need to load up with guys that can handle the action.
Also Bad? Was it the lack of students or maybe many old blues who are a little rusty with the yelling and screaming but we didn’t bring the noise. I hate to say it but the Arizona fans showed a lot of class. When traditionally they are arrogant and obnoxious. I will enjoy watching them slap around UCLA and USC.
Yes love that Grant Newell looked solid and engaged all game long. We got punched in the face out of the blocks and while we took bad shots, we missed shots even when we had decent looks. But we found our footing and finished the fight so I’ll take that going into the next game. Tyson in the post-game interview said he was feeling it out to start the game. We need to come out with more urgency and aggressive play on both sides of the ball. Go Bears!
Pretty disappointing that we have not improved at all defensively. I get that we have some personnel limitations, but we should really be making some small improvements either with our rotations or schematically by now. May need to start sacrificing some offense for defense.
Yeah, a win was never going to happen here. But on the bright side, Cal is no longer a bottom 5 P6 team! Oregon State, Vanderbilt, Louisville, Notre Dame, and DePaul all have worse NET rankings than us. Baby steps.
Like I said in the game thread: Go Bears! I really see this as an important moment for the team. They can learn from this in important ways. No one else they play the rest of the season will have the advantages Arizona has, and when we play physical, aggressive ball, we can beat a lot of teams for a squad that just learned each others names.
For us to beat Arizona everything would have to go right. Our first half shooting, whether it was a product of their defense or bad luck, settled it early. It's obvious why the Cats are projected as a Final Four team. Despite the talent differential and the tough start, the Bears didn't get demoralized and scored buckets.
We just have to recognize that we're good enough to turn the page on the Fox era. At the very least, the 2nd half says we're better than Arizona's bench. Time to go win some conference games!
Tomorrow’s a winnable game. Let’s get it!!
The Good, the bad, and the ugly.
Going into this game we knew that Zona was going to be tough. After some strong encouraging performances against a couple decent programs I thought we might be able to hang around and make it interesting. After a truly UGLY first half where nothing seemed to go right, (credit the cats D, our nerves?) safe to say I was feeling a bit triggered. But there was one moment which stuck with me that quelled the urge to get an early start home. Grant Newell nailing his 3pt effort at the buzzer was a thing of beauty. With sticking around for the 2nd half decided we were treated to a continuation of the MasterClass that is Arizona Wildcats basketball ball. Except the Bears this half started to play. And it had many good moments. For me seeing Gus growing up and Grant shaking off his funk were huge moments. Coupled with Jalen Celestine showing off his smooth stroke and Jaylon returning to form couldn’t help feeling we will be alright.
So the Bad? I’m afraid Arizona has returned to the days of the toughest games they face are the scrimmages among themselves. That 7’2” backup dude looks like he could be a lottery pick in a few years. So yeah we need to load up with guys that can handle the action.
Also Bad? Was it the lack of students or maybe many old blues who are a little rusty with the yelling and screaming but we didn’t bring the noise. I hate to say it but the Arizona fans showed a lot of class. When traditionally they are arrogant and obnoxious. I will enjoy watching them slap around UCLA and USC.
Go Bears!
Yes love that Grant Newell looked solid and engaged all game long. We got punched in the face out of the blocks and while we took bad shots, we missed shots even when we had decent looks. But we found our footing and finished the fight so I’ll take that going into the next game. Tyson in the post-game interview said he was feeling it out to start the game. We need to come out with more urgency and aggressive play on both sides of the ball. Go Bears!
Pretty disappointing that we have not improved at all defensively. I get that we have some personnel limitations, but we should really be making some small improvements either with our rotations or schematically by now. May need to start sacrificing some offense for defense.
Yeah, a win was never going to happen here. But on the bright side, Cal is no longer a bottom 5 P6 team! Oregon State, Vanderbilt, Louisville, Notre Dame, and DePaul all have worse NET rankings than us. Baby steps.
Next up? Cracking the top 200.
FWIW we're 166 in BPI
Like I said in the game thread: Go Bears! I really see this as an important moment for the team. They can learn from this in important ways. No one else they play the rest of the season will have the advantages Arizona has, and when we play physical, aggressive ball, we can beat a lot of teams for a squad that just learned each others names.