I've never understood the "luck" factor in these types of games. Was it luck that we, including our best player, clanked free throws? Was it luck that our defender made a bad decision and left open a 3 point shooter in the corner? Was it luck that Madsen did not call a TO and swap out Fardaws when U-Dub had to foul?
Little things have hurt the Bears all season, but little things are critical for teams that are new and developing. Missed free-throws throughout the game cost the Bears victory before an enthusiastic home crowd.
They are still struggling with defensive rotations. Opposing teams are having little trouble getting wide open looks. What are you seeing when you break down film…
Thanks Jimmy. A talked about this a little in my last article. They use help/trap defense alot, especially when they steer the ball handler to a specific spot or to help Cone if he finds himself defending on the interior. But they aren't crisp in the backend rotations and accounting for all other players. Too many last second closeouts or losing one player.
BUT that is not why they lost tonight. They keyed on Brooks and forced him to make a pass. Wood was well defended by Newell in the corner. He was 1 of 10 before that point. He made the difficult shot.
More importantly they missed two front ends of 1-and-1 opportunities in the last 45 seconds.
A game is not defined by the last play, though it gets the highlights. There are 39 other minutes. Only hitting 13 free throws and giving up 26 second chance points is what caused the loss.
You're not wrong about other factors contributing to this L. But Wood had a clean look. Newell made an effort for sure, but was late. The 3 they made prior from the same corner couldn't have been less contested. We simply have to do a better job of defending that spot in those critical situations.
Agree, Wood was wide open, forcing Newell to leap at him. Wood dropped to the floor, looking for a foul. (And during normal game time, the Pac refs will call it, just bcos)
The ease with which Holland got the shot was troublesome…whole thing took less than 7 seconds. Literally a dribble up, a couple of passes for a wide open corner 3…off a made FT when 4 of Cal’s players were already back on defense. It’s maddening.
I've never understood the "luck" factor in these types of games. Was it luck that we, including our best player, clanked free throws? Was it luck that our defender made a bad decision and left open a 3 point shooter in the corner? Was it luck that Madsen did not call a TO and swap out Fardaws when U-Dub had to foul?
Yes.
Little things have hurt the Bears all season, but little things are critical for teams that are new and developing. Missed free-throws throughout the game cost the Bears victory before an enthusiastic home crowd.
Was great to see the students back and showing out. I think that helped.
Heartbreak. But the comeback had a lot of grit- they will push past this and keep improving.
Thanks BP.
They are still struggling with defensive rotations. Opposing teams are having little trouble getting wide open looks. What are you seeing when you break down film…
Thanks Jimmy. A talked about this a little in my last article. They use help/trap defense alot, especially when they steer the ball handler to a specific spot or to help Cone if he finds himself defending on the interior. But they aren't crisp in the backend rotations and accounting for all other players. Too many last second closeouts or losing one player.
BUT that is not why they lost tonight. They keyed on Brooks and forced him to make a pass. Wood was well defended by Newell in the corner. He was 1 of 10 before that point. He made the difficult shot.
More importantly they missed two front ends of 1-and-1 opportunities in the last 45 seconds.
A game is not defined by the last play, though it gets the highlights. There are 39 other minutes. Only hitting 13 free throws and giving up 26 second chance points is what caused the loss.
You're not wrong about other factors contributing to this L. But Wood had a clean look. Newell made an effort for sure, but was late. The 3 they made prior from the same corner couldn't have been less contested. We simply have to do a better job of defending that spot in those critical situations.
Agree, Wood was wide open, forcing Newell to leap at him. Wood dropped to the floor, looking for a foul. (And during normal game time, the Pac refs will call it, just bcos)
The ease with which Holland got the shot was troublesome…whole thing took less than 7 seconds. Literally a dribble up, a couple of passes for a wide open corner 3…off a made FT when 4 of Cal’s players were already back on defense. It’s maddening.
The missed free throws were a killer