OPEN HOOPS GAME THREAD: Cal at WSU
California Golden Bears at Washington St. Cougars, Jan 8, 2009 7:00 PM PST
7 PM PST -- Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum
Kenpom.com prediction: Bears win 58-57 (60 possesions, 54 percent confidence)
PROBABLE STARTERS
| WSU Cougars | Ht. | Wt. | Pos. | Yr. | PPG | RPG | APG |
| Taylor Rochestie | 6-1 | 193 | G | Sr. | 10.3 | 3.7 | 4.5 |
| Klay Thompson | 6-6 | 187 | G | Fr. | 10.8 | 4.9 | 1.5 |
| Daven Harmeling | 6-7 | 227 | F | Sr. | 6.8 | 1.6 | 0.8 |
| Caleb Forrest | 6-8 | 223 | F | Sr. | 6.4 | 3.3 | 0.3 |
| Aron Baynes | 6-10 | 250 | C | Sr. | 11.4 | 5.8 | 0.5 |
| Cal Golden Bears | Ht. | Wt. | Pos. | Yr. | PPG | RPG | APG |
| Jerome Randle | 5-10 | 160 | G | Jr. | 19.5 | 3.3 | 5.1 |
| Patrick Christopher | 6-5 | 215 | G | Jr. | 15.0 | 3.7 | 2.0 |
| Theo Robertson | 6-6 | 225 | G | Jr. | 11.9 | 3.5 | 2.1 |
| Jamal Boykin | 6-8 | 230 | F | Jr. | 9.5 | 5.6 | 0.5 |
| Jordan Wilkes | 7-0 | 225 | C | Jr. | 4.9 | 4.0 | 0.8 |
Heading into the season, this was one of those games we pointed to as one the Cougs needed to win. It's still a game the Cougs need to win, although for far different reasons than we all thought.
Cal has established itself as a legitimate NCAA Tournament contender, while the Cougs seem to be on the verge of slipping into irrelevance just two weekends into the conference schedule. Giving the 2-0 Bears their comeuppance would go a long way toward re-establishing confidence that this season still can be more than just a rebuilding year.
It's tempting to think that the difference maker for the Bears has been diminutive point guard Jerome Randle, who has raised his scoring average from 11.8 points to 19.5 points and assists from 3.8 to 5.1. But the real difference -- no surprise for a Montgomery team -- has been the Bears' defense. I'm not sure what's being done different, as I haven't seen this team yet (and I'm not going to tonight, either -- thanks FSN!), but their eFG% allowed is down from 51.9 in 07-08 (255th nationally) to 46.0 (75th).
That, of course, is not good news for a team that can't score. But there is room for optimism. This is yet another opponent that lacks a legitimate inside presence, and Aron Baynes ought to be able to make some hay ... if he can get enough touches and shots.
Offensively, it's tempting to look at the Bears' gaudy 3-point shooting percentage -- 50.5, first in the country -- and think they're exclusively a jack-it-up team. But they actually only attempt 3's on less than a quarter of their shots (23.3 percent, 334th nationally). What they are is remarkably efficient with their 3's, and they're due for an off shooting night at some point. Nobody shoots 50 percent on 3's for the season.
I've got a good feeling about tonight, believe it or not. I've got a sneaking suspicion that the Bears have started to believe their own myth, and I think Tony Bennett's got some wrinkles in store for Mike Montgomery. And if this team can't get fired up to defend its home court after what happened on Saturday ... well, then we've got bigger problems than we thought.
Obviously, the game's not on TV tonight, but for as much as we make fun of the Pac-10 around here, they do one thing right: Their GameTracker (linked at the top) is actually pretty cool. Watching that in tandem with Bud's call of the game on your local affiliate (or by itself if you're out of the area) isn't half bad, given the circumstances.
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It's not off to a good start
My local Cougar Sports Radio Network affiliate is not carrying the game tonight in lieu of the BCS championship. There’s another affiliate up north that I can sort of get, but it’s spotty.
Let’s hope this is not a harbinger.
nik
weird nik already made a mistake…yahoo has a great tracker.
Missed layup, Aron Baynes
Missed layup, Aron Baynes, Missed layup, Aron Baynes
I hate not being able to watch.
$10
its worth the $10 to sign up for CBS sports line on the WSU site and strem the game.
Ah, that's more like it
“Abe got beat on the inbounds pass and Robinson’s going to go to the line”
All is right in the world now.
Better without Nik
They seem to be playing better when Nik is not in there. I only wish Tony would leave Casto an Baynes in at the same time.
What is wrong with him tonight?
he should be eating these guys up. He finally gets the # of shots he needs and he’s not making them.
I WANT MY TELEVISION!
Klay is on fire, no one else scoring worth a darn
Let’s see some Harthun
Did notice Daven is sitting a lot more though.
I don't feel good about the second half
Three reasons:
1. Klay is the only reason we’re even in this game. Nobody else is doing a darn thing offensively. Can that continue?
2. Cal is still shooting 52.4 percent, right in line with their season average. That probably will continue.
3. Cal isn’t running away with this thing because of eight turnovers. That’s not likely to continue because they’re one of the best in the country at taking care of the ball.
I’m bearish on this second half, unfortunately.
going strickly off of the numbers and the play-by-play
this looks like every other game they’ve played this year against big schools.
I predict a 15-3 run by call to start the second half.
They are shooting
19% better than us yet we are only down 2. We must be owning the boards. And keep those Turnovers coming
history
cal doesn’t loose when shooting over 50% and out rebounding the opp….they currently are doing both, we have yet to win when down at half.
so i guess be positive you could say we are do for a W and they are due for an L
i wonder if nik has photos of tony doing dirt back in the day...
….otherwise there is no excuse for him to continue to be allowed to blow 4-6 poss. a game
This show's nothing of shot selection, regardless of results
He’s not off the hook with me until I “SEE” that he’s making good decisions.
On the one hand
With Thomson and Rochestie down the stretch, we make this a close game. On the other, we have never come back this year against a decent team. So, I doubt it.
A text exchange from me and Grady (who's at the game)
Grady: “This offense is a nightmare.”
Me: “It sounds like Tony is doing very little different. True?”
Grady: “Yes and no. Lodwick in but no shots. It appears we assigned no one to guard Patrick Christopher. His 3’s have all been wide open.”
So let's see, the changes for this game
Nik starting instead of Harmeling and Abe coming in to take Harmelings place of not shooting. Great adjustments.
Stan Uw 49-47 at the half?
Can we borrow a shooter?

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