Well, that didn't go very well, now did it?
What's frustrating about today is that we have no idea how this game might have turned out had DeAngelo Casto and Marcus Capers not chosen to be late to what Vince Grippi has termed "team events" and ended up starting the game. While I didn't watch the game, it's clear the disruption to the lineup and rotation caused the team to get off kilter, and as sometimes happens with a young team, the Cougs just never recovered offensively.
Poor shooting? Check.
Poor free throw rate? Check.
Mediocre offensive rebounding (at least while the game was close)? Check.
About the only thing that didn't go south on us was the turnovers, but as a number of people pointed out on the game thread, a quick, undisciplined shot against that zone can be as bad as a turnover.
The funny thing is that the defense was statistically good enough to win for most of the game -- until it really started getting out of hand late -- if only we'd been able to pull together some semblance of offense. But we didn't, and that was that.
Without a doubt, this game will be a teachable moment for the Cougs. I'm pretty sure Casto, Capers and Watson won't be late for "team events" again, and I'm pretty sure they'll have a better offensive clue next time we see this 2-3 zone of ASU's. They learned from Gonzaga and Kansas State -- two experienced squads that exposed their weaknesses -- and they'll learn from this.
Be thankful that we're heading back home to welcome Cal into Beasley on Thursday with the Zzu Cru in full effect. If this team responds this time as it did before, the Bears had better bring it.