Tightwad Hill: AN INTERESTING LOSS - OREGON 92 CALIFORNIA 84

Saturday, January 20, 2007

It's never a disgrace to lose to the 9th ranked team in the country on its home floor. Lots of takeaways from this game:

Cal played its best half of basketball this season - the Bears showed they can compete with anyone in the conference and should be a post-season team.. The Bears played along with Oregon's tempo, but they were far more efficient in the 1st half.
Oregon's run to start the 2nd half showed why they can beat anyone in the country. They are as explosive as any team in recent conference history, and they remind us of some of the better guard-led Arizona teams.
Omar Wilkes has come out of his shell (7-9, 3-4 from three), which bodes very well for the rest of the season. Cal desperately needs a third reliable scorer to take pressure of AU and Mr. Anderson.
Theo has recently looked much more aggressive in all phases of his game - nice to see him back.
Has Cal played in any games recently where both teams shot so well? Cal was 53.4% from the field, 47.6 from three, and 100% from the line. Oregon went for 56.6%/54.5%/90.9%. There were only 50 rebounds in a game that featured 176 points - remarkable.
To nitpick, it doesn't look like Patrick Christopher is making much progress on the offensive end. He only played 17 minutes despite getting the start.
Unsurprisingly, we have 2nd half issues with only nine scholarship players available for duty. The fatigue is palpable, and prevents the Bears from getting out on shooters. Hopefully, this problem will not increase exponentially as the conference season drags on.