Tightwad Hill

ARIZONA 70 CALIFORNIA 65

Last night's five-point loss was expected; how the Bears lost was as unexpected as the earthquake that shook the East Bay early in the second half.

The foul disparity between the two teams didn't improve as the setting shifted from Tucson to Berkeley. The Wildcats went 20-26 from the line, and Cal was 7 of 8. Eight free throws at home is a ridiculous number - so ridiculous that Ben Braun picked up the first home technical of his coaching career at Cal.

The Bears played pretty good defense, holding the normally explosive Wildcats to 42.6% from the floor; Arizona also turned it over 16 times. But as Alex Pribble giveth, he also taketh away. In his fifteen minutes of floor time, Pribble played tough D but shot only twice (missing both). As a team, Cal struggled at 41.9% from the floor and 28% from three. Ryan Anderson struggled all night, and the Bears were once again clobbered on the boards.

We'll have a look at ASU tonight or tomorrow; the Bears need the win to have any hopes of finishing above .500 and making any sort of case to the NIT selection committee.

posted by Tightwad @ 7:24 AM