Jan 08 2009
Cal Bears need to win on the road
Getting to the NCAA Tournament isn’t as easy as it seems. You could win your conference tournament, but that could be a problem if UCLA stands in your way, or you could qualify for an At-Large bid. In order to qualify for that bid, you have to normally win at least 20 games, be from a powerhouse conference, and have a few quality wins under your belt. While it seems very straight forward, it’s not. All sorts of problematic equations can force a team to play in the lesser-prestigious National Invitational Tournament instead.
That’s why winning road games are so critical for a team such as the Bears. Their lack of prestige, poor tournament history, and recent poor seasonal records will put them at a disadvantage if the Tournament Committee has to chose between them and a team such as Arizona or Stanford. Beating a conference opponent on their home court goes a long way into their decison.
Tonight, the Bears face a tough conference opponent on their home court in Washington State. I won’t get much into the game preview in this post, but if you’re interested I’ve already done one at the Cal Bears Examiner.
Winning this game is not going to be easy for the Bears. Cal likes to play more of a ’small ball’ style like their professional neighbors, the Golden State Warriors. They are a team full of outside shooters and little depth in the post, while Washington is more of a post-up team that likes to play with a more slow and methodical approach.
You have to be patient. There are not going to be as many possessions. They’re very tempo oriented. If you get impatient, you’re going to have to wait and play defense for 30 seconds until they get what they want. And then you’re going to go down, and if you shoot it early, then you’re going to have to go back and play for 30 more seconds. It’s frustrating. They want low-scoring games, so there’s not as much margin for error. But theirs is very much a contained defense. They don’t want you to score off the break; they don’t want you to score off of the second shots. They’re going to take away certain things, but they’re not going to let you penetrate; they’re going to make you shoot from outside. Percentage wise, it’s a high-percentage defense, designed to make you have to shoot low-percentage shots.
- Mike Montgomery on playing Washington State
It doesn’t matter that the Cougars aren’t ranked nationally. What does matter is that by season’s end, they’ll have won their fair share and be in consideration for an NCAA Tourney bid. Beating a team like Washington State in their home court would be a ‘quality’ win for the Bears and a leg up come tournament selection time.
Cal Bears next game:
California Golden Bears at Washington State Cougars
Date: Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009
Location: Pullman, Wash.
Time: 7:00 p.m. PT
Coverage
Radio: KYOU (1550 AM)
