California took advantage of an embarrassing night from the foul line from New Mexico and they now find themselves in Columbus Ohio set to take on the Buckeyes. Cal knocked down 22 FTs of their own and managed not to squander all of the eight point lead they took into the half.
Ohio State spent most of their previous game simply hoping to avoid injury. UNC Ashville proved to be slightly more competitive than a collection of cones as the Buckeyes hit over 56% from the field and cruised to an 18 point victory.
Ranking 10th in the nation in FG% defense, the men from Columbus beat teams with great defense. OSU only gives up 61 points a game and they rank in the top 25 against the three. The Buckeyes will press after scores and drop back into a zone when Cal gets into their half court offense. As good as this team plays defensively, they couldn’t find consistent enough offense to get themselves into the NCAA Tourney. The favorites tonight don’t rank in the top 200 in three point percentage or points per game. The Bears figure to sit back and focus more on rebounding than defending the perimeter.
Cal has the exact opposite team blueprint. This Pac-10 representative allows over 75 points per game while they light their opposition up for seventy-seven. Some teams give up a lot of points due to their style and some give them up because they’re terrible defensively; Cal falls under the latter category. The bears don’t get many steals, they don’t defend the three, and they don’t stop teams well in transition. For them to get the win tonight, they’ll have to hope the Buckeyes are cold from the outside. California will have the most athletic big man, Davon Hardin, and the best overall talent on the court, Ryan Anderson; those two players may be enough to keep them in the game.
It’s never good when your best option defensively is hoping the other team misses, but that’s about all Cal can do when OSU has the rock. Fortunately for the Bears, they’re playing a team that doesn’t shoot well and isn’t particularly impressive on the glass. Cal is an athletic team and they should score enough to keep this game close till the end.
My Play: Cal +8
Ohio State spent most of their previous game simply hoping to avoid injury. UNC Ashville proved to be slightly more competitive than a collection of cones as the Buckeyes hit over 56% from the field and cruised to an 18 point victory.
Ranking 10th in the nation in FG% defense, the men from Columbus beat teams with great defense. OSU only gives up 61 points a game and they rank in the top 25 against the three. The Buckeyes will press after scores and drop back into a zone when Cal gets into their half court offense. As good as this team plays defensively, they couldn’t find consistent enough offense to get themselves into the NCAA Tourney. The favorites tonight don’t rank in the top 200 in three point percentage or points per game. The Bears figure to sit back and focus more on rebounding than defending the perimeter.
Cal has the exact opposite team blueprint. This Pac-10 representative allows over 75 points per game while they light their opposition up for seventy-seven. Some teams give up a lot of points due to their style and some give them up because they’re terrible defensively; Cal falls under the latter category. The bears don’t get many steals, they don’t defend the three, and they don’t stop teams well in transition. For them to get the win tonight, they’ll have to hope the Buckeyes are cold from the outside. California will have the most athletic big man, Davon Hardin, and the best overall talent on the court, Ryan Anderson; those two players may be enough to keep them in the game.
It’s never good when your best option defensively is hoping the other team misses, but that’s about all Cal can do when OSU has the rock. Fortunately for the Bears, they’re playing a team that doesn’t shoot well and isn’t particularly impressive on the glass. Cal is an athletic team and they should score enough to keep this game close till the end.
My Play: Cal +8
