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Basketball: Washington game thread
By Jeff Faraudo
Saturday, March 13th, 2010 at 3:07 pm in Basketball, Gameday.
A STATISTICAL ODDITY: Because Randle was called for a lane violation before his free throw actually missed, he is not charged with a miss. As a result, he was 5-for-5 from the FT line and still hasn’t missed in 34 consecutive attempts.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Bears (23-10) weren’t likely to get as high as a No. 5 seed and a spot in San Jose, anyway, but it’s totally out the window now. Figure on a No. 7 or 8 seed and long flight somewhere. But Cal has won nine of 11 games and is playing at a high level. Washington (24-9), which needed this win more, got it.
FINAL SCORE: UW 79, Cal 75. The Huskies get the Pac-10′s automatic NCAA bid. Isiaiah Thomas celebrated by jumping up onto the scorer’s table. Here’s what happened: Randle made the first FT, then missed the second, but was whistled for a lane violation for too quickly chasing his shot into the lane. So Cal trailed 77-75. Cal fouled quickly, but it was just the sixth team foul. The Bears fouled again with 2.1 seconds left and Overton made both FTs. Pondexter finished with 18 points, Thomas with 16. Robertson had 25 points for Cal and Boykin had 20 points and 14 rebounds. Randle and Christopher each shot 3-for-11, and they were a combined 2-for-11 from 3PT. Cal was 5-for-19 from beyond the arc. UW shot 17-for-18 from the FT line, Cal 20-for-23 and one of the misses was intentional.
0:4.4 2nd H: Elston Turner went for the steal vs. Randle, almost got it, but fouled him. Actually a good play for UW. Randle will shoot 2 FTs — UW is in the double bonus — but the Bears trail by 3 points. Expect him to miss the second. Max is in the game. Same scenario as at USC, where Christopher needed to miss the second FT, but made it and Cal lost. Randle has made 33 in a row, and now he needs to miss one — the second one.
0:10.7 2nd H: Cal calls timeout after Nikola Knezevic — in on defense for Randle — steals the ball with 18 seconds left from Pondexter, who was driving to the basket vs. Boykin. Randle back in. Cal ball in in the frontcourt, inbounding from in front of their bench.
0:50.3 2nd H: Randle just hit a 3-pointer and Cal trails 77-74. Pondexter had scored on a tough shot from the key on the previously possession. Randle is playing with four fouls. UW ball.
3:05 2nd H: Things have flip-flopped and UW leads 71-68. A drive by Elston Turner, then a 3-pointer by Turner has given the Huskies the lead. Cal just turned it over on an errant pass from Robertson to Sanders-Frison. Cal has just two Randle FTs on its past five possessions. UW ball.
7:48 2nd H: Cal’s lead is 64-61 after a drive by Boykin, who is playing a superb game and has 20 points. Cal in the midst of a 12-0 run. UW hasn’t scored since 11:21 — closing in on four minutes, which is a long stretch in a game like this. Robertson has 25 points. Thomas and Pondexter 16 each for UW.
9:52 2nd H: It’s changed, and in a hurry. First, Tyreese Breshers and Bryan-Amaning — UW’s two big men — each picked up their four PFs. Boykin hit a baseline shot, then a hook and free throw, then Robertson just swished an easy 3-pointer off a pass from Randle, and UW’s lead is jsut 61-60.
11:47 2nd H: Randle checking in after the timeout. It’s still 59-51 UW. Cal ball. Something needs to happen soon — Randle, Christopher and Amoke are a combined 4-for-20.
11:57 2nd H: Thomas just completed a three-point play on a breakaway layup and free after a needless foul by Christopher. It’s 59-51 UW — biggest lead by either team. Monty called timeout, but did not put Randle back in.
13:03 2nd H: Randle comes out after getting his third PF at 14:09. Robertson has 22 points. Pondexter just hit a tough fadeaway shot on the baseline and has 14 points. UW leads 54-51. Christopher is 1-for-8, 0-for-4 on 3-pointers. Randle is 2-for-7. Cal is 2-for-12 on 3-pointers. (By the way, Tony Gonzalez is here).
15:42 2nd H: The half started poorly for the Bears, who turned the ball over on their first two possessions. UW led 46-39 after a dunk by Bryan-Amaning. But Robertson continues to power the Bears. He scored on a drive/FT, fed Boykin for a jumper and just scored again on a drive to the basket to tie the score at 46-all, and will shoot one FT to give Cal the lead. He has 21 points.UW is shooting more from the perimeter — and not making them right now. Huskies are 2-for-8 in the half.
HALFTIME SCORE: UW 41, Cal 37. Bears are shooting 37 percent, UW is at 56 percent and Cal trails by only four points — a fair tradeoff. Four Cal players with two fouls — Randle, Amoke, Boykin and MSF. The Bears are 2-for-9 from 3-point and Christopher and Randle are each 0-for-2 from deep. Robertson has scored 16 points, but Christopher has just six and Randle four. The two have combined to shoot 3-for-13. Cal will need at least one of them to come alive if it expects to win. Washington is 11-for-11 from the FT line. Things Cal has done well: UW only six offensive rebounds, the Bears 10; Cal only three TOs, the Huskies eight; Zhang gave Cal five solid minutes with two offensive rebounds, a block and another play where his reach forced Overton to fire up a short over the backboard.
3:47 1st H: UW leads 34-31. Randle returned at 4:28 — he sat for 4 1/2 minutes and it went from 26-25 UW to 34-31 UW. So the Bears lost only two points in the interim. Montgomery is using far more of his roster than he has recently — partly because of fouls and perhaps partly because it’s the third game in three days. Nine different Cal players have seen action — two more than the entire game Friday. There have been 16 lead changes and three tie scores.
5:01 1st H: Sanders-Frison picked up his second PF — Max is in.
7:24 1st H: Cal leads 29-28 — both teams playing very well on offense. Randle picked up his second foul at 9:05 when he had to slap at Pondexter going to the basket in transition after others didn’t get back on defense. Monty was not happy. Randle is sitting — can’t imagine it will last too long. Pondexter, quiet early, is warming up — has he UW’s past eight points. Venoy Overton, Washington’s pain-in-the-rear backcourt defender, also has two fouls and is sitting. Robertson playing great — has 13 points, including a spectacular flying tipin. Amoke just got his second foul before the timeout. UW is shooting 11-for-17, Cal 12-for-25.
11:47 1st H: The tempo continues to be very brisk, but not out of control, which works for Cal. They’ve played more than eight minutes and Cal does not have a turnover. Gutierrez just stole the ball from Thomas, leading to a Randle fastbreak layup off a pass from Christopher. Venoy Overton answered with a 3-pointer for UW and a 20-18 lead, but Robertson scored on a drive to tie the game and will shoot one FT. If he makes it, we’ll have our ninth lead change. UW shooting 8-for-12, Cal 8-for-19. Nikola Knezevic in for Christopher.
13:54 1st H: A fast pace so far — tied at 14-14 with Isaiah Thomas going to the FT line to perhaps complete a three-point play. Robertson has two 3-pointers for Cal and Boykin has two baskets. Randle started on Thomas, but the Bears switched Christopher onto him. Now UW is trying to take advantage of Randle with Gaddy taking the ball inside — he has two baskets on drives to the hoop. UW is shooting 6-for-9, Cal 6-for-15. The Bears have allowed UW zero offensive rebounds and have no turnovers so far — two keys. Gutierrez is in for Amoke.
STARTING LINEUPS: For Washington, it will be Matthew Bryan-Amaning, Quincy Pondexter, Justin Holiday, Isaiah Thomas and Abdul Gaddy. Cal will go with Jerome Randle, Patrick Christopher, Theo Robertson, Omondi Amoke and Jamal Boykin. No surprises on either side.
GREETINGS: Back here again at the Staples Center for one more game — the big one. Cal and Washington have completed their warmups, the Cal Straw Hat Band performed the national anthem and we’re awaiting starting lineups.
Former Cal great Darrall Imhoff is here, and so is uber-Bears fan Adam Duritz of Counting Crows. Word is former two-sport star Tony Gonzalez — who had Villanova’s Tim Thomas almost cowering in a 1997 NCAA matchup — also is expected to be in the crowd. Another face in the crowd: retired Arizona coach Lute Olson.
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March 13th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
Adam Duritz? What a douche.
March 13th, 2010 at 4:07 pm
The official score is actually 2 point short for Cal. Look at the tape. The second basket of the game by Boykin was never counted. Can someone please recognize this as these two points may be crucial.
March 13th, 2010 at 4:16 pm
Jon Wilner is a douche.
March 13th, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Did anyone else hear the CBS “bracket expert” who said that the loser of the Cal/Washington game would be one of the first 4 left out of the NCAA tourney? If Cal loses this game and doesn’t make the tourney I would be so pissed. I just can’t imagine the regular season Pac-10 champ not making the cut.
And Adam Duritz is a diehard Cal fan who beds hotties. What’s not to like there?
March 13th, 2010 at 4:35 pm
Seth Davis and Greg Anthony are either complete morons, or CBS has something against the Pac-10. Can’t believe they said the loser of this game is out of the NCAA tournament. Unreal.
March 13th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
Upsets are the reason. As I said before I don’t like games between a team that has to win and one that doesn’t. Purdue- Minn UTEP- Houston and quite a few other games today illustrate this.
Having said that I do believe we will win lol
March 13th, 2010 at 5:10 pm
Gutierrez is cleary hurting. That and Monty bringing msf in again may have cost us the game. Stick with max.
March 13th, 2010 at 5:19 pm
Theo and Jamal played well. Randle and Christopher were not very good. They need at least 3 of 4 to beat a team Washington.
I am happy they played a close game. They haven’t played one in awhile and need the experience. They have struggled in close games all year, but hopefully this experience helps.
March 13th, 2010 at 5:20 pm
Well I hope we get picked for the NCAA but when there are so many upsets in conf tourneys the risk of being passed over is greater. We didn’t take care of business today and will probably get a poor seed.
March 13th, 2010 at 5:35 pm
Gonna cry if we don’t get in, which I think is a real possibility. Guerrero better come through. And please no 9 seed.
That Boykin 3 point attempt late was the anti-senior leadership shot. No one came open to help him. Too many mistakes down the stretch.
How it was so close with such poor 3 point shooting says a lot, though. It was a great basketball game, worthy of a Championship Game.
March 13th, 2010 at 5:40 pm
Thanks Digger…
March 13th, 2010 at 5:46 pm
Randle and Christopher are chokers. Couldn’t deliver on big game day. Theo and Boykin were clutch (although that last 3-pointer from Boykin was ill advised.) Randle is out of control, has always been. He loses as many points and games as he wins. I’ll bet Montgomery can’t wait until Randle leaves the program and he can bring some discipline to the program. This isn’t the Chicago playground, for Pete’s sake. Gutierrez was uncharacteristically bad……not good defense, too many fouls, too many forced shots. Cal needs to live by the 3, can’t force it inside. Man to man defense, particularly with a good defender who is hassling that overrated Randle will always result in a loss for Cal. Expect they will make the NCAA tourney, expect they will lose first round (or second round for sure.)
March 13th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
I still don’t understand Monty’s lack of use with Max. The guy impacts the game and he only got in because of foul trouble.
March 13th, 2010 at 5:57 pm
I hope this loss pushes us down to a 10 seed. I doubt it, but 8/9 would be a lot worse. Either Guerrero gets us to 7, or I’m hoping we get a total lack of respect and end up as a 10.
March 13th, 2010 at 6:46 pm
I had said midway thru the game that I wouldn’t be mad if UW won, b/c they are good, but now I am left with the bitter pain of defeat and I am thinking about 3 lame plays:
1) Amoke’s dunk which didn’t count to start the game
2) foul on Theo as he tried to defend a fastbreak layup. He didn’t touch the man at all, but they call a foul b/c they think there is going to be one.
3) foul on Christopher as he tried to defend a fastbreak layup. He didn’t touch the man at all, but they call a foul b/c they think there is going to be one.
Basketball is a very tough game to officiate, so you can’t put it in the refs hands, but too often the refs cause the winner as much as the players. I always say that if you want to win, you need to win by 10. Otherwise, quit your bitching.
March 13th, 2010 at 8:31 pm
Phantom fouls…how about the Turner poke-away from Randle in the last seconds that was followed by a no-touch ‘em foul that gave California a last gasp?
March 13th, 2010 at 9:01 pm
Romar coached a good game. He pressured Randle like the dickens and never let him get comfortable. Cut off the head and you’re set with Cal.
But there is no way Cal is being left out of the tourney. Come on people – get real. Anyone who watched Cal lately sees they pass the “eye test” with ease. It just ain’t gonna happen so let’s move to another topic. Like, how come Christopher didn’t get going? Was he guarded that closely too?
March 13th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
Randle’s lane violation really sums up Randle’s day, a day filled with mental errors. Not so much the in execution but the shot selection when he is clearly not feeling it, trying to score a layup while 3 6+ footers are waiting for you at the rim, hence easily getting blocked, not good. On a positive side, if Cal has any chance of going deep in the tournament, ncaa, this loss is actually not bad. All winning streaks have to end at some point and I didn’t see Cal continuing to win into the big dance. So a loss at this point is not that bad actually. In fact i was hoping for an earlier loss so that Patrick and the other banged up guys can get some rest.
March 13th, 2010 at 9:52 pm
I am very proud to be an alum of a school that puts a bunch of guys like this on the floor. These guys are winners. They will succede in life. They will be remembered long after my CAL 2010 PAC 10 Champs shirt is discarded. Monty is a very good coach. Oski Wah Wah!
March 14th, 2010 at 7:29 am
In regards to the CBS “bracket expert” its Greg Anthony who is far, far, far, from an expert just another good college player who couldn’t make it in the NBA and now thinks he knows what he’s talking about it because he does it once a weekend for CBS. His word is like me telling everyone here who the #1 overall see should be. What do I know? Greg Anthony shut your mouth idiot.
I honestly think Cal is going to make some noise in this tourney. And I think Jamal Boykin will have alot to do with it. I wasn’t sold on this guy a few years back but after this year we wouldnt be where were at right now if it werent for his heart, passion, and play. The offense will be there, lets just rebound and defend for 40 minutes and we’ll be good.
One last note: Pac-10 Refs are absoloute garbage in all sports. I have been saying this for years and that our refs are the laughing stock of the NCAA. You can count on 1 hand how many lane violations have been called this year in the Pac-10. I have watched every single cal game that has been on and havent seen 1 called. Then they call one in title game with 4.4 left? Are you serious? Do I think Monty should’ve had Randle make it? Yes. Foul and take our chance because we have 3 of the best 3 point shooters around but the refs call was absolutley ridiculous. The shit thing is Jamal had the board but let up when he heard the whistle.
-Go Bears!
March 14th, 2010 at 8:13 am
good comments Kyle. pac 10 reffing is at an all time low. i’ve watched every Cal game and lots of other games and the pac officials are so awfully inconsistent.
terrible calls both ways in this game, but as usual it hurts us more because we’re smaller.
we had to intentionally miss cause we only had 5 team fouls and needed to foul twice to get them to 1-1 in only 4 seconds.
blame Knez for wasting 10 seconds and not calling a timeout then also blame Knez for not fouling quickly at the end.
March 14th, 2010 at 9:12 am
I think the coach can call a T.O. also. Blame Monty for not calling it, not a player in the biggest game of his life who hasn’t played much. Monty gets paid to do it!
March 14th, 2010 at 9:30 am
coach can’t call a TO in a pressure situation – and Knez was fast breaking while Monty screamed for a TO. yes, Knez got thrown in there but use your brain.
March 15th, 2010 at 9:00 pm
Ha! Knez, you could say, had a “senior” moment. Or a “Not so Senior” moment, as it were…
ha ha ha