BearTalk

FINAL SCORE: Ohio State 76, Cal 70. Will be interesting to get the Bears’ take on this one. They can’t be too happy — it’s a loss and they go home 0-2 at the Garden. But . . . they were down 52-28 with 15 1/2 minutes left and made this a game. They showed the fight and toughness that was missing against Syracuse. Turner was a monster for the Buckeyes, with 26 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. He’s the only Ohio State player who made a field goal in the final 15 minutes. Randle had 26 points for Cal — that’s 51 in two games. Amoke earned himself strong consideration for more playing time — perhaps a starting job — by totaling 11 points and 15 rebounds, much of it in the final 10 minutes. That’s all for now.

1:10 2nd H: Too much Evan Turner, who has 22 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, and has scored 14 points in the past 10 minutes. Cal trails 71-63 after two free throws by Amoke, who has played his best game with nine points and 13 rebounds.

3:51 2nd H: It’s not over yet. Cal got within 63-57 after a 3-pointer by Gutierrez, then a layup by Sanders-Frison off a Gutierrez feed with 5:07 left. But Jorge picked up his fifth foul on the next possession and Diebler made two FTs for OSU. It’s 65-57 after Christopher was whistled for a charge.

6:21 2nd H: The Bears are running out of time. It’s 63-52 after a putback by Turner. Cal has outscored the Buckeyes 18-9 since Diebler’s technical FTs, but it’s going to take something out of the ordinary to reverse this score.

7:55 2nd H: Ohio State leads 60-50, but the Bears are showing some guts. Randle has 17 points and Amoke has seven points and nine rebounds and has been in the middle of things recently. Turner has made some mistakes for the Buckeyes, but he has scored his club’s last six points and 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

11:09 2nd H: Randle hit a 3-pointer, Amoke converted a layup and free throw and Randle made another 3-pointer, pulling Cal within 54-45. The Bears have scored 11 straight since Diebler’s free throws following the technical foul. Did Monty do it on purpose? Either way, the Bears have new life and seem to be playing angry for the first time in two games. But Gutierrez picked up his fourth foul just before the timeout, and has taken a seat in exchange for Knezevic.

13:39 2nd H: Things just got exciting. Gutierrez stole the ball and Montgomery was called for a technical when Jorge was fouled by Turner. During a break, Randle called the players together and he and Boykin were very animated talking to their teammates. Diebler made both free throws off the “T”, but Gutierrez made his, too.

15:29 2nd H: Why the wait? Montgomery just called a timeout, and it may be too late. Not that anything he could say in the huddle will change what’s going on. Ohio State leads 52-28 and is in the midst of a 14-0 run that followed Randle’s 3-pointer. The Buckeyes are shooting 6-for-9 in the half, while Cal has missed eight straight shots. Sanders-Frison is on the bench with four fouls — again — and Gutierrez has three, although he’s still on the floor.

RANDLE’S ANKLE: Everything appears good. He’s moving well in warmups for the second half and is giving the ankle no special attention. Randle hit  a 3-pointer to open the half.

HALFTIME STATS: My unofficial totals were pretty good — 10 Cal turnovers, 6 OSU blocks. That’s 16 possessions that had NO chance. Cal shot 35.7 percent, while OSU converted 48.3 percent. The Bears shot zero free throws. Christopher leads Cal with eight points, but the man he has defended much of the half — William Buford — has 10. Turner, who is averaging 20.3 ppg and 15.0 rpg, has just four points, but has contributed six rebounds and four assists.

HALFTIME: Ohio State 38, Cal 25. The Buckeyes outscored Cal 17-6 after Randle’s 3-pointer got the Bears within 21-19. The OSU surge included runs of 8-0 and 7-0, the latter closing the half. Cal’s answer was seven turnovers and 2-for-7 shooting during that span. Randle seemed to turn an ankle driving into the lane on the final play of the half, but it may not be serious. We’ll have some halftime stats in a moment, but turnovers and blocked shots crippled Cal’s offense.

3:24 1st H: Cal got within 21-19 on a 3-pointer by Randle with 6:59 left. Since then, the Buckeyes have gone 8-0 for a 29-19 lead. In six possessions in the meantime, Cal has had four turnovers, one shot blocked and another barely hit iron. Cal can’t win this game in the final 3:24 of the half, but the Bears could possibly lose it if they’re not careful.

7:35 1st H: Buckeyes lead 21-16. Cal is competing much better than last night, although that certainly wasn’t the primary goal tonight. Amoke has given the Bears energy off the bench, and Nikola Knezevic is in for Gutierrez and staying with Turner so far. Unofficial Buckeyes blocked shot total: five, and at least two of them have led to transition 3-pointers against a defense not set.

11:13 1st H: Ohio State leads 18-12. The Bears are shooting 5-for-13, but have had three shots blocked. The Buckeyes are 7-for 13. Each team has two turnovers. Omondi Amoke came in for Sanders-Frison, making the Bears a bit smaller still. One night after going for 25 points, Randle is scoreless, and the Bears haven’t attempted a free throw..

14:24 1st H: The Buckeyes lead 13-7, thanks to three 3-pointers, including a pair by Jon Diebler. Christopher scored on Cal’s first possession — we’ll see if it’s a good sign after last night’s 3-for-17 start. And Gutierrez hit a 3-pointer. But Ohio State already has blocked two shots, meaning the Bears have had 11 swatted in 45 minutes of action here.

IN THE ZONE: Big surprise — Ohio State has opened in a zone defense. And Jorge Gutierrez is on Turner.

——————

OK, the Golden Bears are back to try again.

The big question: Who will defend Ohio State’s 6-7 junior forward Evan Turner?

That would have been Theo Robertson. Now who gets the call?

We’ll know soon.

STARTING LINEUPS: Cal goes with Markhuri Sanders-Frison, Jamal Boykin, Jorge Gutierrez, Patrick Christopher and Jerome Randle. Ohioh State: Dallas Lauderdale, William Buford, Evan Turner, Jon Diebler and David Lighty.

While Cal was watching videotape of Ohio State . . .

AROUND THE PAC-10

Nic Wise had 15 points, seven assists, five steals and five turnovers and Arizona (2-0) beat Ben Braun’s Rice squad, 66-49 in Tucson . . . Sophomore Klay Thompson had a career-high 37 points (15-for-20 FGs) and Washington State (3-0) beat IPFW 89-71, despite the fact that no one else scored more than seven points.

THE NATIONAL SCENE

No. 1 Kansas will win most of the time when it outscores the opposition 33-3 from the 3-point line. That’s what happened in the Jayhawks’ 94-44 win over Central Arkansas . . . Kentucky’s starters scored all the club’s points in a 102-92 defeat of Sam Houston State. Freshman guard John Wall had 21 points, six assists and six turnovers.

LOCAL HERO

Former St. Mary’s HS-Berkeley star Larry Gurganious, a tranfer from Gonzaga, had 21 points and nine rebounds as UC Riverside scored an 87-71 win over La Verne, playing without Shirley.

 In my scouting report prior to Thursday’s Coaches vs. Cancer semifinal game against Syracuse, I posed four questions worth considering this week.

With Cal set to face Ohio State in Friday’s third-place game, let’s revisit those questions and grade the Bears on their performance so far at Madison Square Garden:

– What does Cal’s No. 13 national ranking mean?

Suffice the Bears will not be ranked anywhere near No. 13 after their 95-73 loss. But it means little at this point in the season. No one would agree more than coach Mike Montgomery, who has often stated preseason rankings reflect only which teams have the best cast of returning players. Cal has plenty of time to demonstrate whether it deserves national recognition, but in the eyes of the New York media, at least, the Syracuse game will take time to overcome.

– Can the Bears’ three senior perimeter players deliver in a high-octane setting?

The Bears get an incomplete on this one, of course, because Theo Robertson was sidelined by a foot injury. He won’t face the Buckeyes, either, so Cal isn’t playing right now with a full deck. Return Robertson and forward Harper Kamp (knee) to the lineup at some point, and we’ll get the chance to see what this team can do. Of course, no one knows just when that will be.

Jerome Randle played well against Syracuse with 25 points, but Patrick Christopher had just six points and was shooting 3-for-17 until making three late baskets.

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FINAL SCORE: Syracuse 95, Cal 73. Yes, we had more wireless problems here at the Garden, then I had to sprint off to do post-game interviews and write my story for the print edition. So again, sorry  if it seemed like I suddenly dropped off the face of the earth.

A few post-game notes of importance:

– Mike Montgomery said there is no definitive diagnosis of Theo Robertson’s right foot injury, and that he expected on Wednesday that Theo would play. Then the pain became worse, even after Robertson did not practice Wednesday, so they pulled the plug. He wore a protective boot and will not play in Friday’s third-place game.

– Jerome Randle scored 25 points and was 5-for-9  from 3-point range. The rest of the team was 1-for-11 from beyond the arc, including 0-for-7 by Patrick Christopher, whom Monty defended, saying the Bears didn’t allow him to find any offensive rhythm. Christopher wound up with 12 points, six of them in the final 5 minutes, long afer the outcome was settled.

– Monty acknowledged that the two things he worried about most — Syracuse’s zone defense and its size — were the biggest factors in the game. But he was unhappy that 15 turnovers leading to 19 Syracuse points also contributed to the loss, and noted that the Bears became disorganized defensively at times.

– A couple other stats: Syracuse blocked nine shots, discouraging the Bears inside and forcing them to rely on perimeter shooting. The Orange bench outscored Cal’s reserves 41-12. Syracuse won easily despite missing nine free throws in the first half.

– Randle and Jamal Boykin, who had 14 points and eight rebounds, both said the Bears are happy they have a game Friday, so they can leave this one behind.  

12:30 2nd H: Cal has scored seven straight, including a 3-pointer by Randle, but Syracuse stil leads 64-48. Even so, Jim Boeheim called a timeout to settle his team. Randle has 21 points. Sanders-Frison is on the bench with four fouls, the third straight game he’s picked up four.

15:53 2nd H: We’re having some technical difficulties here at the Garden, so my apologies. Cal got within 44-35 early in the second half when Zhang blocked a shot, leading to a fastbreak layup by Randle. But Syracuse has opened things up and leads 59-41. Randle has 18 points for the Bears; not many other bright spots.

HALFTIME: Syracuse leads 44-33, despite missing nine free throws. So, clearly, it could have been much worse. Cal had 10 turnovers and Syracuse blocked six shots. Points in the paint: 20-10 for Syracuse. Randle had 14 points at halftime and shot 4-for-8. The rest of the team had 19 points and shot 9-for-28. Zhang started the second half.

0:31 1st H: The Bears called timeout and will try to take the last shot, trailing 44-33. A 3-pointer by Randle got them within 41-33, but Scoop Jardin just hit one for the Orange, who lead 44-33. Zhang has contributed in recent minutes, tipping in a miss by Randle and feeding Boykin for a layup.

3:55 1st H: Randle has 11 points, but no one else is providing the Bears any consistent offense, and Cal cannot stop the Orange. It’s 37-26, and Sanders-Frison is on the bench with three fouls. Boykin and Gutierrez each have two. Monty has few options at this point.

7:52 1st H: This is becoming a rout. Syracuse leads 30-16. The Orange is bigger, quicker, more aggressive and has Cal on its heels. Randle and Christopher came out of the game for the first time with 8 1/2 minutes left, and the Bears have turned the ball over on both possessions since. The Bears are relying on 3-point shots, not because the Syracuse defense is allowing them, but because Cal is getting its inside shots swatted. Randle and Christopher are back. And so is Boykin, even with two fouls.

11:42 1st H: The Orange leads 21-14. Syracuse’s size is giving Cal fits, but the Orange also is shooting it well from the perimeter. Max Zhang and D.J. Seeley are in the game. Seeley hit a 3-pointer to get the Bears within 18-14, but Brandon Triche answered with one of his own for the Orange. 

15:59 1ST H: Syracuse leads 9-7 and the Bears already are in foul trouble. Jamal Boykin went to the bench after his second with 17:58 left. 

STARTING LINEUPS: As expected, Cal will go with sophomore Jorge Gutierrez as its replacement for Theo Robertson (foot) in the starting five. The rest is the regular group: Markhuri Sanders-Frison, Jamal Boykin, Patrick Christopher and Jerome Randle. Syracuse will start Arinze Onuaku, Rick Jackson, Wes Johnson, Andy Rautins and Brandon Triche.

Theo Robertson was wearing a protective boot on his right foot while his teammates warmed up for tonight’s game with Syracuse and, obviously, will not play.

We’ll update later after getting comments from Robertson and coach Mike Montgomery, but this cannot be good news for a team whose hopes of improved depth may be fading.

Just got word from a team spokesman that senior small forward Theo Robertson has a right foot injury and, according to coach Mike Montgomery, is doubtful to play tonight.

The ailment apparently has not been fully diagnosed, and was not considered even potentially an issue until Tuesday evening. Robertson practiced in a limited fashion Wednesday and skipped today’s walk-through practice.

I don’t know much more than that, except that if Robertson is held out of tonight’s game vs. Syracuse, it’s apparently more of a precautionary move to make certain the situation doesn’t worsen.  It seems unlikely he would play Friday if he doesn’t go tonight.

The best guess is that sophomore Jorge Gutierrez would start if Robertson is held out. We’ll pass on more as soon as we have it.

Got  into New York this morning and spent a few hours — in an intermittent drizzle — walking around town. Central Park with the fall colors is spectacular. But by 4 p.m., the combination of cloudy skies and a skyscraper landscape made it feel as though the sun had set.

Found my spot here at the Garden, and there’s currently about two hours before tipoff.

Here’s my story from this morning’s editions on the challenge Cal faces in trying to solve the Syracuse 2-3 zone defense.

Here’s some of what we could find out about the Golden Bears this week at Madison Square Garden:

– What does Cal’s No. 13 national ranking mean?

If the Bears truly belongs to be ranked in the top-15 neighborhood, they should be at least competitive with anyone they might face in New York. This doesn’t mean they have to sweep two games to call the trip a success. Conceivably, the Bears could lose twice and still emerge looking like a good club. The point is, they need to play well against good teams to demonstate they are for real. A split certainly wouldn’t hurt their rep one bit.

– Can the Bears’ three senior perimeter players deliver in a high-octane setting?

The threesome of Jerome Randle, Patrick Christopher and Theo Robertson has combined to average 53.5 points through Cal’s first two games. Now they get the chance to do it in the Garden, not in familiar Haas Pavilion, and against superior athletes than they’ve seen so far. The Bears need their complementary guys to deliver, too, but Mike Montgomery makes no bones about it: If the Bears are going to play at a high level, their three best players are going to have to lead the way.

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While Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim was celebrating his 65th birthday . . .

AROUND THE PAC-10

 – Senior guard Dwight Lewis scored 22 points and USC beat UC Riverside 77-67 in new coach Kevin O’Neill’s debut with the Trojans.

– There has been an Eric Boating sighting in Tempe. The senior center had 21 points and 12 rebounds, leading Arizona State (3-0) to a 52-49 win over Texas Christian.

– Washington State signed Faisal Aiden, a 6-4 shooting guard from Hillsborough CC in Tampa, Fla. Aiden, who averaged 20.4 ppg last season as a freshman ar Hillsborough, was born in Somalia, grew up in San Diego, then played high school ball in Texas. He originally committed to New Mexico State in January 2008, but wound up at the JC instead.

THE NATIONAL SCENE

– No. 1 Kansas (1-0) opened its season and closed out ESPN’s 24 hours of basketball with a 57-55 win over Memphis. All-America center Cole Aldrich had 18 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots, and the Jayhawks needed every bit of it to survive . . . No. 2 Michigan State (2-0) came from 13 points behind to get past Gonzaga (1-1), led by 40 points from its backcourt of Durrell Summers (21) and Kalin Lucas (19) . . . No. 10 Tennessee (2-0) made 16 3-pointers and forced 29 turnovers in a 124-49 harpooning of UNC-Asheville . . . In the night’s ugliest game, No. 19 Georgetown (2-0) beat Temple 46-45 despite having more turnovers (16) than baskets (15) . . . Four nights after scoring 51 points, Rotnei Clarke managed just 16 for Arkansas, which lost 96-66 to No. 20 Louisville (1-0) . . . You didn’t think Duke (3-0) was going to lose to Charlotte, did you? Nah. The Blue Devils breezed 101-59, led by a career-high 24 points from Nolan Smith.

LOCAL HEROES

– De La Salle HS grad Kyle Roemer scored 18 points, but Colgate stayed winless after a 65-55 loss to Yale . . . One-time St. Mary’s HS-Berkeley star Larry Gurganious had 13 points, five rebounds and five assists for UC Riverside in its loss to USC . . . Oakland HS grad Damian Lillard scored 16 points in Weber State’s 68-57 loss to UC Santa Barbara.

On the night Kentucky’s John Wall made his college debut a memorable one, ESPN made sure even the insomniacs got enough basketball, televising 24 consecutive hours of hoops. How much of it did you watch?

Here’s some of what you missed:

AROUND THE PAC-10

– UCLA rallied from a 10-point second-half hole in its season opener, but Cal State Fullerton escaped Pauley Pavilion with a 68-65 double-overtime victory. The loss snapped a 37-game UCLA win streak in home games against unranked non-conference opponents. Fullerton beat the Bruins for the first time ever.

– Senior guard Derek Glasser scored 20 points and Arizona State (2-0) knocked off Texas State 84-62.

– Washington State (2-0) held off Eastern Washington 67-61 behind 24 points from sophomore Klay Thompson.  

THE NATIONAL SCENE

– John Wall merely had 19 points, five assists and three steals — oh, and the game-winning basket with 0.5 seconds left — in his college debut, leading No. 4 Kentucky to a 72-70 win over Miami-Ohio . . . Kyle Singler had 23 points and 11 rebounds and Duke clobbered Coastal Carolina 74-49.

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