Cal at Oregon

I was going to post something before the game saying that the Oregon game was the biggest game of the season - that the Bears could not afford to go into Eugene and lose. But I didn't want to jinx it.

Oh well.

I am not sure if this is a situation where because they only have played two road games all season that they are no good on the road, or just not used to it. I think that is probably the case. They need to get used to it. Our last half of the season is more on the road than at home. Including this weekend, it is 10 vs 7. The good news is that the RP! discounts road loses, and gives extra credit for road wins. The bad news is, even with the Bears pretty good record, they are ranked 74 in the RPI - about 20 points higher than they need to be.

The Bears played poorly. Oregon is a team ranked currently 26 in the RPI, but is probably the one team ranked that high that Cal can beat. And we needed this road win for the tournament committee. I know that there is a long season left, but the Pac 10 is so tough this year that there can be no let down. Devon Hardin decided once again not to show up. He shot only twice, scoring two points in 24 minutes. Yikes!!!

In years past, Ben Braun teams would let some get away that they should not, and win some that they should not. In fact, we have beaten UCLA at least once in 9 straight seasons (thanks, Lavin). This year, the Bears can not afford to play that game. Every little thing matters, more than ever. This is the most talented team that I think Braun has had. But it is also the most talented that the Pac 10 has been. By a lot.

It is good news that we play Oregon State on Saturday. Lets be clear - that is a must win. With an RPI at 242, a win at Oregon State will still probably drop us in the RPI standings a bit. This is our third worst matchup from an RPI scenario, with only Jackson State and Long Beach State having worse RPIs than Oregon State. They are currently undefeated in Pac 10 play. We need this win.

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Speaking of RPI - there have been some changes this year. Remember last year, when Cal played Kansas in Kansas City? That was not a Kansas home game, since that was more than 100 miles from Manhattan, Kansas. That was a Neutral site game. So Cal did not get the RPI credit for going to Kansas to play them there. So the loss hurt more than it should have.

This year, that has been changed. Now, the definition of a home game is who controls the ticketing process. Since that was not on our season ticket package, then it would not have been a home game.

Likewise, in seasons past, the Pete Newell Classic would have been a home game, because it was close to home. Now, because the Bears do not control the distribution of tickets, I believe that it would be a neutral site game.


GO BEARS!!