(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
California's very first possession in its first-round matchup against Maryland—a full-court press by the Terps resulting in a careless pass and a backcourt violation—was quite prophetic for the entire contest.
The Bears didn't have an alarmingly high amount of turnovers -14 - but from the very first play, Maryland tried to make sure Cal did not feel comfortable running its offense during the game. And as many people (most importantly, Gary Williams) know, that offense is the three point shot.
Cal was forced to wast a lot of time simply trying get the ball across half-court, and consequently had trouble setting up decent looks from downtown.
Just weeks ago, Cal gave Arizona a taste of its lethal long range arsenal, nailing a season-high 16 three-pointers—including eight by guard Jerome Randle (who had six the second half alone).
But Thursday, it would be a different story, as the Bears would shoot an anemic 29.2 percent from beyond the arc. Randle and Theo Robertson, both of whom rank in the top-25 nationally in the category, were held to a combined 4-for-11 from beyond the arc.
And Patrick Christopher—perhaps one of the streakiest players on the team—failed to connect on all seven of his attempts from distance to finish with 10 points.
Meanwhile, it was Maryland that connected from downtown and turned it on late. The Terrapins shot 10 of 21 from three, with junior guard Greivis Vasquez sparking a 21-8 second half run to blow open a game that was knotted at 51 apiece.
How did such a close game turn into a double digit loss? Another key play helps tell the story: during a Maryland fast break, Bear defenders were hustling back and pointing fingers to assignments.
The problem? No one got back to cover Eric Hayes. The result? Open three. Indeed, Cal struggled with help defense throughout, but also failed to keep Terrapins off the glass—giving up 16 second-chance points while pulling down just three offensive rebounds in the second half.
These two trends—an off-night from the perimeter and getting outmuscled on the glass—have been Bears' downfall particularly in its last too conference competitions.
Against Arizona State in its regular season finale, Cal went ice-cold from deep, mustering just 26 points in the first half—by which point the game was not even close.
In the Pac-10 tourney against USC, the Bears simply got manhandled on the boards by Taj Gibson and company (51-25) and fell short with a valiant comeback.
With most of its core group coming back in '09-'10, Cal may very well have the same identity next season. But one lives the three and dies by the three. On both sides of the ball, the Bears must prepare for the moment when shots stop falling if Cal is to avoid another one-and-done tournament again.
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