A Close One

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, February 7, 2007

You look at the shooting numbers and wonder how Cal is in this game, but at halftime it’s 37-36 Huskies. Washington looks out of sync on offense but is still shooting 66.7 percent while Cal is shooting 44 percent. Washington also is outrebounding Cal 19-11. But the Huskies also have 10 turnovers and Cal has just two, giving the Golden Bears a 34-24 advantage in shots taken. Cal is outscoring Washington 20-14 in the paint. The Golden Bears are doing a really good job of moving the ball around and getting open shots.

Jon Brockman is clearly taking it upon himself to make sure his team doesn’t get outrebounded again, as he has nine boards, but he’s just 1-for-4 from the foul line. Ryan Appleby has made all four of his shots and leads the Huskies with 10 points. Quincy Pondexter has done nothing since re-joining the starting lineup, going 0-for-3 and getting shut out. Spencer Hawes seems to be getting the ball too far away from the basket, which negates his height, though he has six points on 3-for-5 shooting.

Ayinde Ubaka didn’t start for Cal, which came as a surprise. Instead, the Bears started three freshmen. But Ubaka played significant minutes regardless, scoring eight points. Ryan Anderson, my choice for Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, has just five points on 2-for-5 shooting. Theo Robertson leads Cal with 11 points.