Bears Head to Maples for Sunday Matchup

The California men's basketball team heads to Maples Pavilion for a rare Sunday evening game that could go a long way to determining the team's post-season fate. Thanks to Fox Sports, the game will tip off at 6 PM and will be televised nationally. Cal is 6-7 in the conference, good for a tie for 5th place at press time. Last year, the Bears snapped a 13-year drought at Maples with a 67-63 win.

On January 26 this year at Haas, the Cardinal prevailed 82-77. The key statistic was 21 offensive rebounds for Stanford, several of them off missed free throws. Cal hung around, battled, and had a chance to win, but couldn't finish the game off. After scoring zero points in the first half, Brook Lopez went for 23 in the second. Looking back on the game, Ben Braun said, "He got great position. If we give up deep post position we're making it easy for them." At times, it did look awfully easy for Brook.

Robin Lopez guarded Ryan Anderson, and held the league's leading scorer to 11 points. It was a tough night for Anderson. Braun noted, "I do think that with Stanford's defense, you're not going to get easy shots at the rim. Ryan usually can get to the rim or get to the foul line." It didn't happen at Haas.

Looking toward to Sunday night, Anderson said, "I definitely (need to) take advantage of my ability to take it to the hoop from the perimeter." Stanford leads the conference in defensive field goal percentage at 38 %, and the two 7 foot twins are a big reason. It's extremely difficult to score the ball inside against the Cardinal. As Anderson said, "The Lopez twins are just big, athletic, really long-armed, really good players."

As has been the case for most of the season, Cal's defense and rebounding will tell the story. Cal has been able to score, but they haven't always been able to stop the opposition. In conference games, the Bears rank 7th in defensive field goal percentage (46%), 9th in steals, and 9th in blocked shots. They have allowed a league worst 77.9 points per game.

DeVon Hardin needs to stay on the floor. He had 17 points at Haas, but fouled out of the game in just 19 minutes. Two of the fouls were setting screens on offense, and the Bears can't afford those mistakes.

Cal was fairly successful offensively against Stanford in the first game. They shot over 50% from the floor until the last two minutes when several desperation three-pointers lowered their percentage. They still finished the game at 47.5%.

Jerome Randle had 7 assists and just 1 turnover in the January game, but shot 3 for 12 from the field. Cal rolled the dice and got burned by Mitch Johnson, as the Cardinal point hit 3 of 5 from outside the arc and finished with 16 points and 7 assists. It was one of Johnson's best games. Cal will need that matchup to be more favorable to prevail on Sunday.

Putting more pressure on the ball might be the difference. In addition to Lopez's great position, Cal made it easy on the passer. Ball pressure is always a big part of defending the post. Cal went with big-to-big double teams on Brook in the January game, but it didn't seem to slow the Cardinal star in the second half. It is possible that the Cal coaches will come up with some different double-team schemes for Sunday.

Whatever the plan, Cal will need to rebound. With the exception of the first half of the recent Washington game in Seattle, the Bears have improved their defensive rebounding. Holding Stanford to one shot on each possession will be vital.

It won't be easy. Cal will need to shoot the ball effectively, limit turnovers, defend and rebound to have a chance. It would definitely help to get a typical Ryan Anderson performance. The Bears' star is definitely looking forward to the challenge.

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