MBB: California 60, Arizona 58 (and then there were two)

[NashvilleDevil]

From anyone about the west coast game currently going on.

[MCFinARL]

From anyone about the west coast game currently going on.

Is that an invitation or a warning?

[luburch]

Then there were two.

[DesertDevil]

All of my U of A friends were freaking out today because Digger picked Cal. Yes, I will enjoy their misery.

[burnspbesq]

On a day full of great plays, Cal's Justin Cobb tops them all. Fadeaway jumper from the corner with a seven-footer right in his grill for the win.

Cuse will be number one on Monday.

[burnspbesq]

From anyone about the west coast game currently going on.

Oh, you didn't mean UCI - Cal Poly?

[NashvilleDevil]

Oh, you didn't mean UCI - Cal Poly?

That's the one. Went large on the over.

[burnspbesq]

That's the one. Went large on the over.

Irvine wins, 64-50. I'm guessing you lost.

[luburch]

Early reports are Brandon Ashley could be out for the year with a broken foot.

[NashvilleDevil]

Irvine wins, 64-50. I'm guessing you lost.

Sure did. O/U was 122

[wk2109]

Early reports are Brandon Ashley could be out for the year with a broken foot.

Losing a key player to a foot injury when undefeated and ranked #1? Been there, done that (twice).

Hopefully the guy's ok though.

[FerryFor50]

About time. All of the undefeated teams have been getting fortunate lately with some of their wins. Only a matter of time before the Cuse go down. Wichita St, however, doesn't play anyone that can beat them.

[pfrduke]

About time. All of the undefeated teams have been getting fortunate lately with some of their wins. Only a matter of time before the Cuse go down. Wichita St, however, doesn't play anyone that can beat them.

This is really the big week for Wichita State. Two road games against the 2nd and 3rd best teams in the MVC. Even for these, Wichita St is a 75% favorite. After that, they're 90+% favorites in each remaining game. Pomeroy gives them roughly a 40% chance of going unbeaten through the end of the regular season, which seems both remarkably high for a team with 8 games left to play but also about right given the road they have to travel.

[Indoor66]

This is really the big week for Wichita State. Two road games against the 2nd and 3rd best teams in the MVC. Even for these, Wichita St is a 75% favorite. After that, they're 90+% favorites in each remaining game. Pomeroy gives them roughly a 40% chance of going unbeaten through the end of the regular season, which seems both remarkably high for a team with 8 games left to play but also about right given the road they have to travel.

Wichita State reminds me of St. Josephs and Phil Martelli back in '03-'04. Long unbeaten run then lost at the end of the season and lost in the Elite Eight. We have to see what Wichita State can do with the big boys.

[FerryFor50]

Wichita State reminds me of St. Josephs and Phil Martelli back in '03-'04. Long unbeaten run then lost at the end of the season and lost in the Elite Eight. We have to see what Wichita State can do with the big boys.

I thought the same. Except I think that St Joe's team was better. I'd love it if Duke was an 8 or 9 seed with Wichita St as their 1...

[weezie]

All of my U of A friends were freaking out today because Digger picked Cal. Yes, I will enjoy their misery.

Understood, but cal was the most likely to take them as your friends probably knew already. AZ needed the wakeup call in order to take the season far more seriously anyway. I wish I'd seen the game, Pac12 must have a lame tv contract over here on the right coast.

[Kedsy]

Wichita State reminds me of St. Josephs and Phil Martelli back in '03-'04. Long unbeaten run then lost at the end of the season and lost in the Elite Eight. We have to see what Wichita State can do with the big boys.

They went to the Final Four last season. Were the boys not big enough a year ago?

[Wander]

They went to the Final Four last season. Were the boys not big enough a year ago?

Or, maybe closer to home: Wichita State was tied with last year's national champion at the ~3 minute mark, and were only down by one possession with the ball with ~10 seconds left. In contrast, our Duke boys were down 20ish at those times. Perfectly fair to point out their weak schedule when comparing resumes, and they're not exactly the same team as last year, but they've proven themselves.

[Olympic Fan]

I watched the end of the Cal-Arizona game Saturday night (well, it was Sunday morning for me) and I had a problem with the ending.

Arizona has the ball with a tie score and the shot clock running out when Nick Johnson misses a floater in the lane with about 15 seconds left. Cal rebounds and pushes it down the court. Cobb hits the shot of the day (beating out Rasheed's 3 at the end of regulation -- an amazing shot ... a fallaway 15-footer over the outstretched arms of a 7-footer.

The shot goes through with 0.9 seconds left.

Now here's the part I don't like. Arizona doesn't have a timeout ... they hurry the ball inbounds and something throws up an 80-foot heave as the Cal students pour onto the court.

But, wait, the refs have stopped the game ... to check the clock and make sure it stopped when it should have.

Essentially, they are giving Arizona a free timeout to set up a play at the end. And there was no reason to -- after review, the refs left the clock at 0.9 seconds -- exactly what it was before.

Now, I can see calling for a review if a ref thinks that the clock didn't stop on time (or stopped too early), but there was no evidence of that here. The clock operator was perfect.

Luckily, it made no difference as Cal intercepted the long inbounds, but I still think they were wrong to give 'Zona a free timeout to set up the last play.

[Henderson]

Or, maybe closer to home: Wichita State was tied with last year's national champion at the ~3 minute mark, and were only down by one possession with the ball with ~10 seconds left. In contrast, our Duke boys were down 20ish at those times. Perfectly fair to point out their weak schedule when comparing resumes, and they're not exactly the same team as last year, but they've proven themselves.

Last year was last year. They played Iowa, at Tennessee, and Creighton twice. Then knocked off Gonzaga and Ohio State in the tournament. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

This year, they haven't played anyone of note. No Creighton (now in the Big East) and Tennessee at home. Otherwise, pretty meh. They might be very good, but their gaudy record isn't evidence of that.

It is impressive, though, to win all your games. That kind of consistency is tough. But no team will take them lightly this year. I look for a #2 seed and an exit before the Regional Finals.

San Diego State, on the other hand... Not undefeated (18-1), but pretty rocking schedule, including a win at Kansas and a 9 point loss (their only) to Arizona. Plus wins against Creighton and Marquette. They've been winning kind of ugly recently (including a OT win against Utah State), so I see them getting a high seed and fading in the tourney too.