HoopDreams said:

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We've been down big early before but I felt we could still come back as we were getting good shots, just not hitting them

Today half way through the first half I thought we would lose, possibly a blowout

AZ extended their defense and smothered us inside with their size

We were clearly outmatched

Big C said:

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For me, sometimes a word like "competitive" is hard to define, but I know it when I see it. Or when I DON'T see it, as was the case today vs. U of A.

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Today was the first game since early December that the Bears looked totally unprepared...the effort and camaraderie is there for sure, but the team has hit a flat spot. The ASU loss must have deflated this group as well it should have...now we will see what Fox can do to get them playing more efficiently and salvage some momentum in the last 6 weeks of the season.

In Sagarin's Recent, Cal is now #181 versus #143 in Predictor which indicates the team is getting worse.

UW is worse, #215 in Recent versus #154 in Predictor, and is the only game we might be favored in, though it might be a toss up with the game being in Seattle.

So do we beat utah again or did they just have a bad night last time?

oskidunker said:

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So do we beat utah again or did they just have a bad night last time?

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Utah has had issues, but here is what their beat writer wrote when we beat them after they knocked off Stanford: "No other way to say it... this is an absolute low point for @UtahMBB as a program in the past five years or so. This loss, especially after what happened Thursday, is inexcusable and embarrassing. A lot of soul-searching upcoming now"

Utah shot 26% from three against us and just collapsed in the second half (which they actually do often). It could happen again, but probably won't.

Quote Coach Mike Leach (MissiStu; CFB) on the differences between Lubbock and Wyoming:

''The people are incredibly similar. They're very friendly people here. The weather's nicer here. The mountains are shorter here.''

NathanAllen said:

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oskidunker said:

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So do we beat utah again or did they just have a bad night last time?

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Both can be true.

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Second half @Utah was the best basketball we have had in the Fox era. Apparently it was a mirage in the mountain/desert.

calumnus said:

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As of Feb. 15, Sagarin's Recent:
1. USC #8
2. Colorado #48
3. Oregon #52
4. UCLA #54
5. Stanford #61
6. Utah #73
7. WSU #78
8. Arizona #86
9. Cal #119
10. ASU #123
11. OSU #126
12. UW #217

Cal beating Colorado, the PAC-12's best team in Predictor, was huge. We are now the best of the lower third in Recent. It took over 20 games with multiple lineups but I think Fox now knows who he should have on the floor and we can win any of the games remaining with a chance to win them all.

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I almost want to say we're in 9th place in the conference!

Big C said:

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calumnus said:

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As of Feb. 15, Sagarin's Recent:
1. USC #8
2. Colorado #48
3. Oregon #52
4. UCLA #54
5. Stanford #61
6. Utah #73
7. WSU #78
8. Arizona #86
9. Cal #119
10. ASU #123
11. OSU #126
12. UW #217

Cal beating Colorado, the PAC-12's best team in Predictor, was huge. We are now the best of the lower third in Recent. It took over 20 games with multiple lineups but I think Fox now knows who he should have on the floor and we can win any of the games remaining with a chance to win them all.

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I almost want to say we're in 9th place in the conference!

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Funny we are behind Arizona, which basically blew us out. Could have been just a horrible match up for us due to length. That said, CU blew us out even worse and we got them back on Saturday.

KoreAmBear said:

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Big C said:

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calumnus said:

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As of Feb. 15, Sagarin's Recent:
1. USC #8
2. Colorado #48
3. Oregon #52
4. UCLA #54
5. Stanford #61
6. Utah #73
7. WSU #78
8. Arizona #86
9. Cal #119
10. ASU #123
11. OSU #126
12. UW #217

Cal beating Colorado, the PAC-12's best team in Predictor, was huge. We are now the best of the lower third in Recent. It took over 20 games with multiple lineups but I think Fox now knows who he should have on the floor and we can win any of the games remaining with a chance to win them all.

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I almost want to say we're in 9th place in the conference!

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Funny we are behind Arizona, which basically blew us out. Could have been just a horrible match up for us due to length. That said, CU blew us out even worse and we got them back on Saturday.

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If we had played the current starting lineup we would have been more competitive.

calumnus said:

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KoreAmBear said:

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Big C said:

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calumnus said:

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As of Feb. 15, Sagarin's Recent:
1. USC #8
2. Colorado #48
3. Oregon #52
4. UCLA #54
5. Stanford #61
6. Utah #73
7. WSU #78
8. Arizona #86
9. Cal #119
10. ASU #123
11. OSU #126
12. UW #217

Cal beating Colorado, the PAC-12's best team in Predictor, was huge. We are now the best of the lower third in Recent. It took over 20 games with multiple lineups but I think Fox now knows who he should have on the floor and we can win any of the games remaining with a chance to win them all.

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I almost want to say we're in 9th place in the conference!

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Funny we are behind Arizona, which basically blew us out. Could have been just a horrible match up for us due to length. That said, CU blew us out even worse and we got them back on Saturday.

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If we had played the current starting lineup we would have been more competitive.

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Ehh...Celestine was coming off an injury in HS.
He was not able to play as many minutes earlier due to a healing broken leg and rust from no senior year of High School. His development is on time if you ask me. Celestine is showing what he has, but he was unable to without gaining the experience through limited minutes earlier.

Cal is trending down, now the worst team in a league that is not very good. Sagarin Recent:
1. USC #24
2. Oregon #44
3. UCLA #46
4. Colorado #52
5. Arizona #57
6. WSU #59
7. Stanford #81
8. OSU #100
9. Utah #120
10. ASU #129
11. UW #166
12. Cal #190

NathanAllen said:

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Also, I just scrolled up and saw the update from after the Colorado game. Cal dropped from No. 119 to No. 190 in like six days. "Trending down" is a generous assessment, lol. Yikes again.

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Getting blown out by WSU and then losing to former cellar dweller UW will do that.

Pac12 in Recent:
1. Colorado #12
2. Oregon #19
3. USC #46
4. OSU #49
5. Arizona #50
6. Utah #60
7. UCLA #61
8. WSU #85
9. ASU #124
10. Stanford #128
11. Washington #197
12. Cal #199

Stanford played their way (or Haase coached his way) out of the Tournament. I like our chances as they must be demoralized. Colorado is a shoe-in and we beat them before though they might want to avenge their worst loss on their schedule and improve their seed.

Comparing Predictor and Recent shows improvement over the course of the season. The teams ranked in order of most improved to most regressed:
1. OSU -42
2T Utah -13
2T WSU -13
4. Oregon -9
5. Colorado -4
6. Arizona 0
7. USC +24
8. UCLA +27
9. UW +36
10. ASU +43
11. Cal +57
12. Stanford +59

Tinkle, Krystkowiak, Smith, Altman, and Boyle had teams that improved over the course of the season (relative to the rest of the NCAA).

Haase, Fox, Hurley, Hopkins, Cronin and Enfield saw their teams play worse over the course of the season (relative to the rest of the NCAA).