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		Morris Phillips on Cal basketball By Morris Phillips January 18, 2010

	Sportstalk: After a rather impressive win last Wednesday at Pullman 93-88 over the Washington State Cougars who have been a tough customer in their last few games the Bears moved on for their next game and went to Seattle and lost to the Washington Huskies who took care of business 84-69. A disappointed Mike Montgomery said it was a different game of defense against a club that was just simply lights out offensively all night. Where do you see the differences of the two games? Defensively, Cal has little to be proud of in either game. Against Washington State, the Cougs' young guards gave Cal fits with penetration and scoring, which is why a 20 point lead evaporated to four at the half, and 15-point second half lead evaporated to five at the finish. Against Washington, the defense never had a chance with Cal's offense feeding the Huskies with turnovers and quick shots. Once again, this is an average defensive team that is counting on above average rebounding and exceptional offense to make the difference in winning games. Sportstalk: Look at the offense for the Bears: 28 points for Patrick Christopher, Theo Robertson, 7, and Jerome Randle, 5. Did the Big Three provide the necessary effort, could they have done more offensively? Based solely on Randle playing so poorly, the Three could have done more. Washington never allowed Cal to gain a rhythm as their pressure defense was completely disruptive. Also, the Bears' leaders combined to shoot 4 of 17 from three, which is quite uncharacteristic of them. You always want to see Theo be more aggressive, but his offensive game is very deferential, and he's normally effective that way. Also, Cal missed 18 free throws and Randle didn't take any of the 50 they attempted, and the Bears managed just eight assists. All the numbers in this one were just plain ugly. Sportstalk: Oregon 10-7 (2-3) is coming to Cal on Thursday 21st with a three game losing streak, does this make the Ducks more dangerous knowing that they want to put an end to the streak and trying to snap that streak on the road? Also do you see Cal being able to shut down the Ducks? In a conference race this unpredictable, watered down and wide open, every team is dangerous. Mike Montgomery knows that, and he's the last coach that would allow his guys to overlook anyone. That said, Oregon couldn't be any less confident. They just lost three consecutive home games, and they never held a lead in any of the three games. Their crowd turned ugly, and the pressure on Coach Ernie Kent couldn't be any more intense. Like last year, when the Ducks flirted with an 0 for the Pac-10, they can't shoot straight, and Tajuan Porter, was benched against Arizona, then came off the bench and fired up a couple of airballs in a 1 for 7 shooting performance. Needless to say, advantage Bears.