Game of the Week- Saturday

The Saturday “Game of the Week” features two new additions to the feature: California (11-9, 4-4) and Oregon (10-10, 3-5). Both teams are coming off impressive wins Thursday against Oregon State and Stanford, respectively. The two teams square off at 3:00pm at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley.

While inconsistent, both teams feature the talented youth necessary to surprise any team in the conference on any given day. Cal has certainly experienced that with wins over the likes of Washington State and USC, while Oregon also has downed USC an upstart Stanford team. The real key to this game will be which team shows up for each school.

Oregon is a bit of a difficult team to figure out. At times, the Ducks look flat and completely overmatched. Yet, at other times Oregon shows flashes of their increasingly bright future. In his first year in Eugene, head coach Dana Altman has already begun to change the culture of Oregon basketball. A talented recruiter, Altman is beginning to find more and more success on the hardwood. The Ducks get much of their offensive output from forwards Joevan Catron (15.4 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game) and E.J. Singler (11.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg). But, what makes the Ducks a dangerous team is when their guards are knocking down shots. Garrett Sim and Jay-R Strowbridge are both potent three-point shooters when open, as are Singler and Teondre Williams.

Cal is led by junior forward Harper Kamp (14.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg), junior guard Jorge Gutierrez (12.2 ppg, 4.4 apg) and freshman Allen Crabbe (11.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg). With those three leading the way, and senior Markhuri Sanders-Frison chipping in a team-high 8.0 rebounds per game, the Bears have the potential to put points on the board in a hurry. However, be it the youth or simply streaky players, Cal also is wildly inconsistent. For instance, in a game against Notre Dame earlier this season, the Golden Bears scored just five first half points. Less than two months later, Cal’s offense caught fire en route to 42 first half points. If head coach Mike Montgomery can begin to get some consistency from his offense, the Bears may be a tough out come the end of the season and into the Pac-10 tournament.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Inconsistency can be infuriating as a fan, but perhaps even more so for a coach. In that sense, it is a miracle Montgomery and Altman have any hair left. While Cal and Oregon can both be very good teams when they are executing, the have both been frequently prone to inconsistent shooting and failing to execute both offensive and defensive sets. The outcome of this game may very well come down to which of the two teams show up. However, if neither or both teams display anything resembling consistency, it will likely be a very close game.

KEY PLAYERS

E.J. Singler- Singler is often Oregon’s most dangerous offensive weapon due to his high motor and willingness to do it all. Whether it is roaming the baseline, stepping out and hitting threes or getting put backs on offensive rebounds, Singler has the potential to take over a game against less talented players.

Allen Crabbe- Ever since promising freshman Gary Franklin announced his intentions to leave the program and transfer, Crabbe has asserted himself as the frontrunner for Pac-10 Freshman of the Year. A near 37 percent three-point shooter, Crabbe has the shooting ability to superbly complement the Bears’ strong inside game.