Dec. 1, 2009
Wednesday: No. 25 Cal at Lobos, 7 p.m., The Pit
On The Air: CBS College Sports HD (Comcast 274; DirecTV 613); 770-AM KKOB
Online: GameTracker, game story on GoLobos.com
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
The Cal-Berkeley Bears get your attention quickly for a number of reasons. Here are maybe the top four eye-grabbers:
1. The Bears were picked to win the Pac-10 title. Hey, not a bad league for hoops.
2. The Bears have two of the best guards in the Pac-10 and two of the best guards in the nation in Patrick Christopher and Jerome Randle.
3. The Bears have 7-foot-3 Max Zhang.
4. Cal is ranked No. 25 in the nation.
Now, Cal-Berkeley isn’t exactly a household word when it comes to college hoops. The Bears last played in a Final Four in 1960. They did once have Jason Kidd. But when you are picked to win a conference loaded from top to bottom with tradition, respect and hoop prestige, it gets your attention.
The Bears (4-2) have Lobo coach Steve Alford’s undivided attention and that’s with New Mexico State visiting The Pit on Saturday.
“We understand the task at hand,” said Alford. “You are talking about a Top 25 team.”
The bad part about that is the Bears are a Top 25 team. That means they are good. The good part about that is the Lobos get a shot at knocking off a Top 25 team.
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“This type of game lets you see how you stand on a national level,” said UNM’s dynamic freshman, Jamal Fenton. “This game will help us see where we’re at and what we need to work on.
“Cal gets more attention than us. If we can beat them, we’ll get more attention.”
In order to beat Cal and maybe get more attention on the national level, Alford’s Lobos have to pay attention to detail and to Randle and Christopher. The pair was preseason First Team All-Pac-10 picks. Randle is hitting at a 20.5 clip and Christopher is at 13.8 points per game.
The 7-3 Zhang is more of an inside presence than he is an inside scorer. He averages four points and four rebounds. But he does take up some space.
“Their strength isn’t their size. I don’t think the size concerns us,” said Alford. “But you are talking about two All-Pac-10 First Team guards. This will be our toughest challenge of the year so far.”
The Lobos haven’t exactly been challenged in The Pit, but have staged two gutsy wins on the road – at NMSU and at Hawaii. The Lobos have posted their unblemished 6-0 record with a smooth combination of focused offense and rock-hard defense.
The defense surely will come in handy against Randle, Christopher and Jamal Boykin, a hot-shooting 6-foot-8 senior forward. So far, the young Lobos = one senior on the roster, period – have been all ears (and moving feet) when it comes to Alford’s message about how much he likes to see his Lobos play defense.
“Our defense has been killer,” said Fenton. “Coach Alford is such a competitor and the athlete in him comes out and we feed off that. When I came here, I knew the Lobos would have scorers, so I felt I needed to bring something else and I decided it would be defense. I have no problem playing defense.”
Fenton, fast becoming a Pit crowd pleaser, helps provide exactly what the Lobos need in their upset bid against Cal: a spark to spark The Pit. “I hope I can do that,” Fenton said of rallying The Pit. “When they are behind us and loud, it makes a big difference.”
Alford obviously has seen a few areas in which his young Lobos need to improve. Mostly, they need game time and on-the-court challenges. UNM has one senior, Roman Martinez, and one junior, Dairese Gary, who saw action as a Lobo in 2008-09.
But these pups haven’ been puppy-like so far. They won by 10 points at NMSU. They won by 12 at Hawaii. Their closest call in The Pit was 16 points over Cal Riverside.
Alford said his Lobos were a little unfocused in the first half at Hawaii, but shouldn’t have that problem against a ranked team out of the prestigious Pac-10. Martinez agrees.
“This is a huge challenge,” said the El Paso product. “We’re not going to just show up and beat a Top 25 team. They are athletic and big and we’ll have to show up with our A-game.
“Cal’s a great team and they can score in bunches. It’s important for us to take their best shot when it comes, and keep on fighting.”
The Lobos haven’t played a ranked team in The Pit since No. 15 Air Force on Jan. 9, 2007. That was an 8-point loss. UNM’s last win over a ranked team was Feb. 21, 2005 over No. 13 Utah, 65-54.
The Lobos do a good job of defending the Bob King Floor. UNM is 43-2 in its last 45 non-conference game at home and the Lobos are riding a 13-game Pit win streak.
The Bears are coming off an 81-60 home win over Princeton. Cal’s losses came to ranked Syracuse and ranked Ohio State. The Bears return four starters from a team that went 22-11 in 2008-09 and led the nation in 3-point field goal shooting.
That’s what Alford means about the Bear’s size not being a huge concern. The Bears like to bite teams from the outside.