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USF and Cal, teams with NCAA aspirations, can improve their odds.
By PETE YOUNG
© St. Petersburg Times, published December 1, 2001
TAMPA -- Sunday afternoon, March 10, 2002:
The NCAA Tournament field is just about set. One final piece -- the last at-large berth, a No. 12 seed in the Midwest Region -- will complete the puzzle.
The selection committee huddles, and, after much debate, it's narrowed to two teams for the last spot: California and South Florida. Who deserves it? The chance of that scenario occurring is slim, but the point is valid. USF and California, who play at 7 tonight at the Sun Dome, are potential "bubble" teams. When judgment day arrives, long-forgotten games like this -- early season, interconference, between teams on the tournament fence -- become major factors.
"They're in one of the top three leagues (the Pac-10) in the country and they're one of the top three teams in that league, so it's a big game," USF coach Seth Greenberg said.
California was 20-11 last season, earned a No. 8 seed in the NCAAs and was knocked off in the first round by No. 9 seed Fresno State. The Bears are picked to finish fifth in the Pac-10 by the Sporting News, second by Street & Smith's. They are projected to receive one of the final at-large bids and a No. 12 seed in the NCAAs by Sports Illustrated.
Cal is the type of quality team -- quality win -- that could give USF (5-0) a boost with the selection committee.
"This is a national, marquee matchup-type game," said Greenberg, whose team lost 79-69 at Cal last season. "It's a huge game."
Like USF, Cal is unbeaten. The Bears have opened with four home wins, most recently Wednesday against New Mexico.
Cal graduated its top player, the school's all-time leading scorer and Pac-10 player of the year Sean Lampley. Virtually everyone else is back and the Bears have much more balanced production. Seven players average between 7.5 and 10 points and six play between 20 and 26 minutes.
Six-foot-11 senior Solomon Hughes, Cal's second-leading scorer, will be paired against USF centers Will McDonald and Gerrick Morris. Morris, the defensive half of the combination, is coming off back-to-back games with eight blocks, and is emerging as one of the top defensive centers in the nation.
Hughes is joined on the frontline by prized recruit Jamal Sampson, also 6-11, who has been a rebounding and shot-blocking force. He could match up with Morris or McDonald, or with 6-8 B.B. Waldon, USF's best rebounder and a deft inside scorer. Waldon is coming off a season-high 23 points on 11-for-15 shooting in Wednesday's 86-63 win over Prairie View.
USF's leading scorer, senior forward/guard Altron Jackson, had an off game against the Bears last season: 11 points on 5-for-14 shooting.
"(Cal is) used to playing big games in the Pac-10, so they're going to come in here thinking they can win," Jackson said. "Great teams play consistent. If we go out there and do that, we'll be all right."
USF point guard Reggie Kohn has been sharp from outside this season, making 12 of 24 3-pointers. Last season against Cal he set a career high with six 3-pointers (nine attempts).
The Bulls, who are regularly playing full-court pressure defense, will have to do much better in that area than last season, when Cal shot 60.5 percent against USF.
"That's a West Coast team, they like to play up-and-down basketball," Jackson said. "So what we have to do is get back in transition."
Point guard Shantay Legans, (12), Hughes (11), sixth man Ryan Forehan-Kelly (11) and forward Joe Shipp (10) scored in double figures against USF last season.