By Connor Buestad | Connor@Section925.com
For anyone who has been around Cuonzo Martin, heard him talk in a press conference, or even just watched him patrol the sidelines on television, he certainly has never come across as a man who is risk adverse or afraid of a challenge. The East St. Louis native and cancer survivor seems to radiate confidence and a killer instinct whenever he sets foot in the gym. On Tuesday night in Virginia, Coach Martin will have himself one of the biggest challenges he could expect to find in regular season major college basketball. And he couldn’t be happier to accept it.
Surely, when Coach Martin circled December 22nd on his calendar, he expected his Bears would be flying out to Virginia as a ranked team. Unfortunately, CAL’s nationally hyped, high-flying attack has weathered some turbulence through the first third of the season. Largely due to an inability to break down zone defenses with dependable outside shooting options, the Bears find themselves south of the top-25, without a victory against a ranked opponent.
Tuesday night in front of a nationally televised audience (ESPN2, 6pm) will be just the kind of resume building opportunity coach Martin is searching for at this point in the year. It will come against a top-5 team in Virginia. A team many are expecting to win the stacked ACC and have a good shot at reaching the Final Four in Houston. Vegas experts are expecting the home Cavaliers to win by a comfortable 12-point margin.
It should be interesting to see CAL play the role of underdog for the first time this season. At least on paper, the Bears have one of the most talented teams in the country and were granted a top 15 ranking to begin the year. But with losses to San Diego State and Richmond, as well as close calls against Wyoming, St. Mary’s and even the University of the Incarnate Word, CAL has been humbled early. Now with less than 12 weeks until Selection Sunday, it’s about time the Bears put the engine into high gear if they expect to do any sort of damage come March.
As mentioned, CAL’s woes have largely stemmed from a lack of shooting touch. For starters, freshman phenom Jaylen Brown has only managed to knock down nine 3-pointers during the first 11 games. Senior Tyrone Wallace leads the team in scoring with 16ppg, but has only made 60% of his free throws. As a whole, against a soft schedule, CAL has only shot 33% from three point land. By now, teams are consistently sitting back in zone defenses, forcing the Bears to slow down and prove their ability to knock down shots from distance.
On the bright side, Coach Martin’s team has proven they can get stops on defense and their offense has been spread out among many weapons, with all five starters routinely finishing in double figures. On top of that, CAL’s overall speed and athleticism has been spectacular to watch at times. The Bears will need to tap into this raw talent when they take the floor on Tuesday night.