In the midst of their first three-game losing streak of the season, California enters Friday night’s contest against Oregon State on some shaky ground, as an intriguing Golden Bears’ team needs to protect their NCAA Tournament chances with just three games left in the regular season.
In their last outing, California collapsed during a strong comeback effort from Oregon, who echoed a similar sentiment to their previous loss to rival Stanford, where the Golden Bears just seemed to look panicked and disjointed down the crucial stretches of the game. It’s that kind of glaring deficiency that can end up costing a team when it comes down to make-or-break time, like for example, if there was a scenario in which you’re hosting a 5-24 Oregon State team in a game that you simply cannot lose.