Bears could be in for a dogfight against the Aggies

November 24, 8:23 AMCal Bears ExaminerRob Calonge

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Cal Bears Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

At first glance, this game between a Pac-10 also-ran and a MEAC also-ran doesn't seem to be that difficult a contest.  The MEAC is nothing more than a mid-major conference and doesn't get the type of talent that even an also-ran from the Pac-10 would get.  In fact, you'd assume that the Bears sitting at 3-0 so far this season could beat a middle of the road 2-2 NC A&T team without breaking too much of a sweat.  Don't.  This 'middle of the road' team is young and talented and on their way up, so the Bears have to prevent that upward momentum from rolling over them.

Mike Montgomery would love to have some of the stats that the Aggies bring with them to Haas Pavilion tonight at 7:30pm PST.  As a team, the Aggies average 10.3 steals, 5.0 blocks, and 39.8 rebounds-per-game!  I've had to check my stats a couple of times while writing this, those aren't typos.  With stats like that, you wonder how this team is 2-2, but after further review you find that they have a couple of stats that keep this team from being a power house - turnovers and shooting.

For the season, the Aggies have beaten non-Div I talent and lost to Div I teams UCF and UNLV.  Much of the reason for their trouble is the horrid .71 assist/turnover ratio, which is low due to the fact that they have averaged 20.3 turnovers-per-game.  That doesn't help when you are shooting poorly as well.  So far this year, the Aggies are shooting percentages are .460 from the field, .305 from beyond the arc, and a really low .612 in free throw shooting.

When head coach, Jerry Eaves took over the Aggies program five years ago, they were a 1-26 team, but last year they completed their second consecutive 15-win season and looking for more this year.  Eaves was finally able to recruit a talented big-man for the Aggies, 6'9" Thomas Coleman.  The sophomore forward/center is a big reason that the Aggies expect to make noise this season in the MEAC and possibly make it to an NCAA tournament bid.

He's a stat-stuffer.  He might just have nine points, but he's going to have 10 rebounds and five blocks, a few steals and a few assists. He's the first player like that I've been able to recruit here.
- Eaves when talking about Coleman

While Coleman is a star for NC A&T leading in rebounds (6.3) and blocks (2.0), the team is led in scoring by 6'7" senior power forward Ed Jones, who is averaging 15.3 ppg and shooting .421 from three-point range.  Right now, Jones is option number one for the Aggies on the offensive side and he's also averaging 4.5 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 0.5 blocks-per-game.

In the backcourt, Tavarus Alston is a 6'0" junior point guard that is still learning how to lead the team.  So far this season, he's averaged 11.3 ppg, 4.8 apg, 2.3 steals, and has a 1.5 assist/turnover ratio.  It's the assist/turnover ratio that he's working to improve in his first season as the starting point guard.  He's described as, "lightening quick," by Eaves, but it's probably too soon in the season for him to be dominant against stiff competition.

We’re getting better.  It’s just hard to win on someone else’s court, especially in the environment we played in tonight. But we are good enough to win some of these games. We just have to do the things necessary to win these kinds of games.
- Eaves after the Aggies 13 point loss to UNLV in a game they missed nine free throws

Another senior forward that the Bears will have to watch out for is 6'5" swingman Nicholas Wilson.  Wilson is averaging 13.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.5 steals-per-game, and .8 blocks-per-game.  He's also shooting .800 from the free throw line, so the Bears will have to be careful not to put him there.

Cal Bears Examiner Prediction - Even though the Bears face a team that can and probably will shock some major schools this season, it's too early to grant the Aggies an upset on Cal's home floor.  NC A&T's inability to limit their mistakes and an inability to sink buckets consistently is to their detriment.  Cal comes into the contest as the third best field goal shooting team in the country averaging .566 from the field and the number one team in shooting three's with a .590 percentage.

The Aggies aren't bigger, faster, stronger, or better shooters than the Bears.  When you don't have any of those to call advantages for your squad, you are looking at a very long night.  They are well coached, and Jerry Eaves has done a remarkable job, but that will only keep the score respectable.

Cal Bears 77 - North Carolina A&T Aggies 64

Here are the Bears extended stats coming into tonight's game: