It would be a shame if the Sun Devils’ Tourney hopes are dashed because of what appeared to be a terrible call late in the game. With under 30 seconds left, forward Jeff Pendergraph jumped over Davon Jeferson for an emphatic putback dunk to tie the game at 55, but the official under the basket called a loose-ball foul on Pendergraph.

Jefferson hit two free throws and USC took a 59-55 win after ASU missed two three-point attempts at the other end.

The officials should not be the ones deciding games, especially when there was so little contact. It was eerily reminiscent of UCLA’s win over Stanford, when Darren Collison was sent to the line with under 10 seconds left in regulation even though it seemed like he was swatted cleanly. (Click here to read more…)

Staples Center is visibly buzzing now, with the UCLA and USC cohorts finally filling this place up. The first game on tap for the day is a dandy. Arizona State likely needs a win to reach the NCAA Tournament, and must do it against a streaking Trojans team.

The James Harden-O.J. Mayo matchup pits two of the top freshman guards in the country against each other. Even though they are not guarding each other much–the Sun Devils are in a zone to try and contain Mayo and Daniel Hackett’s dribble-penetration, both stars are shining.

As I’m writing this, Mayo just brushed his defender off of him with a crossover from the left corner and stepped back to swish a deep two. He is playing a much more controlled game than earlier in the season. He drove into the lane, drew two defenders, and smartly dished it out to Hackett for an easy three to make it 32-28 USC. (Click here to read more…)

Wow. How about Ryan Anderson’s shot? Two seconds on the shot clock, Jerome Randle inbounds the ball to Ryan who comes off the screen, elevates and swishes a deep fallaway three just when the Cal men’s basketball team looked like it was going to falter at the end, just as it has all season long.

Actually, I was bracing myself for a loss since midway through the first half. The Bears came out a little flat on both ends of the floor. The defense for much of the game, especially the first half and the beginning of the second, was horrendous. Washington was able to penetrate to the rack with ease, and as soon as Ryan Appleby started draining his threes, I thought to myself how wrong my prediction was. (Click here to read more…)

There are a couple reasons why there is no way the Cal men’s basketball team is losing to Washington in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament on Wednesday at 6 p.m. (Click here to read more…)

2:00 p.m.: And that’s all she wrote. ASU’s rally falls short and Cal lives to play another day. Can you say Battle of the Bay Part III tomorrow night at the Shark Tank?

It’s almost a given. Final: Cal 65, Devils 61. (Click here to read more…)

Pac-10 Commissioner Thomas C. Hansen’s sitting right behind me, discussing how difficult it was to get tickets to Cal-Stanford at Haas Pavilion in February. I’m actually looking at the “Fire Pac-10 Commissioner Thomas C. Hansen” page … I hope my tiny 12-inch screen is entirely covered by my 185-pound frame, or things might get a bit awkward here in the media room at HP Pavilion, San Jose. (Click here to read more…)

See that question up there? The title of this blog post? I’m going to say no. Especially not after the No. 10 Cal women’s basketball team lost to Washington on Sunday.

But still, as the Bears prepare for the Pac-10 Tournament down in San Jose, the general feeling that the team has—or at least coach Joanne Boyle has—is that Cal can still snag a No. 2 seed for the NCAA Tournament.

“Win the tournament and get a two-seed,” said Boyle when asked what would be the ideal situation for the Bears at this weekend’s Pac-10 tournament.

But even if Cal can win three games in a row, upset No. 7 Stanford and take the conference tournament crown, can it get a two seed? It’s a long shot at best. (Click here to read more…)