The question is: Should these struggles be a surprise? The best comparison might be the 2005-06 season, when Cal had a young but talented team led by a caste of sophomores in Ashley Walker and Devanei Hampton, and with one of their players (AGL) sidelined with a season ending injury. That year Cal managed to go 10-6 in the Pac-10 and earned an 8 seed in the NCAA tournament. Like the 2010-11 Bears, they weren’t the greatest shooting team and really struggled from behind the arc, but they played consistent, rugged defense and rebounded very well.

It’s that consistent defensive intensity and effort that seems to be lacking right now. No matter how well Washington St. played this weekend, the Bears shouldn’t have allowed them to shoot 50% from the field. No matter how big an effort Washington made on the boards, Cal should not be getting outrebounded.