Can Sariöz

It will definitely be a busy offseason for head coach Lindsay Gottlieb and her coaching staff as they try to come up with a new gameplan for the Bears in the post-Anigwe era.

The Connecticut Sun drafted the 2019 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year with the ninth overall pick in the WNBA draft.

Aside from leading the nation in rebounds, Anigwe averaged 1.7 blocks and 1.0 steals per game, dominating the floor on the defensive end.

After missing last year’s first-round loss, Anigwe will definitely want to make an impact for Cal with her fellow senior Asha Thomas and graduate student Receé Caldwell. The Bears will try to control the pace of the game with their experienced players.

The Bears’ outlook will definitely change once this class hangs up its Cal jerseys, and Gottlieb will have a busy offseason creating a different game plan for the young Bears to stay competitive once the era of Anigwe and Thomas is over.

We have seen several times this season when Cal guards dribble around and find Anigwe in the perfect spot or just drop the ball to her on the post, but seeing a guard put a screen for her post player is not an everyday sighting.

The downfall for the Bears was 3-point shooting, as when Anigwe was taken out of the equation by the Cardinal defense, Cal relied heavily on the deep shot. The Bears, however, made only one (yes, one) of their 13 attempts behind the arc in the second half.

Good 3-point shooting teams always have a puncher’s chance against any opponent, and Cal will definitely have one in this tournament. The Bears are a 36 percent 3-point shooting team, but they are shooting a blazing 44.4 percent behind the arc in their four-game winning streak.

Cal finished the conference with a 9-9 Pac-12 record, and a recent increase in performance probably clinched them a berth in March Madness, as the Bears are projected as the eighth seed in ESPN’s bracket predictions.

Everything is in place for Cal to snap its road losing streak and go to Las Vegas with a four-game winning streak, and the Bears are likely looking to raise some eyebrows in the conference championship.