By Morris Phillips

If you’re an unrepentant sports cynic, the Warriors aren’t so much talented as they’re the right team at the exact time when shooting all of sudden became incredibly important.  And the Cal Bears?  If it weren’t for the demanding Pac-12 Network and its myriad of game times, the conference would be like most others where the road team actually has a chance.

Under those circumstances, the youthful, but talented Bears wouldn’t have capped a perfect home season on Sunday by cruising past USC, 87-65.  Instead, they would have stubbed their collective toes at some point, and dropped one of their 18 contests at noisy Haas Pavilion.

According to USC Coach Andy Enfield that’s in part why his Trojans disappeared Sunday just before halftime, unable to make a shot in a game that Cal quickly turned into their own.  Tied at 26, the Trojans missed seven consecutive shots and three free throws and found themselves down 14 at halftime, just that quick.

“Out of all the Pac-12 games this weekend, not a single road team won a game,” Enfield said.  “This league is very difficult to win on the road, especially when you’re spending long nights in hotels.  You go on the road for five days, and now we have to fly back and have our guys in class by 8 a.m. tomorrow morning.  So I think the road is harder in our league, especially with these longer road trips.  We’re 15-1 at home, and there were points when Cal struggled on the road, as well.”

Could Cal be a house of cards, ready to tumble at a drop of a hat?  With seven consecutive wins in which they’ve averaged 80 points and won by double digits in six of the seven contests, that’s hard to substantiate.  In fact, they look like a potential league champion, keeping with their status of being one game behind league-leading Oregon with two games to play.

“We’re like a well-oiled machine right now,” Tyrone Wallace said.”We’re playing really well and everybody’s contributing.  When everybody does their job I think you’re seeing what we could be.”

But now they’ll have to go on the road to prove their legitimacy.  Cal (21-8, 11-5) trails the Ducks and second-place Utah.  If they win twice in Arizona, the Bears would likely share the regular season title with one or both of the other teams.  But if they lose twice, they could finish fifth, all but wiping out all of the progress they achieved in their win streak.  The Bears appear greatly improved, but are they?

Enfield’s contention that Pac-12 road wins are hard to come by holds water.  But finishing undefeated for an entire home schedule is a rare feat, even in the still brief Pac-12 Network era, just completing its fourth year.

In those four seasons, Arizona finished undefeated at home in each of the last two seasons, both culminating in Elite Eight appearances for the Wildcats.  Those teams are joined by Cal and Oregon, who achieved the feat this season.   Both the Ducks and Bears have generated plenty of praise nationally, and not just for their play at home.

Besides, the Bears have grown more cohesive, especially offensively, over the length of the season.  Five Bears finished in double figures on Sunday, led by Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb with 18 points each.  Of the five, four made at least half their shots from the field.   A gaggle of crowd pleasing dunks and drives gave spice to Cal’s output, including Brown’s coast-to-coast drive in the final four seconds of the first half that put Cal up 44-30.

Defensively, the same paths to the hoop the Bears were enjoying, weren’t available to the Trojans.  USC’s youthful posts, Bennie Boatwright and Chimezie Metu, failed to convert even once, combing to shoot 0 for 13.  Once again, Cal’s size and rim protection bothered their opponent to the degree that it sent them home losers.

“On Thursday (at Stanford) we had four starters go 0 for 13 in the first half, and tonight we had two starters who were 0 for 13 all game,” Enfield said.  “It’s hard to stay with good teams, especially on the road when they have the crowd behind them and they’re playing well.”