The Cal men's basketball team played two games in New York this weekend and returned with three losses.

On the court, the Bears couldn't overcome early deficits against Syracuse and Ohio State, leaving Madison Square Garden with their first two blemishes of the season.

The squad also came home with an injury to senior forward Theo Robertson, who traveled with the team but ended up sitting out both contests after pain in his right foot worsened.

Not surprisingly, his absence had a negative effect on Cal.

"It makes us an awful lot easier to guard, that's for sure," coach Mike Montgomery said.

Unfortunately for the Bears (2-2), they might have to get used to playing without the veteran.

Robertson, who had an MRI on Monday, will not play tonight against Jacksonville at Haas Pavilion at 7:30 p.m.

His injury means a spot in the starting five for sophomore Jorge Gutierrez. The backup point guard is averaging 6.3 points per game so far this season, and his playing time increased slightly in Robertson's stead -- but not significantly.

"If he's gonna play, then he's got to recognize that he can't be as aggressive, perhaps, in the first part of the game," Montgomery said.

"When you're down some people, you have to start thinking, 'How do I stay on the floor?'"

Gutierrez will have to answer that question against the Dolphins (0-1), who dropped their first game of the season against Florida State but who have been predicted to win the Atlantic Sun Conference.

The Mexico native is often successful as the first player off the bench, providing a spark with his defensive pressure. In each of his first two career starts, however, he picked up two first-half fouls, limiting his minutes and thus his ability to create turnovers.

Without Robertson for the indefinite future, Cal might need Gutierrez to stay on the floor.

"Jorge brings something to our team that maybe a lot of teams don't have," shooting guard Patrick Christopher said. "That energy that he has is tremendous for this ball club."

It remains to be seen whether Gutierrez's intensity can make up for the pinpoint accuracy that Robertson has shown from long range.

Each of the two players has converted four of six shots from distance so far this season, but Robertson -- the school's all-time leader in three-point shooting percentage (44.0) -- is significantly steadier with his stroke after four seasons with the Bears. He made 48.7 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc last year. Gutierrez, on the other hand, shot 30.8 percent from distance.

"(Gutierrez's) percentage is pretty good," Montgomery said. "(But) he's like a lot of our guys -- they miss a couple, they lose their confidence a little bit."

Even though eight of Cal's next 11 games are at home, confidence could be especially important for a team whose depth had already taken a hit. Junior forward Harper Kamp, a post player who was an integral piece of the 2008-09 roster, has not played this season due to a lingering knee injury.

For Christopher, forward Jamal Boykin and point guard Jerome Randle -- who carried the scoring load with 51 points in the Bears' last two games -- a shorter bench means even more weight on the seniors' shoulders.

Said Montgomery: "We're gonna have to be strong in this preseason, especially when we're not healthy, to slug through some wins if we can."

Tags: THEO ROBERTSON, CAL MEN'S BASKETBALL, PATRICK CHRISTOPHER, JORGE GUTIERREZ, MIKE MONTGOMERY