Category: Cal Bears

Stanford De-Barked by Utah Inside Maples Pavilion on the Last Day of 2022, 71-66

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Utah guard Rollie Worster (25) shoots against Stanford forward Brandon Angel (23) during the first half at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto on Sat Dec 31, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Michael Roberson

STANFORD, Calif. — The Stanford Cardinal (5-9, 0-4 Pac-12) remain winless in conference play after being chopped down by the undefeated (division) Utah Runnin’ Utes (11-4, 4-0 Pac-12), on a rainy New Year’s Eve on the Farm, 71-66.

Stanford trailed most of the initial 20 minutes of play, and fell behind by ten points early in the half. Utah had a 10-0 run to sustain their advantage on the road. The Cardinal managed to make a 7-0 charge, and had a deficit of that same amount of points (7) at intermission, 30-23.

Sophomore forward Harrison Ingram led the Cardinal with seven points and five rebounds, while senior center Branden Carlson topped the Utes with 11 points.

In the second stanza, Utah pushed the lead back up to double-digits within the first three minutes after the break in action.

Although the Utes pushed their advantage to as high as 16 points, the Cardinal kept chipping away and cut the margin to single digits several times, getting as close as two points away from their guest from the Beehive state with just over two minutes left in regulation.

However, Utah was able to hit crucial free throws down the stretch, while Stanford did not, resulting in a five point loss, 71-66.

The Cardinal was led by senior forward Spencer Jones’s 16 points and four rebounds. Sophomore guard Isa Silva added 11 points, junior forward Max Murrell chipped in ten points. Ingram only added two second half points to his halftime total, tallying nine points, seven rebounds and five assists, but 0-3 from the free throw line in crunch time.

The Runnin’ Utes had four players in double-digits: Sophomore guard Lazar Stefanovic (20), Carlson (18), junior guard Gabe Madsen (10 points & 7 rebounds) and senior guard Marco Anthony (10).

Stanford will next be in action Friday, January 6, 2023, across the Bay in Berkeley, for part one of the Battle of the Bay versus Cal. Utah will be back in Salt Lake City to host Oregon State, January 5, 2023.

Utah stifles Cal, hold Bears to season-low points in 58-43 win

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–The Cal Bears losing streak has been laid to rest. But another menace has surfaced: Pac-12 defenses.

Utah came to Haas Pavilion on Thursday with two missions: get a win in the wake of a pair of frustrating losses and a commitment to lean heavily on their defense in the process.

Missions accomplished.

“The bright side is we held them to 43 points,” Utah coach Craig Smith said of the Utes 58-43 win over Cal. “That is hard to do. I don’t care who you play when you play. To do that, that is hard. Defense travels, so super excited about that.”

Utah held the Bears to 34 percent shooting from the floor and that combined with a holiday-dented crowd of fewer than 2,000 made for a quiet night in Berkeley.

The Bears welcomed super senior transfer DeJuan Clayton to their rotation but got little in return. Clayton showed his rust and the significance of having just two practices in missing eight of his ten shots. With Clayton, Cal’s plodding attack changed little as they struggled to create separation from Utah’s attentive defenders. That standstill was best reflected in Cal’s underwhelming total of four assists on the evening.

“We didn’t help each other offensively,” coach Mark Fox said. “Defensively, we did okay.”

“We got some pretty good looks, especially in the paint,” said Kuany Kuany, who led Cal with 12 points. “We didn’t convert, and we can do better.”

The Bears trailed 27-18 at the break then found some disruptive defense of their own to climb within 33-31 with 13:40 remaining. But the Utes steadied and cruised from that point, leading by as many as 16 with 1:37 to go.

“That first media timeout wasn’t pretty in our huddle, but to the credit of our guys, they showed self-awareness,” Smith said. “Nobody was pointing fingers. They manned up to it and figured it out.”

Cal’s leading scorers, Devin Askew and Lars Thiemann, suffered the worst. Askew returned from missing Cal’s first win over Texas-Arlington and wasn’t right, taking just three shots and scoring seven points. Thiemann was hounded by the Utes’ big front line, missing six of his eight shots before fouling out late.

The Bears fell to 0-3 in Pac-12 play and will now look to getting their initial conference win against Colorado on Saturday.

“If we can get healthy and whole, I think we can make some headway,” Fox said, “but we’re going to have to grow up.”

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No. 2-ranked Cardinal women defeat Cal 90-59

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Stanford guard Hannah Jump (33) passes the ball while defended by California guard Leilani McIntosh during the first half at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto on Fri Dec 23, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Friday, December 23, 2022

Haley Jones and Hannah Jump combined for 38 points for Stanford Friday, leading the No. 2-ranked Cardinal to a 90-59 women’s basketball victory over California at Maples Pavilion. It was the Pac-12 opener for both schools, and the Cardinal’s eighth straight win over Cal.

Jones scored 21 points, hitting 10-of-14 from the field, while pulling down 10 rebounds to go with four assists. Jump scored 17 points, including five 3-pointers.

Cameron Brink had 11 points, five boards and two blocked shots, Kiki Iriafen was next with nine points and seven rebounds, and freshman center Lauren Betts contributed nine points for Stanford (13-1 overall, 1-0 Pac-12).

Jayda Curry led the Golden Bears (9-3, 0-1) with 20 points, followed by Leilani McIntosh with 17.

The Cardinal led 47-29 at halftime, and outrebounded Cal 48-25. Stanford’s bench outscored the Bears reserves 26-12.

Stanford travels to Berkeley on Jan. 8 to face the Bears at Haas Pavilion. On New Year’s Eve, the Cardinal host Arizona State, while Cal hosts No. 18 Arizona.

Stanford Cardinal basketball podcast with Daniel Dullum: Cardinal defeat Loyola in Santa Cruz Thursday night; Stanford women host Cal Friday

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Stanford women celebrate their 13th win over the Creighton Blue Jays at Maples Pavilion on Tue Dec 20, 2022 in Palo Alto (@StanfordWBB photo)

On the Cardinal podcast with Daniel Dullum:

#1 Daniel, Sister Jean’s essence back in the Windy City wasn’t enough to prevent the Stanford Cardinal (5-7) from downing Loyola Chicago Ramblers (6-6) inside Kaiser Permanente Arena, 75-62.

#2 Daniel, The Cardinal meant business in the first 20 minutes of play, by going on an 8-0 run and leading by 17 points at the half, 37-20.

#3 The Stanford increased the advantage to 21 points early in the second half, and cruised in Santa Cruz to the final horn for an impressive victory south of of the Farm, 75-62

#4 Daniel, Stanford women’s head coach Tara Van Derveer was hoping to give her starters a rest but the Cardinal ran into trouble in the second half and the starters had to come in off the bench.

#5 Stanford’s (13-1) Haley Jones had 16 points and eight assists in 37 minutes against Creighton (8-4), freshman Talana Lepolo got her season second best with 17 points. No.2 Stanford beat Creighton No. 21, 72-59 on Tuesday night.

Join Daniel Dullum for the Stanford Cardinal podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A Win For Cal: Bears blow past UT-Arlington for their first win of the season

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–The Bears have a win, but they still have a conference schedule to attack as well, so the end of the longest losing skid was partnered with the briefest of celebrations.

“It’s been a tough start, obviously, and they deserve to get a reward,” Fox said.

The Bears’ 73-51 win over Texas-Arlington on Wednesday afternoon brought to an end a saga that defined the team for the first half of their schedule and needed to end before the wins get even more elusive during Pac-12 play.

Simply, the Bears don’t want the streak to define them, so they enter Christmas break with the purpose of being prepared for Utah a week from Thursday.

A one-win team can’t exhale with so much of their season still to play.

Missing Devin Askew because of an ankle injury didn’t prevent Cal’s fast start in which they led by nine at halftime, and pushed their advantage to 22 with 11 minutes remaining.

Joel Brown reprised his role as the team’s aggressive scorer by attacking the basket with tremendous results. Brown introduced himself in Cal’s most recent loss at Santa Clara, and he picked it up on Wednesday.

Brown and Lars Thiemann led the Bears with 17 points each, and Kuany Kuany added 16.

UT-Arlington allowed 57 percent shooting to Cal, the highest number the Mavericks allowed this season. Shemar Wilson led the visitors with 14 points, 11 rebounds.

“This is about as disappointed as I’ve been after a game all season,” UTA coach Greg Young said. “We have to get more mature. We didn’t handle success well after the win at San Francisco, and we didn’t play hard enough tonight.”

0-12: Cal still winless after an encouraging 71-62 loss at Santa Clara

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By Morris Phillips

The Bears found more contributors, but the expanded mix didn’t add up to an elusive first win.

Cal returned to the hardwood after an eight-day break for final exams but couldn’t pass their test at Santa Clara, falling 71-62 to the Broncos.

Cal (0-12) is now the only winless team in 363-member Division I, and their 15-game losing streak dates back to February.

The Bears were competitive early but went quiet offensively in the five minutes before halftime, then finished the game without leading scorer Devin Askew, who suffered an ankle injury.

“We had a little drought at the end of the half that we didn’t recover from,” coach Mark Fox said.

The Bears trailed 34-25 at the break and by as many as 13 early in the second half before rallying to gain some competitiveness with the host Broncos.

Eight Bears scored in the first half, and a season-best nine scored in the game led by Joel Brown’s 13 points. Five Cal players made a 3-pointer, but ultimately Santa Clara’s 47 percent shooting from the floor was too much to overcome.

“Our defense has to get better. We’re just giving up percentages we can’t withstand,” Fox said.

Brandin Podziemski, the sophomore transfer from Illinois, led all scorers with 20 points. Santa Clara also got 17 from rim-running big man Parker Braun on 8 of 9 shooting and 13 from Keshawn Justice.

Afterwards, SCU coach Herb Sendek lauded Podziemski for his play at both ends, including taking charges that resulted in offensive fouls on Brown and Sam Alajiki in the game’s final minute as well as picking up his defensive intensity when teammate Jaden Bediako was limited to 13 minutes due to foul trouble. Bediako’s misfortune gave opportunities to reserves Camaron Tongue and Jacob Holt, and they delivered for the hosts as well.

“It’s so great to see a total team effort because that’s the nature of our sport,” Sendek said. “That’s the beauty of what we’re blessed to have an opportunity to do.”

Can Cal break through and win one with so much scrutiny and focus on their troubled, injury-marred season? Consider this: the Bears will likely be favored to win in their final non-conference game on Wednesday at Haas Pavilion against Texas-Arlington. After that, conference play will mean far more capable opponents with NCAA and NIT aspirations.

Over the weekend, UCLA, USC, and Arizona scored huge wins against ranked Southeastern Conference opponents in Kentucky, Auburn, and Tennessee. Utah, Arizona State, Colorado, and Washington have eye-opening, non-conference wins as well, and Oregon State is vastly improved and clearly ahead of the Bears at this point as well.

Whatever Cal gets in Pac-12 play will be hard-earned.

Cal Bears podcast with Michael Duca: Cal tries to get that first win of the season Sunday against Santa Clara

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Grant Newell who scored a career 17 points said he would rather have wins than be the top point scorer takes a shot against the Butler Bulldogs guard Simas Lukosius (41) on Sat Dec 10, 2022 (Cal Bears photo)

On the Cal Bears podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 Grant Newell and Devon Askew led Cal in scoring with 17 points each against the Butler Bulldogs who wiped out the Bears 82-58.

#2 Three of the top shooters for Cal Lar Tiemann, Newell and Askew despite their efforts it’s just not enough for Cal as they can’t buy a win at (0-11).

#3 Newell’s 17 points was a career high and was 7-13 shooting Saturday it was Newell’s best game of his career.

#4 For Askew he had that outstanding game against USC back on Wed Nov 30th scoring 23 points, scored 25 points against Arizona on Sun Dec 4th, sat out due to health reasons against Eastern Washington on Wed Dec 7th and scored 17 points against Butler last Saturday.

#5 Michael talk about how important it was for Cal to take a full week off as they get ready for the Santa Clara Broncos (9-3) for a 2pm tip this Sunday at Santa Clara which is considered their third true road game.

Join Michael Duca for the Cal Bears podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com. Michael is a beat writer for the Golden Bear Insider a publication for everything Cal basketball.

Defensive Breakdown: Cal offers little resistance in 82-58 home loss to Butler

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–At some point, being winless isn’t just about being outmanned and outgunned. Lack of effort is going to seep into the mix as well. That’s just how human nature works.

On Saturday, the Butler Bulldogs tested the 0-11 Bears inside, and the home team’s lack of resistance was obvious. Butler converted 25 of their 36 shots inside the arc and backed that dominance with 11 of 14 shooting from the foul line. The result was a wire-to-wire 82-58 win for the visitors that they at one point led by as many as 30 points.

“This is the first time I think that we weren’t able to saddle back up and play a style of defense that gave us a chance,” Coach Mark Fox said. “We just could never get a stop.”

“Our team, as offensively challenged as we are, has to be very good defensively, and tonight we were not.”

Cal’s only highlight was a 9-2 run that interrupted Butler’s fast start and pulled the Bears to within 24-20 with 8:11 remaining before halftime. But Cal couldn’t back it up, scoring just six more points and trailing 41-26 at the break.

Butler coach Thad Matta pointed out the dilemma Cal faces in regard to their less than talented roster. The Bears struggle to score, given their lack of depth and inability to make shots. But when their opponent shows up defensively, things can get ugly in a hurry.

“Our activity was really good off the ball, and then we closed down quick,” Matta said of the Bulldogs’ defense. “(Cal) is not a quote, unquote, great shooting team. But I felt we did a much better job of making them miss. They never got a lot of open looks against us, which is just our guys being active.”

Sam Alajiki was Cal’s only bench contributor with five points as Cal failed to take advantage of Butler’s unusually heavy reliance on their starters. No team other than Notre Dame gives heavier minutes to their starters than Butler, but they made it work against Cal as all five scored at least 12 points while playing at least 25 minutes.

“We wanted to try to move them and get the ball inside via pass or the drive,” Matta said. “I thought our guys really did a good job of that.”

Simas Lukosius and Jayden Taylor both had 16 points for Butler. Guard Chuck Harris had 14 points, four rebounds, and four assists.

Freshman Grant Newell had his best game for Cal with 17 points, three rebounds. Devin Askew returned after a one-game absence due to health and safety protocols and also put up 17 points, but Askew needed 20 shots, missing 13, to get to 17.

The Bears are now one of just two teams in Division I without win as Louisville also lost Saturday to fall to 0-9. The Bears get their next opportunity to capture an initial win a week from Sunday at Santa Clara.

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Michael Duca: Bears clawed and battle but came up two points short

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The Cal Bears guard Joel Brown drives against Eastern Washington at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Wed Dec 7, 2022 (Cal Bears photo)

On the Cal Bears basketball podcast with Michael:

#1 The Cal Bears (0-9) received bad news before Wednesday’s contest against Eastern Washington when they announced that leading scorer Devin Askew and freshman ND Okafor would be unavailable due to health and safety protocols. 

#2 Then the Bears coughed up 17 turnovers and never led in a 50-48 loss to the Eagles of the Big Sky Conference, a team they had beaten in all three, previous meetings.

#3 The Bears trailed 45-36 with 5:22 remaining only to rally and tie the contest at 48 with 33 seconds left on Joel Brown’s made free throw. But Tyreese Davis’ layup on EWU’s next possession gave the visitors their winning margin.

#4 In the final seconds, Kuany Kuany missed a three-pointer that would have given the Bears a lead. Sam Alajiki’s foul put EWU’s Casey Jones on the foul line, but he missed both attempts. Brown’s desperation 3-point attempt then fell short at the final buzzer as Cal loses by two points 50-48.

#5 Cal hosts the Butler Bulldogs (8-2) on Saturday afternoon at 2pm at Haas Pavilion how tough will that one be for the Bears as they seek their first win of the season?

Join Michael Duca does the Cal Bears podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Bears Fall To 0-10: Eastern Washington nips Cal 50-48 with tie-breaking basket in the final minute

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–The three points the Cal Bears were lacking on Wednesday night undoubtedly were nearby in street clothes.

The Bears received bad news before Wednesday’s contest against Eastern Washington when they announced that leading scorer Devin Askew and freshman ND Okafor would be unavailable due to health and safety protocols. For a team desperate to end a 12-game losing streak dating back to March, the news was devastating.

Then the Bears coughed up 17 turnovers and never led in a 50-48 loss to the Eagles of the Big Sky Conference, a team they had beaten in all three, previous meetings.

The Bears trailed 45-36 with 5:22 remaining only to rally and tie the contest at 48 with 33 seconds left on Joel Brown’s made free throw. But Tyreese Davis’ layup on EWU’s next possession gave the visitors their winning margin.

Steele Venters, Eastern Washington’s leading scorer, was held to just four points before fouling out, one game after he scored a career-best 33 in a win over North Dakota State on Saturday. With Venters struggling, Davis led EWU with 14 points, and Angelo Allegri added 11.

With Askew unavailable, the Bears were left thin in the backcourt as Brown started as the only true guard with walk-on Wrenn Robinson in reserve. Brown logged 34 of a possible 40 minutes but committed three of the 11 turnovers attributed to Cal’s starters.

In the final seconds, Kuany Kuany missed a three-pointer that would have given the Bears a lead. Sam Alajiki fouled EWU’s Casey Jones, but Jones missed the front end of a one-and-one. Brown’s desperation 3-point attempt then fell short at the final buzzer.

“I’m really proud of this win,” EWU coach David Riley said. “Our guys were focused and closed (Cal) out. It’s something we worked on after the NDSU game in end-of-game situations. For our guys to get better at what we practice is really encouraging.”

Lars Thiemann led Cal with 16 points, and Kuany added 10. The Bears missed 13 of their 15 attempts from distance and shot 39 percent from the floor.

The Bears, Central Connecticut State, and Louisville are the only teams left on the 363-team Division I landscape without a win. Cal gets its next opportunity for a win on Saturday at home against Butler.