Category: Cal Bears

Cal breaks losing streak with 71-62 win, and hands Colorado a damaging blow to its NCAA aspirations

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA — A month ago, Colorado handed Cal its worst loss. On Saturday night, the Bears returned the favor.

Matt Bradley scored a career-best 29 points to lead Cal past Colorado, 71-62, snapping their seven-game losing streak in the process. Makale Foreman converted a pair of free throws with 16:58 remaining and the Bears never trailed again, a stunning reversal after the Bears lost by 29 points at Boulder on January 14.

“We played as well as we have all year,” coach Mark Fox said.

Buffs coach Tad Boyle tried to impress upon his club beforehand the sneaky challenge Cal presents in that they’ve piled up the losses while becoming increasingly competitive which they were in losing to Utah 76-75 on Thursday.

Apparently, Boyle’s club didn’t get the message.

“Cal is a team that’s playing better,” Boyle said. “They’re a helluva lot better than their record, I can tell you that. With that being said, this is a game we should have won, but we weren’t good enough tonight.”

“We did a lot of standing around,” said McKinley Wright IV. “The coaches had the perfect scouting report and we just didn’t execute.”

Colorado allowed the Bears to impose their plodding tempo, a task that became a lot easier with Cal getting off to a rare, fast start. The Bears led 10-4, 14-13 and after a long drought, recovered to lead 36-33 at the break. It was freshman Jalen Celestine, making his second start in place of Ryan Betley, that came up big for Cal in that regard.

Celestine scored nine of the Bears’ first 22 points–on three 3-pointers–to energize Cal while also taking the challenge of guarding Wright, a candidate for Pac-12 Player of the Year. While Celestine sizzled, Wright was held in check, finishing with 13 points (on 3 of 11 shooting) and two assists.

Bradley seamlessly followed Celestine’s lead with 15 before the break, and 14 after including a critical 3-pointer with 40 seconds that increased Cal’s lead to 65-60. The junior guard was 9 for 17 from the floor and 9 of 10 from the line in surpassing the 20-point mark for the fifth time in his last six games.

Colorado (16-5, 10-5) blew past Stanford on Thursday for their ninth win in 11 games, a run that has them in good standing with the NCAA Tournament selection committee. But should the Buffs falter in games against USC, UCLA or Oregon in their final stretch, earlier losses to Washington (167 in the Pomeroy ratings) and Cal (134) will receive greater scrutiny as bad losses.

“It gives us our fifth (Pac-12) loss and we’re back in the pack,” Boyle said. “Thought we had a chance to compete for a championship. We’ve just got to figure out how win our next one.”

Beating one of the conference’s best teams after nearly a month of losing typified the season for Cal (8-15, 3-13). Not particularly talented by Pac-12 standards, nor tall or deep, the Bears have confounded by staying engaged, when other teams might have splintered. Fox deserves credit for that along with his staff that hasn’t hesitated to shake things up. Celestine’s emergence is one of those moves. After not playing in seven games, and never seeing more than 18 minutes of action in any one game, the freshman played 33 minutes against Colorado.

“We felt like in the game today we could use him defensively against McKinley Wright because he has athleticism and size and he’s got great balance and so defensively I thought he was really good,” Fox explained.

The Bears travel to Washington next with their Pullman stop to face Washington State on Thursday. The battle not to finish last in conference play comes Saturday in Seattle against UW.

Cal Bears podcast with Michael Duca: Bears suffers it’s seventh consecutive loss; Drops close game to Utah 76-75

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Cal Bears Matt Bradley drives toward the basket against the Utah Utes on Thu Feb 11, 2021 at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley (utahutes.com photo)

On the Cal Bears podcast with Michael:

#1 The Cal Bears (7-15) almost did what they did in Utah and that’s beat the Utes but took a tough one point loss at Haas Pavilion 76-75.

#2 After only scoring 24 points in the first half of the game the Bears roared back with 41 second half points only to fall a point short. On the Utes side of the ball after losing to Cal at home in their last meeting the Utes were determined not to lose again to the Bears.

#3 The Bears Matt Bradley led Cal in scoring and kept busy on the floor as he was basically the go to guy in the second half finishing up with 20 points.

#4 In any close game everyone’s offensive effort counts and Grant Anticevich  with 18 points finishing second in scoring. Anticevich has had some good games offensively for Cal this season.

#5 Cal hosts the Colorado Buffaloes this Sat Feb 13th at Haas Pavilion. The Buffaloes defeated Stanford on Thursday 69-51 and have won five out of their last six games. Will the Bears have their hands full on Saturday?

Join Micahel Duca on Cal basketball podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears podcast with Michael Duca Fri Feb 12, 2021 by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud

Buzzer Beat: Missed free throw leaves Cal short in 76-75 loss to Utah

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Six consecutive losses didn’t leave Cal resigned to a seventh.

Instead the Bears battled visiting Utah in a tense second half only to miss a potential game-winning three with a second remaining and a critical free throw after Andre Kelly was fouled grabbing an offensive rebound with 0.7 remaining.

Kelly missed the first–then while trying to miss the second intentionally–converted, preventing the home team from coming up with a miraculous tip-in for the win.

“We had a tip-in play ready to go,” coach Mark Fox said. “It’s just hard to intentionally miss.”

The Bears trailed by ten at the half only to tie the game at 50, then lead 57-55 with 8:48 remaining. The Utes responded with the game’s next six points and never trailed again. But with Cal trailing 75-68 and 37 seconds remaining, the Bears didn’t quit.

Grant Anticevich’s steal led to Matt Bradley hitting two free throws to bring Cal within 75-70 with 33 seconds to go. After Timmy Allen made one of two from the line for Utah, Kelly followed his own miss and scored with 17 seconds left.

Allen was fouled again, but missed both free throws and Bradley’s layup got Cal within 76-74 with six seconds. Bradley was the trigger man on the potential game-winner setup by the Utes’ botched inbounds pass, but it rattled out.

Fox appeared to display displeasure with the referees after Utah paraded to the line in the final four minutes, in which they didn’t attempt a single shot from the floor. The Utes made nine of the first ten from the line to build a seven-point lead, but missed three of the next four free throw attempts to open the door for Cal.

Quite frankly, we got beat at the free throw line,” Fox said. “And that’s a hard place to defend”

The Bears showed tremendous character in making game of it, but put themselves in a hole by allowing Utah to shoot 58 percent in the first half. Also Utes’ reserve guard Ian Martinez was hard to handle, scoring 16 points, including nine in the final six minutes.

“My mentality is to just go out there and be helpful to the team however they need me,” said Martinez.

Allen led Utah with 18 points, and never came out the game, playing all 40 minutes. The junior forward wasn’t flawless however with five turnovers and the three late misses from the line.

The Bears led 31-30 in the first half only to see the Utes score 12 of the final 13 points before the break.

Bradley had 20 points to lead Cal (7-15, 2-13). Anticevich added 18 and Kelly 17. The Bears’ 31-21 edge on the boards was negated by 14 turnovers and 23 fouls committed.

“I told the team it’s not the last 30 seconds you stay up at night thinking about. It’s the first 39 and a half minutes. There’s a couple of mistakes in there we need to clean up,” Fox said.

The Bears host Colorado on Saturday at 7pm.

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips: Bears on six game loss streak face Utah Thursday in Berkeley

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Joel Brown (left) and Matt Bradley (right) of the Cal Bears try to grab the rebound against the Stanford Cardinal Sun Feb 7, 2021 at Maples Pavilion (Stanford Athletics photo)

#1 Morris another tough loss for the Cal Bears on Sunday night at Stanford 76-70. The only difference was that Cal had a slightly better game if you can call it that Thursday 70-55.

#2 Morris, it was that first half that Cal was frustrated with 35-24, their second half vast improvement 46-41 but fell sort by six points on the final tally.

#3 Cal was tied with Stanford at 22 in the first half with 4:24 remaining but Stanford roared back with a 22-4 run and never looked back.

#4 In what is now a six-game losing streak for the Bears–the longest skid under Fox–their opponent made at least half their shots from the floor for the fourth consecutive game.

#5 Thursday night the Bears host the Utah Utes, the Utes have won three of their last four games. The Utes handled the Arizona Wildcats on Feb 4th 73-58. The Utes were supposed to play Arizona State on Sunday but that game was postponed because of Covid-19 protocol issues. How do you see this match up Thursday night with Utah and Cal?

Join Morris for Cal Bears podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips Mon Feb 8, 2021 by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud

 

Cal more competitive but too repetitive in 76-70 rematch loss to Stanford

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By Morris Phillips

In order to make the most idiotic tip time in televised sports history make any kind of sense, the Cal Bears had to do one thing:

Stay competitive with Stanford for the first 15 minutes of Sunday night’s game, enough time for Tom Brady to accept his latest Super Bowl MVP trophy and then have insatiable sports fans (and gamblers) turn their attention to the Bay rivalry and–with Cal making a game of it–keep their attention.

Guess what? At roughly 7:45pm PST, the Bears were doing their part.

And then they weren’t.

Tied at 22 with 4:24 remaining before halftime–after Joel Brown’s high-difficulty flip in at the rim–Cal went to a dark place, not unlike Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. A 22-4 run spanning the halves put the visiting Bears in an insurmountable hole, with the result, a 76-70 loss that a got a prettier final score in the frantic, final two minutes.

In a repeat of Thursday’s loss at Haas Pavilion, the Bears were overmatched inside where Stanford scored 42 of their first 66 points in the paint on drives, dump-ins with a few dunks mixed in between. With Cal’s defense providing little resistance, a late run and a spirited effort was rendered as a footnote.

“Our defense is not at the level it needs to be to win, especially on the road,” coach Mark Fox said.

“We just can get enough stops consecutively to get us over the hump.”

Stanford made 60 percent of their shots over the first 30 minutes of the game before finishing at 58 percent. In what is now a six-game losing streak for the Bears–the longest skid under Fox–their opponent made at least half their shots from the floor for the fourth consecutive game.

Worse was Cal’s rudder less offense which shot 37 percent after a 36 percent mark on Thursday. The Bears again settled more often than not, with no free throws attempts in the first half and 16 misses from 3-point range.

An 11-4 edge in offensive rebounds for Cal seemed impressive, but ultimately it just added to their missed shot total.

“I thought we played hard,” Fox said. “It’s the intelligence we have to attach to that effort.”

That effort showed in the final two minutes when Cal cut a 15-point deficit to six, but even that push had to do with Stanford missing just enough free throws to irritate bettors who had Stanford minus 10.

Matt Bradley led Cal with 15 points. Jarred Hyder had 13 (in his best scoring output as a Bear), Ryan Betley and Brown added 12 each.

Oscar da Silva, the Pac-12’s leading scorer, led Stanford with 19 points.

Cal hosts Utah–the last team they beat three weeks ago in Salt Lake City–on Thursday afternoon.

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Cal Bears podcast with Michael Duca: da Silva unleased scores 24 for Cardinal in romp of Golden Bears 70-55

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The Stanford Cardinal forward Lukas Kisunas (32) leaps and holds onto the ball  against the Cal Bears on Thu Feb 4, 2021 at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley (photo take by the San Francisco Chronicle)

On the Cal Bears podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 The Stanford Cardinal Oscar da Silva who scored only nine points in his last game against USC on Tuesday night had a different offensive outcome on Thursday night with a 24 point night against the Cal Bears and was key in the 70-55 take down in Berkeley.

#2 da Silva also added 11 rebounds and four assists in the lopsided victory as the Cardinal poured it on if the first half with a 42-29 lead at the half.

#3 The Cardinal with the they way they commanded the offense played with the confidence that they had and with the game in hand and somewhat but not to accuse that the mercy rule was in effect take a slighter 28-26 second half lead and the win.

#4 For head coach Mark Fox he was hoping that Cal could come back but with Stanford reaching a comfortable lead and the Cal offense probably thought any chance of winning was not possible.

#5 Cal gets another chance to try to even the two game home at home series at Stanford  this Sunday. The Bears take a four game losing streak into Maples Pavilion and though the odds might say otherwise Cal is hoping to get in the win column in this one.

Join Michael Duca each Friday for the Cal Bears podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears podcast with Michael Duca Fri Feb 5, 2021 by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud

Stanford makes themselves at home in Berkeley, stops Cal, 70-55

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–In a season of postponements, personnel changes and COVID, Stanford’s the national leader in making uncomfortable comfortable.

They just played their first home game–after 16 away from Maples Pavilion–on Tuesday. They showed up at Cal Thursday weary from rescheduled games that made this their fourth game in eight days. And once again, for the fifth straight game the Cardinal didn’t have Daejon Davis, Bryce Wills or Ziaire Williams, their NBA-aspiring freshman.

Never mind and no problem, said coach Jerod Haase.

“We don’t know who’s going to be out there, but we do know we’re gonna compete,” Haase promised in his press conference earlier this week.

In short, Stanford minimized its problems which made Cal’s issues loom larger coming in to Thursday’s Big Game on the hardwood at Haas Pavilion.

And the Bears–mired in a five-game losing streak–couldn’t get untracked offensively in a 70-55 loss in which they shot just 36 percent from the floor and watched the Cardinal’s Oscar da Silva take over with 24 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.

“We had no answer for him. He was just too big, too quick, too long,” coach Mark Fox said of da Silva, the Pac-12’s leading scorer.

With da Silva, and without their next three best players in Wills, Davis and Williams, Stanford’s become bigger and more stubborn. Against Cal, they took the ball to the rim persistently and effectively, shooting 63 percent in the game’s first 17 minutes to lead 36-29.

Freshman Noah Taitz finished off a near perfect half for Stanford with three straight baskets, the second a breakaway dunk after Cal’s Ryan Betley was stripped by Spencer Jones.

Cal rallied briefly in the second half, getting within 46-43 at one point, only to fade. For stretches, Stanford went with four freshman and da Silva, and experienced no drop-off. That Stanford was able to gather 40 of their 70 points in the paint said everything regarding the talent disparity between the rival programs.

“Even though we’re better in some areas than we were last year, we still have a talent deficiency,” Fox admitted, “and we have to accept that and play a certain way.”

Stanford hounded Cal with on-ball pressure on the perimeter, then doubled any Bears with the ball on the block. That left Cal with few options. They missed mid-range shots, and played carelessly with the ball, contributing to eight Stanford steals and two blocks. The 3-point line wasn’t kind either, Cal missed 16 of 22 attempts there.

Had Stanford not squandered 10 of their 24 free throw opportunities, things could have gotten worse.

Given Stanford’s success at both ends, Fox said the Bears will play with a more deliberate pace in Sunday’s rematch at Stanford as they try to avoid a sixth straight loss.

“This team can be maybe a little prettier (than last season’s group) but it’s still going to have to be really ugly for this group to win,” Fox said.

Matt Bradley led Cal (2-11, 7-13) with 24 points. Andre Kelly added 15, while the trio of Grant Anticevich, Makale Foreman and Betley saw their struggles extend from Saturday’s loss at Arizona with 4 of 23 combined shooting.

Jaden Delaire added 14 and Taitz 10 for Stanford (11-7, 7-5).

In another Pac-12 scheduling head scratcher, Sunday’s rematch will tip at 7pm, right when Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes duel down the stretch in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl.

Talk about not giving these two teams a chance to draw a television audience.

Stanford Cardinal game wrap: Big night from da Silva sparks Cardinal to victory over the Bears 70-55

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Stanford Cardinal Oscar da Silva (13) takes it to the hoop against the Cal Bears defense at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Thu Feb 4, 2021 (photo from San Francisco Chronicle)

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Oscar da Silva’s all-around effort sparked Stanford to a 70-55 Pac-12 men’s basketball victory over archrival California Thursday night at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley.

Da Silva led the Cardinal with 24 points (8 of 17 field goals, 8 of 8 free throws), 11 rebounds, four assists, a blocked shot and two steals.

Jaiden Delaire was next for the Cardinal with 14 points, hitting 5 of 7 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers. Noah Taitz scored 10 points off the bench.

Stanford (11-7 overall, 7-5 Pac-12) outscored the Golden Bears 40-22 in the paint, and held a 30-28 rebounding edge.

Spencer Jones and Michael O’Connell each had four assists, and Lukas Kisunas pulled down seven rebounds. Jones also had three steals, as the Cardinal scored 19 points off of Cal’s 16 turnovers.

Matt Bradley paced the Golden Bears (7-13, 2-11) with 24 points, followed by Andre Kelly with 15 points and seven rebounds. Both players fouled out.

Bradley sank his fifth 3-pointer, was fouled, and converted the four-point play as Cal cut the Cardinal’s lead to 46-43 with a six-minute 14-4 run to open the second half. Taitz and da Silva hit back-to-back baskets to stop the run and Stanford went on to re-establish its double-digit lead within the next three minutes.

Stanford played without starters Ziaire Williams, Bryce Wills and Daejon Davis for the second straight game, all of them out due to COVID-19 protocol.

Stanford will host the Golden Bears at Maples Pavilion on Sunday, with a 7 p.m. tipoff.

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips: Taking a look at Cal’s worst beating of the season

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The Cal Bears forward Andre Kelly (22) and the Arizona Wildcats forward Christian Koloko (35) go for the ball at tip off on Sat Jan 30, 2021 in Tucson at the University of Arizona (calbears.com photo)

On the Cal Bears podcast with Morris:

#1 Cal (7-12) did have their worst offensive showing for 2021 in their 71-50 loss to the Arizona Wildcats (13-4). The Golden Bears simply could not get any offense going from start to finish.

#2 Morris talk about Oakland native James Okinjo who led the Wildcats with 20 points it had to be special for him to get top billing and play against a team he probably followed during his high school days.

#3 The Bears certainly couldn’t keep up in the second half of the game trailing by 29 points the light was dimming for Cal for any chance to get back in this one.

#4 Arizona had that healthy 12-3 record going into their last game against the Stanford Cardinal (10-6) last Thursday but lost to them by nine 73-64 and there was little doubt that the Wildcats were pent up after that loss and that they would take it out on Cal on Saturday.

#5 Next up for Cal they face their cross bay rival the Stanford Cardinal. The Cardinal have been going well of late they edged a very tough UCLA Bruin (13-3) team on the road and that big win against Arizona Thursday. They lost to ASU on Saturday 79-75. How do you see Cal matched up against Stanford Thursday at Hass Pavilion?

Morris does the Cal Bears podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips Mon Feb 1, 2021 by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud

 

Desert Downer: Cal suffers worst offensive showing of the season at Arizona, loses 71-50

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By Morris Phillips

Slow starts and frustrated opponents seeking redemption–those are your Golden Bears’ themes for the now completed, annual trip to the Arizona desert.

Warning: these themes aren’t filled with positivity.

Oakland native James Akinjo had 20 points, eight assists and no turnovers to lead Arizona to a wire-to-wire 71-50 win over Cal on Saturday. Once again, the Bears were lethargic offensively at the start, falling behind 10-2 and 19-7, then trailing by as many as 29 in the second half. The lack of execution was reflected in the numbers as Cal shot 38 percent from the floor with a paltry eight assists and 16 turnovers.

“I thought Arizona was the aggressor from the jump ball,” coach Mark Fox admitted. “I thought they dominated the paint. I felt like we were playing uphill all day, which we really were.”

Being the least-affected team by COVID protocols in the Pac-12 hasn’t benefitted Cal much. They’ve played a league-high 19 games with just one postponement in league play, but Saturday’s loss keeps the Bears in the conference basement at 2-10 and 7-12 overall.

Also, Cal’s 50 points against Arizona (13-4, 7-4) marked their lowest offensive output of the season.

The host Wildcats didn’t figure to be in a giving mood after losing on Thursday to Stanford, who was without three of their four best players. In that one, UA’s defense slumped, and they couldn’t get anything easy in the paint against the Cardinal’s size and double teams. Coach Sean Miller sensed something was amiss.

“We weren’t the together, hard-playing, unselfish group that this team has been throughout the year,” said Miller. “We let our guard down. Not sure how or why it happened but we were just not good in those areas.”

Those issues never surfaced against Cal.

Depending on your perspective, Arizona’s size harassed Cal into numerous bad shots, or their quickness kept Cal from dribble penetration while forcing numerous explosive turnovers. In either case, Cal couldn’t run their offense–a reoccurring theme–from botched inbounds plays to errant entry passes. The perimeter-leaning trio of Grant Anticevich, Ryan Betley and Makale Foreman suffered the most, combining to miss 14 of 18 shots from the floor.

Matt Bradley was back to being his hard-charging self, leading Cal with 21 points, including 5 of 6 from three. But Bradley wasn’t perfect: he had six turnovers, two of those in the first seven minutes, a period in which Cal scored just one basket and buried themselves from the start.

Meanwhile, Akinjo was the latest Pac-12 lead guard to give Cal the business in what Miller said was his best game yet in an Arizona uniform. A year ago, Akinjo was dismissed from the Georgetown team as coach Patrick Ewing issued a brief statement without elaborating. Big East journalists cited the smallish guard’s below average defense as a major reason the Hoyas struggled.

But this season, Akinjo’s been fantastic, while leading the Pac-12 in assists in conference play. He’s been the leader of an inexperienced team, he’s beefier from time spent in the weight room, and Miller–a point guard in his playing days–has coached Akinjo on all the finer points.

A talented playmaker from Oakland that went to high school in Richmond?

Cal could really use him.

The Bears host Stanford on Thursday at 6pm with the return engagement on Sunday at 7pm at Maples Pavilion, the second true home game for the nomadic Cardinal this season with the first on Tuesday against USC.

NOTES: The Bears had no steals or blocks in the first half on Saturday. Arizona shot 55 percent in the period and enjoyed an 18-4 advantage in points in the paint.

The Wildcats improved to 116-15 in the last 131 home games at the McKale Center, a mere 101 games above .500.

The Bears dropped Thursday’s contest to Arizona State, which snapped ASU’s six-game losing skid.

The Bears have lost eight straight to Arizona State, and nine consecutive to Arizona. The last Cal coach to beat either school? Cuonzo Martin in 2016. Mark Fox and his predecessor Wyking Jones are both 0-4 against the Arizona schools at Cal.

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