Category: Cal Bears

By Morris Phillips

Having leads against ranked opponents late hasn’t provided a comfort zone for the Cal Bears this season, and that scenario didn’t play out any differently Friday night in the Pac-12 tournament semifinals.

Cal led 70-68 with four seconds remaining only to see Lorenzo Bonam drive the length of the floor and score at the buzzer to send the game into overtime where the Utes took control and won 82-78.

“It’s okay to lose but we’re going to go down swinging. We’ve talked a lot about believing in ourselves and it was a fortunate play,” Utah Coach Larry Krystowiak said.

The Utes led just twice in the final 14 minutes of regulation, both in the final minute, only to see those leads disappear when Cal’s Jabari Bird came up with a pair of big baskets, the last an offensive rebound, putback and ensuing made free throw that put Cal up with 4.3 seconds remaining. But Bonam’s do or die drive to the hoop provided life for Utah that they ceased in overtime.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit deflated, and then you assess the situation,” Krystowiak said. “Again, there’s 4.-something seconds left, and if you’re watching college hoops today, the kid hit the 60-foot, 3-point shot, he certainly didn’t think about giving up.”

Cal’s defense which defended Pac-12 Player of the Year Jakob Poeltl one-on-one for most of the game experienced success, holding the Utes to 40 percent shooting during regulation. But in overtime, Utah converted four of five shot attempts and took control.

On the other end, Utah had their hands full stopping Cal’s Tyrone Wallace, who led the Bears with 26 points. But in overtime, Wallace was quiet and the Bears missed nine of 12 shots, many from the perimeter.

The Bears conclude their season 23-10 and await Sunday’s NCAA tournament selections. The Utes advance to Saturday’s tourney final against top-seeded Oregon. Through the first 10 games of the Pac-12 tournament, the higher-seeded team has advanced each time, with Utah surviving two of the tournament’s three overtime contests.

Cal got 13 points each from Bird and Ivan Rabb and 12 from Conference Freshman of the Year, Jaylen Brown. But Brown missed 14 of his 17 shot attempts, including several down the stretch that could have lengthened Cal leads.

The two teams split their two regular season meetings, with both winning at home, setting up the semifinal meeting and dramatic conclusion.

“Both teams battled, both teams played hard, I just thought they made plays down the stretch,” Coach Cuonzo Martin said.

By Morris Phillips

In a Pac-12 tournament without a single upset, or much drama in regards to who’s in or out of the upcoming NCAA tournament, Oregon State and Cal did their best to keep the assembled on the edge of their seats.

In a game filled with great plays and scintillating performances, the Bears pulled away late, winning 76-68 over OSU to gain a spot in the tournament semifinals against Utah.   Cal survived the test of an Oregon State team that was attempting to solidify a first NCAA tournament appearance in more than 20 years.

“We knew this time of year it’s anybody’s game and we had to be locked in. Our guys did a good job down the stretch to get a win,” Coach Cuonzo Martin said.

Ivan Rabb led Cal with a career-best 21 points, 15 rebounds including six of the Bears’ final 14 points that came after the game was tied with 4:28 remaining.   Rabb delivered the biggest blow on an offensive rebound, putback and the ensuing free throw that put Cal up 70-63 with 1:22 remaining.

Jordan Matthews provided his own highlight moment, racing off a screen and delivering a catch-and-shoot corner three that increased Cal’s lead to 73-65 with 33 seconds left.

Oregon State fought from behind from the start as Cal established a 17-5 lead less than seven minutes in. Cal led by four at the half, but relinquished the lead twice in the second half right before their final push. OSU freshman Derrick Bruce led the Beavers’ second half surge, and came up with a game-high 25 points despite having never scored more than 11 in a game previously.

Bruce’s big night offset the absence of Tres Tinkle, OSU’s second-leading scorer who missed both Pac-12 tournament games due to a foot injury.

“If we don’t have him show up, it could have been ugly,” OSU coach Wayne Tinkle, father of Tres, said of Bruce.

In the battle within the battle, Cal’s preferred method of attack, the dribble drive met resistance from OSU’s active hands defense led by Gary Payton II. While Rabb thrived inside on post ups and second chance opportunities, Cal’s drivers, Jaylen Brown and Tyrone Wallace were stopped, missing a combing 13 of 15 shots from the field. But time after time Cal responded to OSU’s runs with a big shot or a contribution from Rabb.

Cal didn’t shoot particularly well (43 percent for the game) or dominate the glass. They also missed 13 free throws that kept the Beavers within hailing distance, but their dynamic freshman, Rabb and Brown spearheaded Cal’s advantage in blocks and steals (six blocks, eight steals).

Jabari Bird contributed 20 points to Cal’s effort, and Mathews had 17. The pair of sharpshooters combined to make eight 3-pointers.

The higher-seeded teams advanced for the second straight day in Las Vegas, placing Oregon and Arizona in the tournament’s first semi on Friday at 6pm. The Bears and Utes will face off in the nightcap, expected to start at 8:30pm.

The Bears improved to 23-9 on the season and are projected to be a No. 5 or No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament. OSU finishes their season 19-12 with five Top 50 wins including wins over each of the top three teams in the Pac-12 (Cal, Oregon and Utah). The Beavers are still hopeful of a bid but could be left out with several key upsets in other conference tournaments.

By Morris Phillips

For the Cal Bears, it was everything but the finish at Arizona’s imposing McKale Center.

The Bears led 61-53 with 1:52 remaining, when the Wildcats and senior guard Gabe York took over, scoring the final 11 points of the game to shock Cal, 64-61 as York buried two big 3-pointers.

The Bears’ first loss in over a month brought to the end their hopes to share the Pac-12 regular season title. Cal needs a win Saturday at Arizona State to clinch a top-four finish in the league, and a bye in the upcoming Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas.

“The finish tonight was one of the great finishes that I’ve been a part of,” Arizona Coach Sean Miller said. “Karma has a funny way of coming back around. I’ve listened or heard the different quotes that different people are saying that at the end of the game that Gabe hasn’t necessarily come through. That maybe you need to give the ball to somebody else, etcetera. He looked pretty good at the end of the game tonight.”

While Cal’s February was flawless, Arizona’s was filled with questions about their declining play and losses that took them out of the chase for the conference title. York heard much of the criticism as he failed to come through in a couple of high profile, late game situations. What criticism didn’t come York’s way was heaped on forward senior Ryan Anderson, but both came up big on Thursday.

Anderson finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, and York compiled all of his 19 points after halftime. York hit three 3-pointers in the final 2:36 even as the Bears knew the ball would be in his hands.

“We have to get him off the line,” Cal coach Cuonzo Martin said. “If anything, make him drive the ball, but he can’t catch and shoot a 3-pointer.”

The loss mirrored Cal’s late game struggles at Virginia in December, as the youthful Bears showed they need additional growth in late-game situations. But for the first 38 minutes, Cal looked like the better team they’ve been for the last month.

The Bears got big performances from post players Kingsley Okoroh and Kameron Rooks, who combined for 10 points and 11 rebounds. Ivan Rabb was just as effective with 15 points and 13 rebounds, but the Bears perimeter players struggled as Tyrone Wallace, Jabari Bird and Jordan Mathews combined to miss 24 of their 34 shot attempts.

“We played tremendous defense,” Miller said. “If you look at Cal’s numbers, other than their offensive rebounding, if we would have done a better job there we would have won the game by a different margin, maybe in a different way. They certainly beat us up around the glass, but our numbers, our perimeter defense showed up tonight. That was also a big part of why we won.”

Freshman Jaylen Brown immediately declared his desire and readiness to face the Wildcats after Sunday’s win over USC capped Cal’s perfect home schedule. But on Thursday, the mercurial freshman had his worst game of the season, playing just 15 minutes, and scoring five points, before fouling out. Brown missed seven of his nine attempts from the floor.

Cal faces ASU on Saturday in the regular season finale. The Sun Devils, coached by former Sacramento King and Duke star Bobby Hurley, won on Thursday, beating Stanford 74-64 in Tempe. ASU softened Stanford by grabbing 15 offensive rebounds that may not be available when they face the Bears.

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.”

By Morris Phillips

Going undefeated for an entire season at home? Beating every conference opponent in the same season? Accomplishing both just weeks after the season hung in the balance?

Yeah, those are big feats the Cal Bears are pursuing this weekend. But Coach Cuonzo Martin would prefer all the dramatic antidotes and nervous anticipation would stay outside the gym and away from his Bears. With Cal riding a six-game win streak and chasing a Pac-12 regular season title, Cuonzo is determined to play it cool.

“I can’t control what they read, because they get information from the TV and their phones and I can’t control that,” Martin said when asked what preparations would be like for Sunday’s home finale against USC. “But my job is to make sure they understand the task at hand. And the most important thing is winning the basketball game and protecting our home court. And whatever happens after that—history is what it is. But we have to make sure we protect our home court.”

Cal was on task Thursday, whipping UCLA 75-63, leading from start to finish in front of a noisy, sold out Haas Pavilion crowd. Only poor free throw shooting kept the Bears from again topping 80 points, and doing so without any significant drop off on the defensive end. The Bruins fell behind 13-1 just minutes in and shot a chilly 33 percent in the opening 20 minutes.

Then Cal finished UCLA with a crisp, offensive show after halftime as the Bears shot 53 percent and scored 42 points to close it out.   Jabari Bird hit five 3-pointers and led Cal with 20 points.

The Bears (20-8, 10-5) moved within a game of first place Oregon with three games remaining. Cal also trails Utah by ½ game with the Utes set to face Arizona on Saturday in a conference showdown. If Cal can win out, and beat Arizona a second time, the Bears would at the very least finish in second place alone if not win the Pac-12 outright.

“It would be historical,” Bird said. “No Cal team has done that here for a long time and it would definitely be big for us to get that done in front of a home crowd.”

For the first time in many seasons, the Bruins and Bears had only Thursday’s meeting to sharpen their claws, as the teams don’t meet this year in Los Angeles. The Bears made their statement to their longtime rivals early on the scoreboard, but also in simply being the more athletic and skilled team, which marked a clear delineation from the schools’ previous histories.

Even Bill Walton, the UCLA great turned broadcaster, gave a rousing speech in the Bears’ locker room before the game.

Sounds crazy, right? Not to Cal’s Brown who credited Walton’s speech for his scorching start Thursday. Brown scored eight of Cal’s first 13 points.

“He gives the best motivational speeches I’ve ever heard,” Brown said. “He just got me so pumped up for this game. I think coming out I scored like eight in a row.”

Brown finished with 16 points, Tyrone Wallace had 14 and Ivan Rabb finished with 10. The Bruins were led by Brice Alford and Tony Parker, both with 15 points.

UCLA (15-13, 6-9) dropped its sixth game in its last nine all but insuring the Bruins will need a flawless regular season finish as well as a deep Pac-12 tournament run to get NCAA tournament consideration.

“There’s still hope,” Coach Steve Alford said.

The Bears have beaten every Pac-12 opponent this season with the exception of USC. The Trojans have dropped four of five, including a 20-point loss at Stanford on Thursday. After the Trojans, the Bears will finish in Arizona, where they will have the opportunity to beat Arizona and Arizona State for the second time and possibly finish 13-5 in conference.