By Morris Phillips
So good was Stanford’s game plan from January 14, the Cal Bears adopted it as their own for Saturday’s rematch against the hated Cardinal. That and Cal’s significant home court advantage were enough to make the Bears victorious the second time around.
On the strength of a huge disparity at the free throw line, the Bears parlayed a 41-point first half into a 76-61 win over Stanford at Haas Pavilion. The win allowed the Bears to stay undefeated at home this season (14-0) and improve their Pac-12 record to 5-5 with eight regular season games remaining.
Three weeks ago, Stanford built a wall around the basket defensively, and paraded to the free throw line as a byproduct of their greater aggressiveness in beating the Bears 77-71. But on Saturday is was if the Cardinal had discarded the blueprint in a recycling bin right before they got on the team bus for the trip to Berkeley.
“Well, to be quite frank, our defense hasn’t traveled and that’s why I say Monday we’ve got to continue to focus on it,” Johnny Dawkins said afterward in trying to make sense of his team’s current woes on the road, in which they’ve dropped their last four conference games on the road by an average of 16 points.
Meanwhile, the Bears made a complete about face, attempting 37 free throw attempts on Saturday after allowing the Cardinal 38 attempts from the line at Maples Pavilion on January 14. Discouraged from getting to the rim and content to shoot threes in the first matchup, the Bears repeatedly took advantage inside in this one, enjoying a healthy edge on the glass and points in the paint.
When the Bears did tee it up from distance on Saturday, Stanford’s defenders were often a step slow to the spot as the Bears made nine of 17 from three. Inside the arc, Cal was just as good, hitting 13 of 24 and shooting 54 percent from the field for the game.
“They shot 38 free throws last game, and we should have shot a similar number, and we didn’t, and that really showed our lack of aggressiveness,” Jordan Mathews said. “So today we just thought being aggressive and throwing the ball in the paint and having our bigs perform well tonight would get us the win.”
Kameron Rooks proved well versed in the energized game plan, contributing 11 points and 12 rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench. Coach Cuonzo Martin has mixed and matched his two seven-footers all season, this time electing to start Kingsley Okoroh alongside Ivan Rabb. But less than two minutes in and the Bears trailing 6-0, Martin removed Okoroh, and Rooks entered the game a few minutes after that.
The Bears responded by scoring 33 of the next 45 points, getting big contributions from Rooks and seldom-used Roger Moute A Bidias. The Bears went on to lead by 16 at the half, then briefly pushing the lead to 26 early in the second half.
“The biggest key that we talked about more than anything was our big guys had to win the game,” Martin said. “That’s where the game would be won, on the blocks, meaning our bigs scoring around the rim, getting those guys in foul trouble or Rosco’s making plays and we have to make adjustments. I felt like we did a good job from that standpoint.”
Five Bears finished in double-digit scoring led by Mathews with 18 points, and Jaylen Brown with 16. Roscoe Allen, Stanford’s 6’9” outside-in threat drew the majority of Cal’s attention, finishing with 16 points, but missing eight of his 12 shot attempts.
The Cardinal didn’t get much help from Michael Humphrey and Christian Sanders. Humphrey, an inside threat, played just seven minutes, departing when a previously existing thigh injury reappeared. Sanders, who began the season as Stanford’s starting point guard also was slowed and benched due to a previous injury.
The Bears improved to 15-8, 5-5 likely enough to snag an NCAA tournament bid if things concluded this week. But the formula that says the Bears need to win their four remaining home games and somehow manage to snatch a pair of wins on the road will receive a big challenge when the first-place Oregon Ducks come to Haas on Thursday.
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