Yawn. Just another dominating home win over a quality conference opponent. Snooze. Just a total deconstruction of RPI’s number 1 ranked team. I woke up this morning, and Cal Men’s Basketball is still undefeated at home. And the sky is still blue.
Let me begin by saying that I believe Oregon is the best, most complete team in the Pac12. I think they are going to go on to win the regular season championship and lock in a 3-4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They already own wins over Baylor, USC, Cal, Colorado, Arizona and Utah (all within the top 32 in RPI). Not to mention, they beat those last two teams on the road. NOBODY in college basketball is winning on the road this year. While I wasn’t buying their #1 RPI ranking, I was buying their #11 ranking in the AP Poll. I’m basically trying to say that this was no slouch that walked into Haas Pavilion on Thursday night.
And Cal absolutely ran them out of the gym.
To illustrate our sturdy Golden Bear’s riveting 83-63 victory, here is a collection of correspondence I had in the lead up to, and during, the contest. And for those of you that don’t realize that I have been given a gift from beyond the beyond, this will be a special treat for you.
Following Cal’s horrible road trip to the mountain schools two weeks ago, I texted a buddy of mine who graduated from the University of Oregon. I expressed my frustration over Cal’s night-and-day difference when playing at home and on the road (I’m sure I’ve iterated this before, but Cal is now 15-0 at home, and 1-8 everywhere else. The disparity in their home vs. road stats is, unsurprisingly, vast). Then this happened:
Cal opened the game with perhaps the most energy I’ve seen from ANY Cal athletic program EVER, as evidenced by their 18-6 lead at the first media timeout. They shot 55.7% for the game. And the defense held Oregon 15 points below their scoring average, including a suffocating first half performance, allowing just 24 points. Two weeks ago, people. Please hold your applause.
Leading up the game, I also made this (only half-joking) prediction:
And this one:
Cal led by 21 with a minute remaining in the half. We didn’t quite get to that 24 point margin, but we weren’t that far off. And with 5 minutes left in the blowout, Cal was shooting EXACTLY 8/14 from 3, before eventually finishing a red hot 9/16.
Now you may applaud.
Other shout outs during the game:
Late in the first half - Comforting a Ducks Fan (but not really)
After Jabari Bird sank what felt like his 117th 3-pointer of the game
After Jabari Bird’s emphatic up-and-under reverse dunk in the closing minutes
If you haven’t figured it out yet, Jabari Bird was the MVP. He poured in 24 points (tying a career high) on 9/14 shooting. Perhaps more impressive though, was his defense. I don’t have stats to back it up, I don’t get THAT crazy. But he was hounding the Oregon wings whenever they touched the ball. His positioning was perfect. His close outs were perfect. He contested shots and stayed in front of drivers in the lane. Jabari has really flashed at times this year, which always prompts announcers to remind us how highly touted he was out of high school (and by association, what a disappointment his college career has been). I’m hoping he just needed time, and the right situation. Maybe the influx of primary talent will allow him to shine in a complementary role.
Other players of note:
Tyrone Wallace returned from injury, totally unbeknownst to me, by the way. He looked rusty in the first half, which is totally reasonable after missing a month with a broken hand. But in the second half, he looked like his old self - Viciously driving and spinning through the lane, dropping in shots off the glass or moving the ball to an open shooter. He also wound up with 8 rebounds… Which is a lot for a point guard with a broken hand. In any case, a very promising return for him.
Sam Singer had 11 assists. His court vision is top notch. His ball handling was great in this game as well. All he lacks at this juncture is consistency.
Jaylen Brown continues his “high usage, low efficiency” offensive run. 16 points, but on 7/16 shooting. There is still room for improvement when it comes to Brown incorporating into the offense, but as Bill Walton astutely pointed out (in between Glockenspiel solos), Cal’s best offense is Jaylen attacking the rim. Keep doing what you’re doing kid.
Ivan Rabb continues his “low usage, high efficiency” offensive run. 13 points, just on 6/7 shooting. He needs more touches. Period.
I’m not going to get into my usual curmudgeonly preaching about how we should take our wins with a grain of salt. Or about how Cal’s utter failures on the road are only made more infuriating by their exceptional performances at home. Trust me, I do have those stats. I’ll share them at a later date. Let’s just revel in what was a fantastic and integral victory. Our team is getting healthy at the right, and we may be about to turn the corner we’ve been stuck at all year.
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