Cal Men’s Basketball Drops Third in a Row to Nationally Ranked Duke, 71-56

30 minutes of hard play fizzle out with plenty of game left

Photo courtesy @CalMBBall

Tonight saw Cal (13-5 overall, 1-4 in ACC) return to Haas to face Duke (16-1 overall, 5-0 in ACC) after a disappointing trip to Virginia, where they dropped an uncompetitive game to a ranked Virginia and had a tough finish in a close matchup with Virginia Tech. Fortunately, a Golden Bear has the memory of a goldfish, and the first sellout crowd of the season helped Cal take a 13 -7 lead in the first seven minutes. Notable attendees in the Haas of Pain included Daniel Lurie, Seth and Steph Curry, and Duke Alum Ken Jeong, in addition to a half court announcement from new Football Coach Tosh Lupoi.

The Bears jumped out of the gate with the energy of a team looking to prove something, trapping the future first round pick Cameron Boozer on the first possession of the game. It would be a strong defensive effort for the entire half, limiting an incredibly capable Duke side. Haas roared with approval, and the Bears took that energy with them to make the game exciting. Boozer was held to four points in the first half, behind a stand out defensive performance from John Camden, who also had an efficient night on offense, going 4 for 6 from the field, and 3-5 from beyond the arc.

Both teams spent the half tinkering with their respective double teams situations. Cal often doubled in the paint to compensate for the Blue Devil’s size advantage, while Duke often doubled at the top of the key, hoping to muddy the court vision of Pippen, Ames, and Camden, each of whom took the bait at least once, driving into a crowded lane before pulling up for shots. Cal often found Lee Dort waiting below the basket off the extra pass, unaccompanied, for the put in.

A rough spate of shooting from the Blue Devils saw the Bears up 6 with less than 5 minutes in the first half, but it would not last. Duke’s size advantage began to show itself as the first half wore on, with Duke taking its first lead with seven minutes left in the first half, going on a 13-0 run to end the half, getting 11 second chance points to Cal’s two, a seven point gap that matched the score heading into the locker room.

If there’s any question as to how Cal stuck around for the beginning of the second half, they shot 82% from the free throw line to Duke’s 42% (they would end the night with a free throw percentage of 71% to Duke’s 47%), helping to close the gap created by offensive rebounding (Duke’s 16 to Cal’s 6) leading directly to the wide gap in second chance points (Duke’s 17 to Cal’s 2).

Duke’s size continued to plague the Bears, with the Blue Devils totalling 42 of their 71 points in the paint, making up for their spotty first half shooting by focusing on dunks and layups, and doubling down on their rebounding advantage. “The way the game was going they didn’t have an answer for us in the paint.” said Duke coach Jon Scheyer in the post game interview. Dai Dai Ames had issues as well, scoring 8 points as opposed to his season average of 17. Aimes was locked down by Italian standout Dame Sarr, who came to the college game after playing in Spain for FC Barcelona.

A stretch of bad shooting from Cal, running parallel to an efficient scoring stretch from Duke, found the Blue Devils with their largest lead of the night with 7:20 remaining. A commanding dunk from Boozer brought the Duke lead to 12. The story of the second half was Cal’s inability to get an offensive rebound. When Cal went cold, every missed shot was a new Duke possession, while the Blue Devils often got second, third, and even fourth chances, turning a modest lead into a 16 point deficit with 3:26 remaining. The last three minutes bore little fruit for Cal, and the game ended with Duke dribbling out the clock aimlessly. The Golden Bears have a quick turn around, facing UNC on Saturday.

In reference to steadying the team’s nerves now that they’re 1-4 in ACC play, Coach Madsen simply said “I want to focus on process”