Depleted Bears fall to SMU

Cal is unable to find enough scoring in a 76-65 road defeat

When I tuned into the ACC Network and learned that Andrej Stojakovic was still out and was joined on the injured list by Mady Sissoko (concussion protocol), I braced myself for a very long game.

The Bears, to their credit, refused to wilt while playing short handed against a top third ACC team on the road. In a situation that could have been a blowout, the Bears came out hot and used dogged hustle to keep the game close-ish throughout. But SMU used a 16-3 run late in the first half to take control of the game, and they maintained roughly a 10 point lead for the rest of the game.

SMU’s strength this year has been an at-times blistering offense - just ask Miami, who somehow allowed 117 points to the Mustangs a week ago. SMU does that with a fast pace, relentless offensive rebounding, and all-around good shooting. Without Sissoko, Cal was likely to struggle on the defensive glass, and SMU rebounded 14 of their 34 missed shots. But Cal did a reasonable job contesting shots and was more active than usual in passing lanes, particularly when they employed a full court press late to try to cut into SMU’s lead. 16 forced turnovers kept this game close.

Meanwhile, Cal couldn’t find consistent production on the offensive end to overcome SMU’s lead. Rytis Petraitis had a strong game finding scrappy ways to get points off of second chances, turnovers, and fouls and Jeremiah Wilkinson managed 16 points (on 17 shots), but Cal just didn’t have any source of consistent offense. Maybe if the Bears had a better night from three (5-25) the game could have developed differently, but without their shooting touch it was unlikely that they could keep up with SMU’s offense.

After taking a 10 point lead into halftime, SMU never let Cal get closer than 6 points, and never led by more than 13. The two teams spent most of the 2nd half trading baskets or stops, and there were no real runs.

Game Notes

• I’m encouraged by the recent play from Petraitis, who is looking more comfortable on both ends of the court. The hustle has of course always been there, but earlier in the season his hustle seemed as likely to result in a foul or a lost defensive assignment as it was to result in a deflection or a rebound. But his effort has been more focused and impactful over the last couple weeks. He’s looked more like the player I was expecting based on his Air Force stats.

• One of the reasons road wins are hard to get: The refs blew two different out-of-bounds decisions that were pretty clearly off of SMU, one of which came at a relatively crucial junction when Cal appeared to have forced a turnover using the full court press.

• With roughly 1:30 left in the game, Cal trailed by 8 and SMU held the ball. Rather than fouling and forcing SMU to try to convert the 1-and-1 free throws, Madsen instructed the team to play defense. SMU ran off about 25 seconds of clock and hit a basket, eliminating whatever slim chance Cal had in the game. I don’t really care that much because Cal’s chances of winning at that point were virtually nil, but it’s still far from ideal game management.

• SMU having three relatively small but lightning fast guards who race up and down the court and attack the paint relentlessly made me jealous. Fun team with a fun style.

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As the random tough road game in the middle of a long, manageable homestand, this game was always going to be a tall task. If Cal can get healthy and pick up more wins in their upcoming three game homestand, this game will be quickly forgotten.

Starting Saturday, Cal’s next three will be at home against beatable teams. That starts with Syracuse on Saturday. If the Bears get either Sissoko or Stojakovic back, they should be solid favorites at home against a team trending in the wrong direction. Beat the Orange, and that would give Cal an opportunity to get to .500 in ACC play against NC State, who they already beat on the road.

But it’s hard to get too optimistic after seeing the impact of two key player absences. Without Andrej Stojakovic available as a guy who can create his own shot in a late shot clock situation, and without Mady Sissoko available as a guy who can create opportunities on the offensive glass and at the line, Cal struggled. Here’s to hoping that they’ll both be back sooner rather than later, as Cal just isn’t deep enough to fade three major injuries at once.