Men's Basketball: Cal Plays Complete Game Against Cal State Fullerton, Wins 93-65
Signs of program improvement in Madsen's third year
In the season’s opening win over CSU-Bakersfield, Cal raced out to a 10-0 lead and were never threatened on their way to the 87-60 victory. Here is tonight’s first 5 offensive possessions for Cal;
John Camden 3-pointer
Dai Dai Ames 3-pointer
Chris Bell missed 3 pointer, but a turnover by CSU-Fullerton at midcourt leads to a transition 3-point bucket from Ames.
Ames 3-pointer
Camden layup and foul shot
Cal led 19-9 four minutes into the game and never looked back. In Madsen’s first 2 seasons, Cal has been plagued by slow starts and have had to claw their way back into games. That has not been the case this year. If we’re looking for signs of progress that Coach Madsen is growing, learning, and evolving the program, the elimination of slow starts is a very good sign. Another good sign; this is Madsen’s first 3-0 start as coach of the Bears (loss to Pacific in 2023, loss to Vanderbilt in 2024).
After Cal’s hot start, both teams stabilized. The Titans were able to cut the lead to 8 points on a couple occasions, but Cal pushed it back to double digits and took a 42-27 lead into halftime. Dai Dai Ames led the Bears with 13 points, while Lee Dort filled up the stat sheet with Draymond-like line of 3 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. with TT Carr, DJ Campbell and Sammie Yeanay out with injuries, Cal has been playing an equitable 8-man rotation the last couple games. All 8 Bears who saw court time played at least 7 minutes in the first half.
Cal continued to shoot well, and pulled away early in the second half on their way to the 93-65 win. Dai Dai Ames continues to score at all three levels on high-percentage shooting. He led the Bears with 24 points on 12 shots, including 6-of-7 from long range. John Camden added 16 points, Justin Pippen 14 points, and Chris Bell 13 points in the balanced attack. Pippen also added 8 rebounds and 6 assists.
In Fullerton’s first 2 games, the Titans averaged 109 points per game while running a high-tempo offense and shooting 52% overall. Fullerton runs a 4-guard lineup, and likes to push the ball up court and bomb away from long distance. Cal used its superior length to limit the Titans to 39% shooting, including only 21% from long range. Nolan Dorsey is playing the role of defensive specialist, playing intense on-ball defense the whole length of the court to disrupt the offensive flow. In the last 2 game he has played over 21 minutes per game. His stats may not look impressive, but he is a large reason for Cal’s defensive improvement.
Notes and Observations
Coming into the game, Cal was only connecting on 23% of the 3-point attempts. Cal improved tonight, going 11-of-30 for 37%, with Ames a near perfect 6-of-7. After the game, Coach Madsen said, “We’re going to get better.”
Cal’s assist-to-turnover ratio through three games is 1.50(17 assists to 8 turnovers tonight). Last year, Cal was .9 through the first 3 games and for the season. Cal is moving the ball better with multiple players ably handling the ball and looking to pass.
I’m a sucker for aesthetically pleasing team oriented basketball. This lineup is scratching that itch and making me happy. They are willing passers at all positions, there is constant motion on offense, the defensive switching and positioning is improved. I’m not sure how they will compete during the heart of ACC conference play, but they are fun to watch and performing at a high level.
Nolan Dorsey may be the most intense Cal on-ball defender since….Jorge Gutierrez.* He’s been assigned 94’ of ball pressure and is always willing to throw his body onto the floor. Tonight he had a defensive dive for a loose ball that resulted in a Fullerton turnover. Dorsey jumped up and yelled at the crowd, who yelled right back.
Cal ramps up the difficulty this Thursday when they travel to face the Kansas State Wildcats in Manhattan, KS. The Wildcats are currently #56 in Kenpom, 2-0 with easy victories over lower tier opponents. They are led by the backcourt duo of PJ Haggerty and Nate Johnson, who in their two victories are averaging a combined 40 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists per game.
Coach Madsen on looking ahead to Thursday; “We need to make sure we can handle a little bit of prosperity. We’re 3-0, but it’s early in the season, home games, no travel involved, now we’re playing one of the top teams in the country in Kansas State. They have shooting, they have a dynamic point guard, they have physicality around the rim…This is going to be a battle, an unbelievable test for our players. It’s a great game for us, traveling a long distance, to prepare for ACC travel. “
*- Rob is the first person to make the Dorsey-to-Gutierrez comparison. I agree 100%.
Thanks BP.
Great effort tonight.
Announced attendance was 2,377