Jaylon Tyson and Cal beat Oregon for home sweep
A strong defensive effort earns Cal the 69-64 win on senior night.
photo via @calmbball twitter
We Cal fans have been lucky enough to enjoy some incredible individual seasons. Since 1994, seven different Bears have won conference player of the year. The list includes NBA all stars like Jason Kidd and Shareef Abdur-Rahim, and program legends like Jerome Randle and Jorge Gutierrez.
Jaylon Tyson probably isn’t going to win Pac-12 player of the year this season. But I will remember his 2023-24 season as fondly as I remember a number of other spectacular individual seasons from other Cal luminaries.
I’ll remember his versatility. The sheer variety to his offensive game, the different ways that he scored or set up his teammates. I’ll remember his toughness, playing through various bangs and bruises and never shying away from contact at the basket. I’ll remember his growth, as he overcame growing pains taking on a bigger role as a ball-handler and facilitator within the offense.
Most of all, I’ll remember how smooth he was, and how quietly he could score points. How he uses body control and start-stop speed to get easy looks, and how he would quietly score 20 points and if you weren’t paying attention you might not even realize he’d done it.
They story of the weekend was that for the first time this year, Cal won a Pac-12 game without a major scoring contribution from Tyson. Which is to say that Cal needed to tie a program record for most made 3s just to hold off the worst team in the conference at home. (Now is the time where we pause and laugh at Stanford). Yeah, Jaylon Tyson’s scoring is pretty important for this team.
And against Oregon he poured in 27, primarily on his typically diverse range of moves to get buckets around the basket. And that was really the difference in this game, the biggest reason Cal won.
The rebounding battle? Pretty even. Turnovers? Even. Three point shooting? Both teams were mired at around 25%.
But Cal shot 50% of their two pointers, while Oregon shot 41%, and that was enough to scratch out a close win. And it was Jaylon Tyson who was responsible for more than half of Cal’s made two pointers. Hell, even when he missed a shot, like he did on a critical possession with Cal up 3 with just under a minute to go, he drew so much attention that it left Fardaws Aimaq wide open under the rim for an easy offensive rebound and put back.
The other major factor in earning this win? Defense. Cal held Oregon to 0.93 points/possession, which is the 2nd lowest mark in Pac-12 play for Oregon this year. Cal did that with the right combination of physicality and good perimeter defense.
The physicality came with Cal’s interior defense. Early in the game, the commentators noted that they were surprised Cal chose not to double up on Oregon’s 7’1’’ center N’Faly Dante, who has shot 65% from the field in Pac-12 play. But doubling anybody inside is a big risk against Oregon because they’re actually a better 3 point shooting team than they are a 2 point shooting team, and Cal lost in Eugene because the Ducks when 10-28 from deep.
So the Bears trusted Fardaws to hold his own inside against Dante, and Cal’s center did enough. Dante did go 6-9, but he turned it over 3 times and was narrowly outrebounded by Fardaws. Even better, by not doubling, Cal was able to chase the Ducks away from the three point line. Oregon shot nine fewer 3s than they did against Cal earlier this year, and shot much worse.
Cal’s defensive physicality had a cost - the Ducks went 20-23 at the free throw line. But that was Oregon’s only source of consistent offense, and it wasn’t enough by itself to beat Cal at Haas.
(Psst. Hey. Don’t look too closely, but Cal is only a half game out of 4th place in the conference right now.)
We’re just three games away from the conclusion of the Pac-12 regular season, and thanks to this home sweep and results around the rest of the conference, we’re now in a wild situation where Cal is actually in competition for a first round bye in the Pac-12 tournament.
Unfortunately, to do so, Cal will have to pull off some upset wins on the road. Before the regular season finale against Stanford at Maples, first up is Colorado and Utah. The Buffs are 14-1 at home, with the only loss coming to Arizona. Utah is 12-2, with the only loss coming to Arizona and bizarrely, ASU. The mountain schools are a combined 26-1 vs. teams that aren’t Arizona. Scary stuff.
And yet - when Cal lost in Eugene back in Mid-January, I wrote the following:
That’s a team that could close the season at 9-5 and challenge for a .500 or better conference record.
Why do I think that’s possible*? Because Cal is 2-4 despite having played the 2nd toughest set of conference games and has been competitive in all but one game. Because other than Arizona and maaaaybe Utah, nobody in this conference is really scary and Cal can beat any of them on their night. And because Cal might end up having the conference’s leading scorer on their team, and he’s not just chucking up 30 shots a night to do it.
*Please note that I said possible, not likely. The downside risk is that the Pac-12, while lacking in elite teams, doesn’t have many outright bad teams either, and so for Cal to push for a .500 conference record, they’re probably gonna have to win a bunch of close games.
Cal has improbably gone 7-4 since I wrote that, having gone 6-2 in games decided by single digits. It gave us exactly as many gray hairs and heart palpitations as we feared, but they won a bunch of close games and put themselves in a position to earn a .500 conference record or better.
So sure, Colorado and Utah are scary teams when you have to travel to their place. But since the turn of the year Cal has defied every expectation and played competitive games against almost every opponent.
So what the hell. Damn the numbers, damn expectations, damn the altitude. Why settle for a 10-10 conference record? Why not go out there and earn a top 4 seed in the Pac-12 tournament?
What better way to send off the seniors who saved Cal basketball?
Nick you have out done yourself. I rank this article as best of the year. It has been an absolute joy watching Jaylon Tyson lead this team to where Cal Home games, at least for me are can’t miss for anything!
What I find most impressive was wading into where Jaylon fits in the pantheon of our legends, heroes and icons. It’s is tricky business and folks can be easily triggered if their personal favorites are not as close to the throne as would like or even remember.
So why is Jaylon Brown missing? Though his time at Cal was memorable and his nba career has evolved into something incredible, he was a a bull in a China shop. There was no subtly to his game. Yes it can be argued the season JB stopped by was a success but it was a wobbly group that flamed out of the first round of Big Dance.
Nick’s list of players includes several of my favorites, thank you for bringing Jorge into the discussion.
So where am I going with this diatribe? I will get to the point. I put Jaylon Tyson on the throne between Jason Kidd and Kevin Johnson. I have a simple criteria for this very subjective list. It is the anticipation of going to a game prepared to see something never seen before (Kidd) or sheer artistry to control that games narrative (Kidd & KJ). Of course each had amazing players around them to allowing them to shine.
Two more talking points then I’ll shut up.
Mad Dog bleeds Blue and Gold. He is where he wants to be. How he ended up down on the Farm is a travesty that doesn’t deserve mention. I think WSU has to worry more about Kyle Smith being poached by the Cardinal.
Lastly, the lingering discussion about Cal and the Big Dance. Historically Cal’s overall record kills the deal. A W over a SDS, Butler or Old Miss would have gotten us on the bubble but it is what it is.
That said it’s a brave new world where far too often it’s all about the money. If we can steal two out of three on the road and make it at least to a thrilling semifinal or final loss maybe the selection committee gets a memo that the Golden Bears are ratings gold. This occurring must realistically be called magical thinking. Other than that best we can hope for….NIT or that bastard child the CBI. The silver lining of landing in either of these two is we will get a home game or two.
That is all.
A thoughtful, and heartfelt reflection, filled with optimism and hope. The Bears have followed the prescription thus far, winning three games in a row. Now the task becomes more difficult. It will take perfect games at Colorado and Utah to be in those contests to the finish. The growth of bench performers has been a demonstration that coaching has improved this team. The Bears will have to be competitive from the outset as they were with Oregon, avoid turnovers, hit their free-throws, and play the kind of defense that has secured the last three wins. Now I want to turn to another issue.
Cal Marketing and the Impact on Cal Spirit
1. The constant interruption of the game with canned music, especially interrupting the Cal Band is a clear indication that those in charge have no connection to Cal. They interrupt "The Big C March" without allowing the students and the band to give the "grrrrh" cheer, they interrupt "Sons of California before the band and yell leaders can do the "California" spell out. They also have no concept of when to use canned music after a big play and time out. It's disgusting.
2. The insipid marketing games they impose on us preclude the student spirit groups from building support for the team. Yell leaders barely have time to lead cheers.
3. The yell leaders do not know or have not been instructed how to teach the students how and when to cheer. They do not clap when the band plays Cal spirit songs, they do not know the "grrrh" chant, or the "California" spell out, and at the Senior's farewell, did not even stand until prompted to cheer for these student athletes who made this season so enjoyable.
4. It would be good if Alums and students filled Maples Pavilion for the final game of the season to support the team, but will athletics encourage it? Well see.