Cal Men's Basketball: Further Analysis on the Oregon Ducks Game

Cal was Stagnant on Offense, Overmatched on Defense

Cal beating Oregon was always going to be a tall task. The Ducks are more athletic and may be the only team in the PAC-12 that is taller and longer than Cal at every position. Dana Altman’s teams are 9-1 against the Bears over the last several years, with Cal’s only win coming last year in Eugene when Jordan Shepherd scored 33 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. On Wednesday, Cal did themselves no favors. They were sluggish on offense and were slow to react on defense. Oregon’s backcourt press slowed the Bears down, and their length disrupted Cal’s outside shooting and passing. Cal never got into any kind of offensive rhythm.

Here is Cal’s first offensive possession.

Notice how all five Cal players are moving with purpose. They are using the entire frontcourt, operating at a good speed. Newell’s cut at the end that resulted in a foul and 2 free throws was available at the very beginning of the sequence as well. In my notes, I jotted down, “good motion from everyone.” It did not continue.

Here is a sequence from later in the half.

Notice how the players are all moving at a slower pace. They are not cutting across the entire lane or even moving around the perimeter. Joel Brown is focused on getting the ball into Thiemann, but his teammates are not helping him out at all and not giving him other options.

The game was effectively over by halftime. Cal stayed close for the first 12 minutes of the game. Oregon ended the half by outscoring Cal 17-7 over final seven minutes, and Cal would never get it into single digits for the rest of the night.

On the defensive side, I continue to question how the team is coached to defend pick and rolls. Here are two examples.

Oregon’s Quincy Durrier sets a high screen on DeJuan Clayton. Kuany plays back, fearful that Will Richardson will drive the lane. Unfortunately, Kuany finds himself in no-man’s land. He is too far away to recover on Durrier’s roll to the basket. And, he never pressured Richardson enough to impact the entry pass. Durrier has an easy bucket.

The next Oregon offensive play of the game involves the same players.

Here, Kuany decides to close (hedge) out on Richardson handling the ball. This strategy is effective when the ball handler is undersized, or if the help defense is in a position to pick up the rolling offensive player. Richardson is tall enough to make the pass out of the double team, and Thiemann is too slow to react to Gurrier going straight down the lane. Gurrier gets the basket and a foul.

In both plays, Oregon out-executed Cal. However, Richardson is also far enough away from the basket and Clayton worked his way through the screens so he is still connected to the ball handler. Kuany needs to stick to Gurrier on both of these plays.

Oregon’s 89 points are the most given up this season by the Bears. Cal plays Oregon State this Sunday at noon at Haas. The Beavers lost at Stanford on Thursday, 67-46, Stanford’s first conference win. The Golden Bears will be favored in this game. If Cal plays defense like they did on Wednesday, the Beavers may be able to pull get a split of the Bay Area games.