Men's Basketball: Cal Turns Up The Defensive Intensity In Win Over Columbia, 74-56
Bears end the non-conference schedule 12-1 and look towards ACC play in one week
The Columbia Lions entered today’s game with a 9-2 record. Their losses have been to UConn(understandable) and Stony Brook(not so sure), while all their wins have come against non-P5 opponents. With a Kenpom rating of 125, the Lions are firmly in the range of Utah(123) and Pacific(126). In Cal’s earlier victories over Utah and Pacific, the games were highly contested until Cal did enough to secure the wins in the last eight minutes of the game. The Lions like to play an up-tempo offense, averaging over 80 points per game. Guard Kenny Noland leads the Lions with 18 points and 4 assists per game. Today’s game provided the Bears with a solid challenge to wrap up non-conference schedule.
Justin Pippen made his return today after missing the previous two games. On Columbia’s first possession of the game, Pippen stole the ball and John Camden converted on the outlet pass and 3-point shot. With the score tied 4-4 at the first timeout, Dai Dai Ames scored 7 points during a 13-0 Cal scoring run to push Cal’s lead to 17-4 at the midway point of the half.
Cal’s man-to-man defense was highly effective on locking down Columbia and challenging every shot. The Lions started the game only hitting 4-of-17 shots. Cal was giving no margin of error, committing only three fouls as the Lions could not handle Cal’s defense. Cal took a 28-16 lead at halftime.
For a game where Cal was dominating, it felt like Cal should be dominating more. Columbia shot only 25% for the half, committed 12 turnovers, and only shot 2 free throw attempts. Cal only turned the ball over once and was at the free throw line 13 times. The Bears weren’t connecting on enough shots. Cal also only shot 25% for the half, including 2-of-12 from long range. Dai Dai Ames was the only scorer in double figures with 10 points.
Columbia connected on their first three shots of the second half, but the Bears held steady and maintained a 9-12 point lead over the first five minutes of the half. The Bears worked the ball inside on multiple occasions with Lee Dort scoring 5 points in the early going. John Camden scored only 3 points in the first half on 1-of-6 shooting. He found his shot in the second half, scoring 7 early points as Cal led 46-35 at the 12-minute mark.
The Bears scored 10 straight points after the TV timeout to push the lead to 56-35. Cal’s defense continued to be executed well, and the offense was finally able to get some flow. The Lions did not go away, continuing to fight down the stretch. Cal’s pressure on the perimeter was susceptible to losing track of an interior player. Lions forwards Mason Ritter and Connor Igoe frequently found the soft spot on the interior and was able convert easy baskets or free throws. Cal’s lead was cut to 65-52 with three minutes remaining.
The Lions could not get any closer. Columbia ratcheted up their full court press and backcourt traps, and was able to collect one steal. Coach Madsen called timeout to settle the troops, and Cal played more mindful in the closing minutes. John Camden, Dai Dai Ames and TT Carr converted 6-of-6 free throws at the end as Cal closed out the 74-56 victory.
Dai Dai Ames scored 21 points to lead the Bears. John Camden added 15, and Chris Bell added 12. Lee Dort collected 14 rebounds and 4 blocks and was a defensive force of nature on the interior.
After a sluggish first half offensively, Cal shot 64% from the field over the final twenty minutes. After only three first half assists, the Bears had 11 assists in the second half.
Notes and Observations
This is the second complete game for the Bears, where the outcome was never seriously in doubt. After the previous four games were tight contests for most of the game, it’s been nice to see Cal put together 80 minutes of dominant basketball. In hist postgame comments, John Camden indicated the team is, “closing out the non-conference the right way…..putting an emphasis on defensive rebounding. Just come together, get assists and keep to our principles.
On the defensive intensity, Coach Madsen said,”Our theme this year is we want to make people uncomfortable….and I thought our guys did a good job at the start, especially as we got deflections throughout the game. You know, our guys really have active hands.”
Milos Ilic had a solid all-around game off the bench and continues to grow into his role. In only 14 minutes, he collected 6 rebounds and dished out 3 assists. The offense runs differently when Ilic is playing instead of Dort. With Dort, the offense mixes in low post plays for Lee, and he can either go one-on-one in the post or kick out if the defense collapses on him. Ilic is used at high post to pull the defense away from the interior. His 3 assists were to cutting players near the basket.
Rytis Petraitis and DeJuan Campbell did not play today, as they recover from injury. There is no announced timetable for the return.
Cal has a week off before starting ACC play next Tuesday when they host #11 Louisville. Cal’s first 7 conference games are a gauntlet, featuring four top-20 teams and all opponents in the top 80 Kenpom ratings. Stay tuned to WriteForCalifornia as we will look ahead to the ACC race over the next couple weeks.