Men's Basketball: No. 13 Louisville Dominates Cal, 90-70
Bears make the wrong kind of statement in ACC opener
Coming into tonight’s game, I tried my best not to overhype this singular game in my head. Cal is off to a fantastic 12-1 start against the 338th easiest schedule in the country. The first two weeks of December featured lackluster effort and execution against lower-tier competition, but they played 80 minutes of complete basketball in their last two outings versus Morgan State and Columbia. The metrics indicate Cal is in the top 40 team in 3-point shooting and offensive efficiency, the defensive numbers have all improved from last year, and the offense is multi-dimensional and has multiple players who have stepped up at various points. Into Haas Pavilion comes the 16th-ranked Louisville Cardinals to kick off ACC play for both teams. Louisville, in many ways, is a superior version of Kansas State. The Cardinals make 12.6 3-pointers per game(on 35 attempts), third in the nation. They feature three guards in Mikel Brown**, Ryan Conwell and Isaac McKneely who can single-handedly win a game.
It’s been hard to resist thinking this might be a breakthrough game for Madsen in which we will see if Cal’s a paper tiger, or if Cal is a legitimate threat for finishing in the top half of the conference. This is only game one of a 6-game opening stretch ACC gauntlet. Put too much importance into one game, and you lose the vision of two more months of conference basketball.
Both teams started with an interior focus. The interior battle of Lee Dort and Sandada Fru went to Fru early on. Fru was able to post up effectively on Lousville’s first two possession and scored the games first four points. Dort was not able to convert on his first two interior possessions. Louisville connected on back-to-back 3-pointers from Isaac McKneely and Ryan Conwell, and with just over two minutes gone by, Louisville enjoyed a 10-0 lead. Coach Madsen called a timeout to regroup.
Dai Dai Ames for scored 4 quick points to put Cal on the board. After connecting on their first five shots of the game, Louisville’s shooting regressed to the mean as they connected on only three of their next ten shots. Cal was not able to put a dent into the lead, but had steadied the ship as Louisville lead 19-9 at the twelve minute media timeout. Louisville was in foul trouble early, having committed eight fouls over the first eight minutes. Cal would be shooting foul shots the rest of the half.
Cal’s offense entered a funk. Three straight trips for the Bears resulted in two turnovers and a shot clock violation. The Cardinals were playing aggressive defense on the ball handler. Cal did not have an answer to the disruption on the perimeter. Cal started off the game shooting less than 24% from the field, while Louisville was moving the ball effectively (8 assists on 12 made baskets) as they pushed their lead to 31-13 at the eight minute timeout.
Cal was able to cut the lead down to 11 at the three minute mark, 36-25. The Cardinals scored seven straight points to extend the lead back to eighteen. At halftime, Louisville led 48-34.
The Cardinals did not convert on a single midrange shot in the first half; all made baskets were at the rim or from 3-point range. Louisville connected on 8-of-17 3-point shots (47%). Cal connected on 4-of-10 from long range, but were only 4-of-14 from inside the arc. The foul discrepancy was heavily in Cal’s favor. Louisville committed sixteen first half fouls, compared to Cal’s six fouls. Cal was able to connect on 14-of-18 from the free throw line to at least keep within reach of the Cardinals. Ryan Conwell led the Cardinals with sixteen first half points.
At this point in the game, I was shell-shocked. I had personally invested too much emotional stock in this game as a potential next step in the Cal program’s resurrection from the 3-29 season in 2022-23. From the eye test, it was clear Cal is/was not ready for this level of competition. Maybe this is how the football junkies amongst you felt after the inevitability of another 6-6 season under Wilcox.
The second half did not change the narrative. At the 14-minute mark, Louisville had pushed their lead to 64-41 as they continued to execute their offense well and continued to make Cal extremely uncomfortable on offense. Only four Bears had scored through the first 26 minutes of the game.
Louisville maintained their 20+ point lead until just under eight minutes remaining in the game. John Camden scored his first basket of the game during a 14-0 Cal scoring streak in just under ninety seconds, as Cal cut the lead to 73-62. Haas Pavilion was extremely loud as a brief window of opportunity opened up for an improbable comeback.
Louisville responded with seven straight points as they promptly closed the window. Cal would get no closer as Louisville closed out the 90-70 victory.
The Cardinal’s box score was nearly a mirror of their season averages, as they dictated the game at both ends. They attempted many 3-point shots, made a decent percentage of them, and had enough interior balance to keep Cal’s defense at bay. Louisville outrebounded Cal 50 to 31. The game script was exactly was Louisville wanted. Ryan Conwell scored 26 points to pace the Cardinals.
Cal was held to 34% shooting both overall and from long distance. Chris Bell led Cal with 20 points, but John Camden was held to 3 points on 1-of-10 shooting.
Losing this game is not a surprise. The Cardinals are an excellent team who execute their offense and defense exceedingly well. They force you to play their game. Falling behind 10-0 and not being competitive in the game is the surprise. This was not a good start to their 6-game opening stretch of ACC play which features at least three other teams of similar pedigree.
Right now, I’m down. I know that this season will still be Madsen’s best season as a whole. There most likely will be some form of postseason play. The team is entertaining and runs a dynamic eye-pleasing offense. We still get Duke and UNC coming into Haas in a couple weeks. There’s plenty of reasons to quickly move on from this game and immediately focus on beating Notre Dame on Friday.
Instead, I’m dwelling on possibly starting 0-6 in conference play with predictable one-sided outcomes. Without Rytis Petraitis and DeJuan Campbell, the Bears lack key depth and can be exposed on the defensive end. Dort is a capable interior presence defensively, but Cal lacks physicality across the frontcourt and loses too many toss-up plays down low. Our guards are susceptible to being bullied and easily disrupted on ball rotation and passing.
All of this is an overreaction, but it’s where I’m at right now. It’s one game against one of the top opponents Cal will face all year. Cal has the opportunity to quiet my mind when they host Notre Dame on Friday night. The Fighting Irish, like Cal, are currently trying to prove they belong in the ACC upper tier conversation. Friday’s game can be considered another barometer game for the program. I look forward to overreacting to whatever the outcome may be.
Coach Quotes
Coach Madsen on losing the rebounding battle decisively; “They came up with every 50/50 ball, they got the key rebounds in key situations. Losing the battle on the glass tonight was disappointing because we have the physicality to do it. We just didn’t come up with the basketballs. Our guys have been active to the ball all year. We were a step slow tonight.
Madsen on what to improve as they continue through ACC play; “We must figure out how to have a better start. Guard the 3-point line better, rebound better.”
Lousville Coach Pat Kelsey is a larger-than-life character. He is an always excited basketball lifer who will give you extensive answers to routine questions. Check out his entire postgame comments. At about the 2:40 mark, I asked about Louisville’s approach to defending Cal. He provide an entire scouting report, down to the detail of which hand Pippen and Ames dribble with as they drive the lane, commented that Pippen “has one of the best shot fakes in college basketball”, and what Cal leans toward when the shot clock is winding down.
** - Brown warmed up with the team but was ruled out at gametime as he continues to recover from a lower back injury.
Much of what we thought we were, we are. Much of what we hoped we were, we were not.
I really appreciated this article’s fusion of fandom and analysis. Let’s hope for some better ACC results going forward.