Aside from the family section behind the Bears' bench, I only saw three other Cal fans. Such is life in the ACC, I suppose.
If you haven't been to the dome in a while, they gave it a massive makeover. It has a fixed roof now, a center scoreboard, new lights, and chairbacks everywhere. Huge improvements all around.
As I presume they mentioned on the broadcast, there was a citywide power outage during the game, so the scoreboards glitched, then went out, then came back on but were partially frozen, then they eventually came fully back. Luckily, we had good seats with a view of the elementary school scoreboard that they set-up at mid-court.
It's fun that you can go down and walk onto the football field behind the temporary bleachers at halftime. It's a neat part of the experience and a good place to have your halftime beer.
As far as the hoops, I agree that we really missed Dort. It felt like Cuse had about 6 alley-oops, and all their putbacks were dunks. Syracuse clearly had an edge in athleticism, especially around the rim. It was also apparent that the Orange were poorly coached and have a terrible locker room dynamic. You can't have that many five star recruits and struggle to beat Cal at home. From the talk in the crowd, Coach Autry is a month away from being fired.
As has been the case all season, I appreciated Cal's grit last night. They battle, and they battle, and they battle. But they're still a little thin, and when Madsen rests the starters, they struggle to score. They really missed Pippen after he fouled out because he's the guy that can exert the most control over a possession when needed.
Much love to the team and the coaches for having us bubble-watching in mid-February. They still have a path (albeit with slim margin for error) to the dance, but either way this has been a really fun season. It's good to be back!
Ugh. Was really hoping for that road win but when Pippen fouled out and we missed the chance to win in regulation, I thought it was over. Actually surprised we managed to push to 2OT.
I still have no idea what is in fact the Dort injury.
Needed to win this one at the gun. No Pippen they had little chance in OT - just getting to 2OT showed moxie, but in the end they just don’t have the horses to consistently win these games on the road.
Winnable game. Unfortunately, we're just not a deep team. We've been performing better than expected without Dort or Rytis, but that's tough to sustain.
Without Dort, we have reverted to form of being one of the worst defensive teams in all of Power 5 basketball. It’s nonexistent…your margins are simply too thin to win when opposing teams can basically score at will inside the arc.
Dort was the one injury they could not withstand, and it unfortunately will likely end up costing them a Tournament bid.
I'm not super mad about his poor FT showing considering how well he's been shooting the whole year (for free throws). He averages out very well, it's just jarring when he misses both at once.
Ilic showed up with some decent offense but Dort's D is still sorely missed. Shame to lose this one, but win at Wake Forest and avoid bad losses (as always) and we'll still be fine.
With Va Tech’s massive win at Clemson, they’re likely gonna work their way into lock territory by the end of the regular season…Cal needs to separate from SMU because 10 teams aren’t making it from the ACC.
Cal needs to be the 9th, not SMU. Margin for error razor thin….gotta win the next 5.
Good point. Every potential loss from here on out has a clear drawback. If I had to pick the least impactful loss to take...it would be Stanfurd? Not ideal.
I feel like this clearly a tournament roster if we still have Petraitus, Dort, and Yeanay. Ruff at this point would be a nice-to-have since we don't really have guard or shooting issues. The fact that we got clobbered by injuries at the 3-5 positions is really hurting us now.
Still, that's great news. Even with our NIL issues, Madden was able to put together a tournament-capable roster in 3 years despite where we came from after Fox. Looking forward to next year.
I had to turn on the game pretty late--maybe halfway into the 2nd. I was a little surprised they leaned on TT over DJ late. DJ has a knack for making tough baskets and pulling out rebounds and loose balls, and TT is still fairly timid. Didn't love the last play call before the end of regulation. I would have spread it out there and have Justin try to get penetration with Dai Dai off ball. Dai Dai's a better scorer for sure, but when Justin penetrates there become more options.
The final play was tough to watch. Camden, Bell, Ilic and Pippen were all clustered within the arc, with poor spacing and little movement. It was a predictable play that never really had a chance (no ball screens, understandably but still, etc.) beyond being a prayer at the gun amongst the bigs.
That was their shot to win it after getting the gift traveling call and the fact that they had to settle for a low percentage force in traffic despite getting the ball with :22 on the clock was a dagger. Tournament teams win it right there.
It was a valiant effort but winning on the road in 2OT was too much to ask. Probably NIT bound at this point.
To be clear, that would still be an impressive overperformance given preseason expectations. Really too bad about the Dort injury, because with him healthy I'd have favored us to make the NCAAs.
The close VT, FSU, and now Syracuse losses are so brutal. All of them had opportunities to win at the buzzer on the last shot that just didn't go in. I think Cal has to win out the rest of the way + 1 conference tourney win to get an at large bid
He's the guy on the team who's most capable of manufacturing a bucket as time expires, but the spacing was just terrible. Syracuse's athletic dudes were able to triple team DaiDai without leaving their own guy open for the kickout.
Go Bears, indeed, but I need to burst your bubble on this one. I was one of those paid attendees and I can assure you that there wasn't 19,000 people there last night. My guess is that they count tickets sold and not actual attendance. There's a ton of people who have season tickets to Syracuse, but they might be selective about which games they actually go to.
Last night, I'd be surprised if there was 10,000. That's still a good amount to see a struggling Syracuse team play a team that they have no connection to on a Wednesday. And it wasn't just freezing cold - it was actively snowing. So, still, Go Bears!
Plus, Virginia Tech picked up a massive win at Clemson tonight. Mizzou and Ohio State as well.
Cal pretty much needs to win 5 straight here to have any realistic chance at the Tourney. This was a winnable game and the Bears are unfortunately really feeling the effects of 10 years worth of Mike Williams and Jim Knowlton’s complete incompetence.
Report from the dome:
Aside from the family section behind the Bears' bench, I only saw three other Cal fans. Such is life in the ACC, I suppose.
If you haven't been to the dome in a while, they gave it a massive makeover. It has a fixed roof now, a center scoreboard, new lights, and chairbacks everywhere. Huge improvements all around.
As I presume they mentioned on the broadcast, there was a citywide power outage during the game, so the scoreboards glitched, then went out, then came back on but were partially frozen, then they eventually came fully back. Luckily, we had good seats with a view of the elementary school scoreboard that they set-up at mid-court.
It's fun that you can go down and walk onto the football field behind the temporary bleachers at halftime. It's a neat part of the experience and a good place to have your halftime beer.
As far as the hoops, I agree that we really missed Dort. It felt like Cuse had about 6 alley-oops, and all their putbacks were dunks. Syracuse clearly had an edge in athleticism, especially around the rim. It was also apparent that the Orange were poorly coached and have a terrible locker room dynamic. You can't have that many five star recruits and struggle to beat Cal at home. From the talk in the crowd, Coach Autry is a month away from being fired.
As has been the case all season, I appreciated Cal's grit last night. They battle, and they battle, and they battle. But they're still a little thin, and when Madsen rests the starters, they struggle to score. They really missed Pippen after he fouled out because he's the guy that can exert the most control over a possession when needed.
Much love to the team and the coaches for having us bubble-watching in mid-February. They still have a path (albeit with slim margin for error) to the dance, but either way this has been a really fun season. It's good to be back!
Ugh. Was really hoping for that road win but when Pippen fouled out and we missed the chance to win in regulation, I thought it was over. Actually surprised we managed to push to 2OT.
I still have no idea what is in fact the Dort injury.
Quad I believe.
Needed to win this one at the gun. No Pippen they had little chance in OT - just getting to 2OT showed moxie, but in the end they just don’t have the horses to consistently win these games on the road.
Yep, they really fought hard, but out manned and missed free throws too
Winnable game. Unfortunately, we're just not a deep team. We've been performing better than expected without Dort or Rytis, but that's tough to sustain.
At least we lasted longer than their power grid.
Without Dort, we have reverted to form of being one of the worst defensive teams in all of Power 5 basketball. It’s nonexistent…your margins are simply too thin to win when opposing teams can basically score at will inside the arc.
Dort was the one injury they could not withstand, and it unfortunately will likely end up costing them a Tournament bid.
Illic is realistically a 8 MPG player at this level. The guys behind him are, charitably, a year away from being a year away.
Those power problems were peculiar. As peculiar as Bell missing crucial TWO 2nd half free throws.
I'm not super mad about his poor FT showing considering how well he's been shooting the whole year (for free throws). He averages out very well, it's just jarring when he misses both at once.
Ilic showed up with some decent offense but Dort's D is still sorely missed. Shame to lose this one, but win at Wake Forest and avoid bad losses (as always) and we'll still be fine.
SMU is now a must win, IMO.
With Va Tech’s massive win at Clemson, they’re likely gonna work their way into lock territory by the end of the regular season…Cal needs to separate from SMU because 10 teams aren’t making it from the ACC.
Cal needs to be the 9th, not SMU. Margin for error razor thin….gotta win the next 5.
Good point. Every potential loss from here on out has a clear drawback. If I had to pick the least impactful loss to take...it would be Stanfurd? Not ideal.
I feel like this clearly a tournament roster if we still have Petraitus, Dort, and Yeanay. Ruff at this point would be a nice-to-have since we don't really have guard or shooting issues. The fact that we got clobbered by injuries at the 3-5 positions is really hurting us now.
Still, that's great news. Even with our NIL issues, Madden was able to put together a tournament-capable roster in 3 years despite where we came from after Fox. Looking forward to next year.
I had to turn on the game pretty late--maybe halfway into the 2nd. I was a little surprised they leaned on TT over DJ late. DJ has a knack for making tough baskets and pulling out rebounds and loose balls, and TT is still fairly timid. Didn't love the last play call before the end of regulation. I would have spread it out there and have Justin try to get penetration with Dai Dai off ball. Dai Dai's a better scorer for sure, but when Justin penetrates there become more options.
The final play was tough to watch. Camden, Bell, Ilic and Pippen were all clustered within the arc, with poor spacing and little movement. It was a predictable play that never really had a chance (no ball screens, understandably but still, etc.) beyond being a prayer at the gun amongst the bigs.
That was their shot to win it after getting the gift traveling call and the fact that they had to settle for a low percentage force in traffic despite getting the ball with :22 on the clock was a dagger. Tournament teams win it right there.
It was a valiant effort but winning on the road in 2OT was too much to ask. Probably NIT bound at this point.
To be clear, that would still be an impressive overperformance given preseason expectations. Really too bad about the Dort injury, because with him healthy I'd have favored us to make the NCAAs.
The close VT, FSU, and now Syracuse losses are so brutal. All of them had opportunities to win at the buzzer on the last shot that just didn't go in. I think Cal has to win out the rest of the way + 1 conference tourney win to get an at large bid
Gotta win 5 straight now, and then 1st round ACCT.
Still think that gets them in….maybe the play in game tho.
Any loss in the next 5 tho is good night.
Too much Ames going one on one in the last few minutes Tried to win it allay himself.
He's the guy on the team who's most capable of manufacturing a bucket as time expires, but the spacing was just terrible. Syracuse's athletic dudes were able to triple team DaiDai without leaving their own guy open for the kickout.
19k showed up on a Wednesday in the freezing cold to see them play Cal? Go Bears!
Go Bears, indeed, but I need to burst your bubble on this one. I was one of those paid attendees and I can assure you that there wasn't 19,000 people there last night. My guess is that they count tickets sold and not actual attendance. There's a ton of people who have season tickets to Syracuse, but they might be selective about which games they actually go to.
Last night, I'd be surprised if there was 10,000. That's still a good amount to see a struggling Syracuse team play a team that they have no connection to on a Wednesday. And it wasn't just freezing cold - it was actively snowing. So, still, Go Bears!
Anyway to check if Cal leads the nation in illegal screens per game?
They called a foul on me for an illegal screen in the beer line, just because of my Cal gear
As they probably should, my friend! ;-) Your rudimentary fundamentals scream “out of control.”
Thanks BP. This one hurts.
Plus, Virginia Tech picked up a massive win at Clemson tonight. Mizzou and Ohio State as well.
Cal pretty much needs to win 5 straight here to have any realistic chance at the Tourney. This was a winnable game and the Bears are unfortunately really feeling the effects of 10 years worth of Mike Williams and Jim Knowlton’s complete incompetence.