This Cal men’s basketball squad has hit a wall over the past few weeks.
Most recently, the No. 6-ranked Duke Blue Devils came to Berkeley on Wednesday night and tore the souls out of the Bears, 56-71. However, the score did not do justice to the Bears’ hustle and effort — the team showed its determination and ability to hang with some of the best in the nation.
“I thought we had a really good start … that’s something that’s been a focus for us,” said graduate forward John Camden in the postgame press conference. “The challenge for us is … we (have) to be able to do it for 40 minutes.” for The Bears have a prime opportunity to deliver on this challenge this Saturday against another blue blood, the North Carolina Tar Heels.
The currently No. 14-ranked Tar Heels boast one of the best frontcourts in the nation, headlined by freshman phenom and potential top 2026 NBA draft pick Caleb Wilson. The forward from Atlanta is averaging 19.9 points per game and an ACC-leading 10.9 rebounds per game, along with nearly three total steals and blocks per game.
In a sense, Cal may be feeling some déjà vu after facing another star freshman in Duke’s Cameron Boozer, but head coach Mark Madsen highlighted the extra nuances in Wilson’s game. “Caleb is a guy who is a power player, but he’s long, he’s lean, he’s athletic,” Madsen said. “He slides around you. He shoots over the top of you. He’ll get a defensive rebound, and he’ll push out in transition himself.”
Madsen’s analysis is supported by statistics — North Carolina averages 12.31 fastbreak points per game and leads the ACC in defensive rebounds per game at 28.94. Despite those strengths, the Tar Heels are not without their own fair share of struggles.
Earlier in the month, the team fell to the SMU Mustangs 97-83, and on Wednesday, it surprisingly lost 95-90 to the unranked Stanford Cardinal, causing it to plummet to eighth in the ACC standings. With North Carolina, it truly is a tale of two sides of the ball. They boast the highest scoring offense through ACC play with 84.75 points per game, but they also claim the conference’s second-worst scoring defense, allowing 85.5 points per game.
While the Bears have an unparalleled opportunity in this game to revive their sputtering offense, they cannot sleep on this talented big man rotation. Wilson and junior center Henri Veesaar, who averages 17.4 points and nine rebounds per game, have been a dominant duo and are coming off a performance where they combined for 52 of their team’s 90 points. The blue and gold are bracing themselves for the Tar Heels’ best on Saturday. “UNC is coming off a loss tonight, so they’re going to be prepared,” Camden said on Wednesday night. “We got to come out with a lot of fight and be able to sustain it for 40 minutes.”
The Bears have to shoot better if they want to keep up with their opponent’s offensive output. Even with some good looks on Wednesday against Duke, the trio of junior guard Dai Dai Ames, senior forward Chris Bell and sophomore guard Justin Pippen shot a combined 7-for-34 from the field. A similar performance from the team’s three leading scorers would spell a similar defeat.
The difference in Saturday’s game could just be the Haas Pavilion advantage. Wednesday’s sellout crowd brought some much-needed energy for Cal, and a similar turnout could make the Tar Heels’ nearly 3,000-mile trip from Chapel Hill a winless one.
“Shout out to Cal fans. They showed up to support us tonight,” Camden said after Wednesday’s loss to Duke. “(We) need them back on Saturday. But we’ll get it done then and give them something to cheer on.”
