Cal Bears Complete Perfect Home Schedule with Win over USC

The Cal Bears handled the USC Trojans with ease on Sunday, finishing 18-0 at home, undefeated for the first time since the 1959-1960.

On Sunday night, the California Golden Bears wrapped up their home schedule, putting a pretty little bow on top with their 87-65 win over USC. By extending their overall win streak to seven games, the Bears finish their home schedule unblemished, ending with a perfect 18-0 record.

The Trojans opened the game by controlling the tip and getting a layup from Nikola Jovanovic, but Jabari Bird answered by hitting two three-pointers on the other end to give the Bears an early edge. That first series of events was indicative of how most of the first half would go. Cal relied heavily on their deep shooting, which has been lights out during their win streak. The Trojans forced and fed the ball down in the post, getting a lot of layups and short jumpers.

USC used that strategy to get out to an early 20-16 lead, forcing Cal head coach Cuonzo Martin to take a timeout with about 12 and a half minutes left in the half. The Bears came out of the timeout strongly, using a big run to regain the lead they had relinquished earlier. That run stretched out to 24-6, including 14-0 at one point, in the Bears’ favor, pushing Cal’s lead up to 14 points in the first half. By the time 20 minutes had passed in the game, Cal held a sizable 44-30 lead, pushed out by Jaylen Brown‘s impressive coast-to-coast buzzer-beating layup.

Brown did a lot of the heavy lifting in the first half, piling up 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-4 from long distance, along with four boards and a big block in transition. Bird joined Brown in double-figures with 10 first-half points of his own.

Cal wasted no time in the second half picking up right where they left off in the first. They started the final half at Haas this season with five consecutive points, pushing their lead to 19 and forcing USC head coach Andy Enfield to call a timeout less than two minutes after the break. Two Kameron Rooks free throws would push the lead to 29 with about eight minutes left, which would be Cal’s biggest advantage of the evening.

From there, the Bears were able to put it in cruise control and glide into the final whistle. The lead didn’t get any closer than 22 points through the rest of the game, and Cal was able to sit their starters for the final few minutes of the contest. The final buzzer sounded to signal another win for the Golden Bears.

Before the final home game of his college career, Cal’s point guard Tyrone Wallace was honored by his teammates and fans as the team’s lone scholarship senior on senior night. Wallace walked out of the tunnel during introductions with his mother and grandmother under each arm. He played very well throughout the game, totaling 12 points, five rebounds, and six assists, including a monster dunk over USC defenders that should get some airtime on SportsCenter. He exited the game with about three minutes left to a huge ovation from the home crowd.

Freshmen Brown and Ivan Rabb also received big ovations, as well as chants of “one more year” in the final handful of minutes. Brown, a contender for freshman All-American, finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks. Rabb also scored 18, including some thunderous dunks, and pulled down 10 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season.

Center Kingsley Okoroh didn’t light up the stat sheet, scoring just two points and grabbing four boards, but played excellent defense in the middle of the court after getting off to a slow start. The same can be said about fellow center Kameron Rooks, who had four points and four rebounds before picking up his fifth foul.

Off the bench, Jordan Mathews picked up 17 points, and matched his season-high by hitting four three-pointers. Sam Singer had one point, two rebounds, and two assists. Brenden Glapion, another senior, didn’t score but picked up an assist in his couple of minutes.

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Graduate senior Nick Kerr received some playing time in the final few minutes, his seven game played of the year, and hit the final bucket of the season for the Bears in Haas, a three-pointer just like his father, Steve Kerr, who was in attendance on Sunday. His triple, the third make of the year for Kerr, sent the bench, as well as the crowd, into a frenzy.

USC’s Serbian junior forward Nikola Jovanovic had a very nice day for the Trojans. He had 12 points in the first 10 minutes of the game to surpass his season average of 11.9 points per contest. He finished with 21 points and nine rebounds.

Overall during the Bears’ seven-game winning streak, they have dominated on both ends of the floor. As a team, they have shot 49.1 percent from the floor during the streak, including 45.3 percent from three-point land. Their opponents have shot an abysmal 39.7 percent from the field, including just 28.2 percent from beyond the arc. Bird has been a big part of the upswing for Cal, averaging 15.7 points during the run, and shooting a blazing 57.9 percent on threes.

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Cal’s win against USC in Haas Pavilion completes their perfect season at home, finishing the year 18-0 in front of their own fans. This is their first perfect record at home since the 1959-1960 Bears finished 14-0 at Harmon Gym in Hall of Fame head coach Pete Newell’s last season as Cal’s head coach before becoming the athletic director. That season also marks the last time Cal appeared in the National Championship Game, and the Final Four.

Overall, the Bears are 21-8 on the year, and 11-5 within the Pac-12. That conference mark puts them third in the Pac-12, behind Oregon (11-4) and Utah (12-5). USC is now 19-10 on the season and 8-8 in the conference. They have lost five of their last six games since being ranked 23rd on February 8th.

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Two games remain for the Bears before tournament play starts. On Thursday, they’ll take on the Arizona Wildcats in the McKale Center, and then finish the regular season with a matchup against the Arizona State Sun Devils on Sunday in the Wells Fargo Arena.