Cal Bears Seem to be Hitting Their Stride at the Right Time

With five consecutive wins and eight wins in nine games, it seems the Cal Bears’ basketball team is hitting their stride at just the right time.

The Cal Bears didn’t get off to a great start during conference play. They dropped two of their first three games to Pac-12 foes, losing to the Arizona Wildcats and UCLA Bruins, both ranked teams. But since handling business in an upset victory against the 25th-ranked USC Trojans on January 8th, things have started to click for the Bears.

That victory against USC, Cal’s first road win against a ranked conference opponent since January 9th, 2014 (against Oregon), started a stretch of eight wins in nine games. On Wednesday, they pushed their current winning streak to five with a dominating victory against the Arizona State Sun Devils in what was their most stifling defensive performance of the season.

Cal beat Arizona State 68-43, putting on a defensive display for the entire 40 minutes. For the Sun Devils, their 43 points were by far a season-low, falling well below the 60 that was their previous low. They shot 25.4 percent from the floor, also marking their worst night of the year. On Cal’s side, the 43 points allowed and 25.4 percent shooting are both the lowest they’ve allowed.

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That’s an impressive feat, considering that the Bears’ defense has been one of the best in the nation over the entire season. They are holding opponents to 39.4 percent shooting and 63.1 point per game, ranking them 17th nationally in both categories. Their points allowed per game is the best mark in the Pac-12, and their opponent shooting percentage is second, only to Oregon.

But now, the Bears are starting to get the offense on the other end to complement that stout defense. The offensive attack is led by star sophomore forward Ivan Rabb. The Karl Malone Award finalist is averaging a double-double, scoring 15 points per game and pulling down 11 rebounds. There is no denying that he is the man that makes things tick, and the guys around him are beginning to pitch in a bit more.

This little resurgence has been led by an uptick in graduate transfer Grant Mullins‘ contributions. In his first year away from Columbia and the Ivy League, Mullins started slow, scoring 7.9 points per contest while shooting 40.5 percent from deep and averaging 1.5 three-pointers made in his first 11 games. Over his last 11 games, Mullins is adding 11.7 points, shooting 43.7 percent from the beyond the arc, and making 2.8 threes per game. He’s hit multiple three-pointers in 10 of those 11 games, including a season-high six against the Sun Devils.

Jabari Bird has been a big boost as well, as he’s really started to come into his own this season. His 14.5 points per are second only to Rabb, and while his shooting percentage is a bit down from past years, his volume is way up. He’s taking almost 13 shots per game and making 2.5 threes per game, both career-best marks.

When Cal came away with an upset victory against the Utah Utes in double-overtime on February 2nd, it was Bird leading the way. He scored a career-high 26 points, and hit the game-winning alley-oop dunk with 2.1 seconds left in the second extra period. The potential and athletic ability have always been there for Bird, but now the results are starting to match.

It’s also no coincidence that center Kameron Rooks‘ return came around the time that Cal’s hot streak began. The seven-footer missed significant time with a knee injury, but returned and played just one minute in Cal’s loss to UCLA. In the team’s next game against USC, he played tangible minutes and has been a regular member of the rotation ever since.

Rooks isn’t a huge contributor to the stat sheet, averaging 4.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, but his biggest asset comes from his sheer size. At seven feet tall and about 260 pounds, the junior is an enforcer below the rim. He is averaging over a block per game, and his presence down below is enough to alter shots at the rim and force the smaller players to think twice before driving to the hoop. There aren’t exactly stats for looking intimidating, but his presence is noticeable.

This run of momentum will be put to the test on Saturday. Cal travels to Arizona to face the Wildcats again, only this time they will take on a top-10 team. Arizona’s 11-1 conference record sits them atop the Pac-12, while their 22 total wins are tied for third-most in the country. Gonzaga, the consensus number-one team and last unbeaten in the nation, while Villanova has 23. The Wildcats beat the Bears 68-63 on New Year’s Day, when they were ranked 18th in the nation.

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It will need to be a complete team effort, but it feels like these Bears are a better team than the last time these two hooked up. Arizona leads the Pac-12, but Cal is not far behind at 9-3 in third place.

Only six games separate the Bears from the conference championship tournament, and they need to keep up these winning ways if they want to move beyond that to the Big Dance. Cal is listed first among Joe Lunardi’s latest “First Four Teams Out” of March Madness. A strong performance down the stretch will certainly help their case.

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