Stanford beats Cal 73-68 in a cross-bay showdown.
Stanford digs out of early hole, takes advantage of Cal turnovers, poor free-throw shooting
STANFORD — Stanford achieved on Friday night what no one had done since Dec. 7 — beat Cal as an unranked team.
The Cardinal broke open an uneven game with a 13-0 second-half run and scored a 73-68 victory.
This was a Cal team alone in fourth place in the Pac-12 Conference and inching closer to an NCAA tournament bid with five wins in its previous six games.
Stanford, meanwhile, sat in ninth place after losing five of six.
But Cal (18-8, 9-5 Pac-12) turned the ball over with alarming regularity, ran into early foul trouble and squandered a chance to sweep the Cardinal for the first time in seven seasons. The Bears had not lost to an unranked team since Seton Hall beat them a week into December.
Stanford (13-13, 5-9) missed nine of its first 10 shots and trailed 19-7 to start the game. From that hole, the Cardinal fashioned its sixth win in the past seven years over Cal at Maples Pavilion.
The Cardinal stifled Cal with an effective zone defense, and it displayed the passion first-year coach Jerod Haase has asked for all season.
“We came into the locker room at halftime, and you could see the fire in our eyes,” junior Reid Travis said. “We weren’t going to walk out of here with an ‘L’ tonight.”
Sharpshooter Dorian Pickens, scoreless when these teams met last month in Berkeley, had his best game in conference play with 23 points, including 10-for-11 at the free throw line. Travis, the 6-foot-8, 245-pound power forward, helped foul out
both of Cal’s centers, Kameron Rooks and Kingsley Okoroh, on the way to 19 points and nine rebounds.
The Cardinal outscored Cal 29-3 at the free-throw line, indicative of its aggressiveness.
“Obviously, that was an important stat in the ballgame,” said Haase, who began his playing career at Cal. “I liked our attack mentality.”
Jabari Bird had 23 points, fueled by a career-high seven 3-pointers, and grabbed nine rebounds. But he also had six of the 20 Cal turnovers that led to 18 Stanford points. Ivan Rabb’s 16-point, 13-rebound game was marred by a 2-for-6 effort at the foul line. The Bears missed seven of their 10 freethrow attempts.
Cal coach Cuonzo Martin saw little he liked from his team.
“We didn’t play well,” Martin said. “Our bigs didn’t play well against Reid Travis. You can’t have 20 turnovers, especially against a team that’s not pressing you. I didn’t think we defended well.”
Asked if he could explain the turnover total, which matched the team’s season high, Martin said, “I wish I could.”
The Bears entered Friday with a strong No. 31 RPI rank, but their remaining road in the Pac12 is not easy. They are home to face the Oregon schools next week, then close out the regular season with games at Utah and Colorado.
Bird’s fifth 3-pointer of the game and an old-fashioned 3-point play by Rabb gave Cal a 44-42 lead early in the second half. But personnel trouble was brewing for the Bears.
The Cal lead was shortlived. Pickens answered with a 3-pointer for Stanford, triggering a 13-0 burst that gave Stanford a 55-44 lead with 12:39 left. The margin reached 62-49 after a 3-pointer by Pickens before the Bears staged a mini-rally.
Cal went on a 7-0 run, slicing the gap to 62-56, before consecutive turnovers by the Bears torpedoed the comeback.
“Our defense isn’t designed to run around and go crazy and get steals,” Haase said. “The turnovers and steals come from great activity.”
The first 8 1 ⁄2 minutes of the game belonged to Cal. But Stanford flipped the script the rest of the half and took a 38-34 lead into the break.