With senior point guard Tyrone Wallace returning to action on Thursday night, Cal’s NCAA Tournament resume isn’t dead yet, as they blitzed Oregon early and never looked back, winning 83-63 in Berkeley.
Junior wing Jabari Bird was the star of the show for the Bears, scoring 24 points by way of five treys, four of which came in a first half that saw Cal (16-8, 6-5) run out to a 42-24 lead at the break. Oregon (20-5, 9-3) was led by Pac-12 Player of the Year candidate Dillon Brooks, who had 17 points on the night.
Before Wallace’s wrist injury that held him out for several weeks, the Bears were one of the best two-point field goal defenses in the country, anchored by a perimeter long and athletic enough to match-up with anyone, and an interior that could alter shots at the rim and seal off the boards. Without Wallace, though, Sam Singer was promoted to the starting role and couldn’t bring the same kind of versatility. In the end, Wallace only missed five games–where Cal actually went 3-2 during that stretch–but the difference was noticeable.
Now, the Bears have 11 wins over the RPI top 100, including six against the top 50–their lone loss against anyone outside of the top 100 came against Richmond, who has a chance to sneak back into the top 100 by the end of the year.
At this time of year, all you can truly ask for is to be in contention for a bubble spot, and Cal’s NCAA Tournament resume took a book step forward on Thursday with the win over Oregon.
