On Thursday, Cal men’s basketball got creamed 82-59 by the Washington State Cougars up in Pullman. Washington State senior forward Robert Franks had a strong return from his hip injury, finishing with 24 points and 9 rebounds on 10-18 shooting from the field and 3-7 shooting from 3-point range while Matt Bradley was the top performer for Cal with 14 points and 4 rebounds on 6-14 shooting from the field and 2-5 shooting from 3-point range. Washington State improves to 8-9 overall and 1-3 in the Pac-12 while Cal falls to 5-12 overall and 0-5 in the Pac-12.
After keeping his starting lineup close to the vest coming in, Cal head coach Wyking Jones rolled with Paris Austin, Darius McNeill, Matt Bradley, Justice Sueing, and Connor Vanover, hoping to give his team some new life. Unfortunately for Cal, that lineup didn’t work as hoped. Cal got down 9-4 with 15:37 to go in the 1st half, making just two of their first seven shots.
Cal’s deficit would grow even more as they would trail 22-12 with 11:43 to go in the 1st half. Marvin Cannon got off to a solid start for Washington State with 7 points during that stretch while his team was shooting 5-6 from the foul line. Cal in contrast could not get anything going on offense as Justice Sueing (4 points) was their top scorer.
To Cal’s credit, they wouldn’t be in that hole for long as they would go on a 12-4 run sparked by Matt Bradley, who had 10 points on 4-6 shooting from the field and 2-2 shooting from 3-point range during that stretch. As a result, Cal trailed 26-24 with 7:34 to go in the half. Cal would then briefly take the lead after a pretty finish from Juhwan Harris-Dyson.
Despite Cal’s comeback, Washington State would quickly retake the lead 34-31 with 2:20 to go in the half. They would then proceed to go on a 14-4 run to go up 42-33 at halftime. Robert Franks started to heat up for the Cougars during this stretch, finishing with 10 points and 5 rebounds at halftime. As for Cal, it was Matt Bradley who was their top performer at halftime with 12 points on 5-8 shooting from the field and 2-3 shooting from 3-point range. Cal really wasted an opportunity at the end of the 1st half. As opposed to being tied or only down by a couple of points, they found themselves in another hole.
One of the major issues for Cal in the 1st half was their lack of aggression on offense. Cal shot 0-1 from the foul line while Washington State shot 11-13. By attacking the rim more and getting to the line, the Cougars were able to take control of the game.
Cal needed a strong start in the 2nd half but was unable to do so as they found themselves down 49-38 with 14:59 to go. Roman Davis was out there hustling, but Cal still found themselves in a situation where they were basically trading baskets. They needed to get stops, but were unable to do so. The absence of Connor Vanover, who picked up two quick fouls didn’t help, but others had to step up in his place.
With 11:48 to go, Washington State had a 58-38 lead, putting the game on the verge of garbage time. Washington State continued to get shots to fall on their end while Cal was ice cold on offense. It’s a bad combination when you’re trying to get yourself back in the game.
Robert Franks continued to play well in the 2nd half, finding ways to be effective despite not having the type of shooting night that he’s used to having. Franks did a good job of grabbing rebounds and getting baskets inside, taking advantage of Cal’s poor interior defense.
The return of Franks was huge for the Cougars as he’s one of the best players in the conference. With him on the floor, they have a legitimate go-to option that they can rely on. Cal didn’t have that type of player tonight and it showed in the final result.
As Franks finished with 24 points and 9 rebounds, Washington State cruised to an 82-59 win. The only happy moment for Cal in these moments was watching David Serge hit a 3-pointer for his first career points. Serge went from being a team manager to a walk-on, making the most of his opportunities at Cal.
While Washington State is in a position to possibly build on this win, Cal continues to head in the wrong direction. Even with the return of Franks, Cal shouldn’t have gotten killed like this. Coming in as 5 point underdogs, this was the 12th time Cal failed to beat the spread this season. They have routinely failed to play as well as they’ve been expected to, making this a very disappointing season.
Up next for Cal is a road game at Washington on Saturday. That game will tipoff at 2:00 PM PST on Pac-12 Networks.
