Recap: Cal blown out by USC

So yeah, Cal lost again.

Even though we have grown used to this, I still can’t help feeling great disappointment from this loss. This Cal team looked like they may have been starting to put it together, as 3 of their last 4 games had been truly competitive and finished in less than 10 point losses.

Instead of possibly building upon this momentum, they suffered their worst blowout of the season, losing 89-66 on their home court.

The Trojans got off to an early 11-0 lead to begin the game. Cal did manage to keep their deficit at around 7 points until USC went on a run to finish the half with a 41-26 lead. The second half was all about waiting for the game to be over.

As far as positives go, Cal once again won the turnover battle (14-10). However, as you may be able to guess from the final score, it gets hard to point out any further bright spots.

Cal’s defense was as poor as it has been all season, allowing USC to shoot 61% from three and even allowing Benny Boatwright (36 points) to break the USC single game record for three pointers (10-13).

For Cal, Justive Sueing led them in scoring with 17, and Paris Austin (10 points) and Matt Bradley (14 points) were the only other players to reach double digits. Cannor Vanover had 8 points and 8 rebounds on the game.

Obviously, this season has been nothing short of a disappointment for the Bears, and this is about as low as it’ll get. Just as we think that we may have found some light, we get pushed further back into the darkness than ever before. The defense was horrible, the offense was inefficient, and the effort was not there, despite it being fully present in our recent close losses.

This team will need to find answers very soon, but I don’t think Cal fans will be counting on it.