Fans got a glimpse of Cal’s improved offensive capabilities on Friday night when transfers Jason Tyson, Jalen Cone and Fardaws Aimaq combined for 60 points.
They’ve also gotten a look at the Bears’ early-season defense, and boy does it need work.
That will be a focal point on Monday night when Cal (1-1), under new coach Mark Madsen, takes on Cal State Bakersfield (1-1) in a 7 p.m. tipoff at Haas Pavilion.
After allowing Pacific to make 50 percent (13 for 26) of its 3-point attempts in an 87-79 loss, the Bears find themselves ranked 341st nationally among 349 Division I team in 3-point field-goal defense. Cal’s first two opponents made 25 of 54 attempts from deep, a sizzling 46.3 percent.
“I think there’s a couple different schemes we can look at to guard the 3-point line better,” Madsen said. “When it’s all said and done, we have to get the job done.
“We have to have more of a sense of urgency. We have to have a sense of understanding,” he said. “We can’t let a team shoot 50 percent against us from 3.”
It’s a small sample size, for sure, for a program in rebuilding mode with lots of new parts after six straight losing seasons and a 3-29 record a year ago. But the Bears rank 313th nationally in overall field-goal percentage defense (49.1) and 256th in scoring defense 76.5).
They lost to Pacific for the first time since Dec. 10, 1954 after the Tigers outscored them 43-25 over the final 15 minutes. Cal forced Pacific into 11 turnovers through the game’s first 17 minutes, then just one more the rest of the night.
“We played well enough to get a (10-point) lead in the second half,” Madsen said. “And then Pacific came back. They were on a mission. They outplayed us in the second half. They made their shots and they executed their game plan well down the stretch.
“We did not do the job on defense. We’ll study the film, we’ll learn from it and we’ll bounce back ready to go Monday.”
Bakersfield arrives having beaten Southern Utah 73-72 before losing to No. 21 USC 85-59.
The Roadrunners would not seem to pose a serious threat from deep, having converted just 27.3 percent (9 for 33) of its 3-point attempts.
Kaleb Higgins, a 5-10 senior guard from Pine Bluff, Ark., leads Bakersfield with a 23.0 scoring average. He is the team’s only double-digit scorer.
Tyson, a transfer from Texas Tech, made his Cal debut against Pacific, scoring 20 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. His former Red Raiders teammate, forward Fardaws Aimaq is averaging 17.0 points and 7.0 rebounds, and Cone, a combo guard from Northern Arizona transfer, is scoring at a 16.0 clip after posting 22 points on Friday.
The Bears and Roadrunners have split four all-time meetings, with Bakersfield winning the past two, including a 73-66 decision in the 2017 postseason NIT in what turned out to be former coach Cuonzo Martin’s final game.
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