Cal Can't Keep Up With No. 14 Louisville in 17-Point Loss

A second-half Cal rally gave the Bears a brief glimmer of hope, but 14th-ranked Louisville did more than enough down the stretch to post a convincing 85-68 victory over Cal on Wednesday night in Louisville, Kentucky.

Cal guard Javon Blacksher Jr. scored a season-high 22 points and was 4-for-7 on three-pointers. He added three assists and four rebounds with no turnovers.

But the Bears’ top two scorers – freshman Jeremiah Wilkinson and sophomore Andrej Stojakovic – struggled mightily on offense.

Wilkinson was 2-for-15 from the field and scored 11 points. His first field goal was a three-pointer that came with 4:16 remaining in the game, when Cal was behind by 23 points. Wilkinson had three points with five minutes left in the game when Cal was hopelessly behind.

Wilkinson was moved into the starting lineup 12 games ago, and he had been spectacular on offense, averaging 19.8 points over the previous 11 starts. He had put up at least 14 points in every game in that 11-game stretch, a streak that ended Wednesday.

Stojakovic was 2-for-11 for a season-low four points, and he was 0-for-4 from long distance. He is 2-for-15 from long range over he past four games. Stojakovic came into the game averaging 17.2 points, but he is averaging 10.8 points over his last 10 games.

"Andrej wasn't himself tonight from a shooting perspective, and Jeremiah wasn't either," Cal coach Mark Madsen said. "They'll come back and shoot it better next game."

Cal shot just 29.6% from the floor for the game, while Louisville shot 52.9%.

Terrence Edwards Jr. had a season-high 35 points for the Cardinals, and he was 7-for-11 on three-point shots. Louisville had 11 three-pointers as a team

"They're more physical than us," Madsen said. "They got loose from three in particular. Terrence Edwards made seven threes. We're not going to beat a team like this if a guy like that gets loose. Can't let him get to his sweet spots like that."

The Bears played their best basketball early in the second half. They trailed by 24 points with 17:20 remaining, but in less than six minutes they had the deficit down to 13 points (64-51) at the 11:35 mark.

Cal then had three possessions with a chance to reduce the deficit further, but was unable to convert.

Louisville quickly got the margin back to 22 points with 5:54 to go, ending Cal’s upset hopes.

Louisville (24-6, 17-2 ACC) has won eight games in a row and 18 of its last 19 contests. The Cardinals are tied with Clemson for second place in the ACC, a game behind Duke.

Louisville will get a berth in the NCAA tournament and is seeded No. 6 or No. 7 in most NCAA tournament projections.

Cal (13-17, 6-13 ACC) has already assured itself a berth in next week’s ACC tournament.

The Bears began the day tied with Notre Dame for 13th place in the ACC standings, but the Bears dropped into tie for 14th with Syracuse after Notre Dame beat Stanford on Wednesday. Cal faces the Irish in South Bend, Indiana, on Saturday in the Bears final regular-season game

Cal’s poor shooting helped Louisville take a 41-26 lead at halftime.

The Bears shot 20.6% (7-for-34) in the first 20 minutes, when the Bears were just 2-for-14 from beyond the three-point line.

Wilkinson was 0-for-7 from the floor in the first half, when he managed just three points, and Stojakovic was 1-for-8 for two points at halftime.

Edwards had 17 points in the first 13 minutes of the game, but Cal held an early 19=16 lead and the score was tied 22-22 with 6:50 remaining before halftime.

However, the Cardinals dominated play from there, outscoring the Bears 19-4 for the rest of the half to take a 15-point lead at the midpoint.

Cal did not make single field goal in the final 8:09 of the half.

"We had a lead early and then we went seven or eight minutes without a made field goal," said Madsen. "That hurts. You're not going to win a game if you go that long without making a field goal."

Edwards picked up his third personal foul with 4:00 left on a Flagrant I foul on Mady Sissoko, who was hit with a technical foul for reacting to getting tripped. It made little difference as Louisville was in control by that point.

NOTES: The last time Cal beat a ranked team was February 27, 2020, when the Bears defeated 21st-ranked Colorado 76-62 in Berkeley. The last time Cal beat a team ranked 14th or higher was February 11, 2016, when the Bears upset No. 11 Oregon 83-63.

The Bears’ last road win against an AP Top 25 team was a 74-73 victory at No. 25 USC on Jan. 8, 2017.

Cal has now lost 14 straight road games against nationally ranked opponents.

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