Cal Suffers 14th Straight Defeat in Blowout Loss to Oregon

Cal lost its 14th game in a row Thursday night as Oregon shot 54.8% for the game while beating the Bears 84-51 in Eugene, Oregon. It was the third time this season Cal lost by more than 30 points, and all three of those 30-plus losses came within the past five games.

The Bears own the second-longest active losing streak in Division I basketball, behind only Cal Poly, which has lost 17 in a row.

Cal (3-27, 2-17 Pac-12) is assured of finishing in last place in the Pac-12 with one regular-season game remaining on Saturday at Oregon State. That will give the Bears another chance to win a road game. So far Cal is 0-13 in games away from home. The Bears finish the season in next week's Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas.

Cal also moved closer to recording its fewest wins in more than 100 years. The Bears have won at least six games every season since 1913-14, when they played just two games and went 2-0.

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---Former Cal coach Mike Montgomery offers his opinion on what the Bears need to do to have success in basketball---

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Oregon (17-13, 11-8) kept alive its long-shot hopes of earning a berth in the NCAA tournament. Even if the Ducks beat Stanford on Saturday, they probably have to win a game or two in the Pac-12 tournament and may even need to win the conference tournament to get a berth to the Big Dance.

The Ducks did their part on Thursday, taking control of the game late in the first half, then burying the Bears in the second half. The Ducks were shooting 63% from the field with eight minutes left in the second half, at which point Oregon led by 28 points.

Oregon dominated the backboards, outrebounding Cal 45-21, including 15-6 on the offensive boards.

"Physically we just got overwhelmed on the backboards," Cal coach Mark Fox said, "and defensively we couldn't force enough misses, and we did force a miss, we didn't clean it up, and that end was really the key to the game."

Oregon starters 6-foot-11 N'Faly Dante and 7-foot Nate Bittle played just 21 minutes and 17 minutes, respectively, but still combined for 14 rebounds. The Ducks had 15 second-chance points, and Cal had four.

The Bears were without DeJuan Clayton again, and Lars Thiemann did not start but did play after missing last Saturday’s game with an ankle injury. Freshman ND Okafor started at center in place of Thiemann, who played 23 minutes and collected nine points and three rebounds with limited mobility.

"Lars tried to give us something, but obviously he can't get off the ground, can't move with that ankle," Fox said.

Sam Alajiki had 11 points to lead the Bears, who shot 35.2% for the game, including 2-for-13 on three-point shots. Jermaine Couisnard led Oregon with 17 points, including one four-minute scoring spree in the first half that put the Ducks in command.

The Ducks beat Cal by 29 points on January 18 in Berkeley, and took control of Thursday's game late in the first half.

Cal trailed by three points with 7:45 left before halftime, but Cousinard then hit three three-pointers while scoring 11 points over the next 4:16 to help push the Ducks’ lead to 14 points. He finished the half with 13 points, and Oregon, which shot 59.3% in the first half, held a 42-26 lead at intermission.

"We gave them some threes in the first half that we weren't close enough to defend the shot," Fox said.

Oregon pushed its lead to 27 points with 10:30 left in the second half and coasted home.

In looking for bright spots, Fox was encouraged by the play of redshirt sophomore Monty Bowser, even though he had just five points on 1-for-6 shooting.

"The ball didn't go down for him, but he's getting more comfortable," Fox said. "As he matures as a player and gets a little stronger and little more mature, he'll become a little more consistent in putting the ball in the basket. He's making progress."

Cal also did a good job of taking care of the ball against Oregon's fullcourt pressure. The Bears committed just nine turnovers, and two lof those came in final moments when the outcome was decided.

Cover photo of Mark Fox by Zachary BonDurant, USA TODAY Sports

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