Golden Bears in Blacksburg (1st time ever) Game Thread

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polarbear
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In reply to Strykur • 4:41p, 1/10/26
Strykur said:
calumnus said:
This was a game we needed to win and it was there for the taking. We have Duke and UNC at Haas next.

If we win one of those we're fine but lose both and then Furd, gonna have to start asking questions about this whole deal

I'm already asking questions about this whole deal. We just fired our FB coach and now MBB + WBB is now 1-7 vs. the ACC, with the one win being helped by a questionable officials call. The big head scratcher for me is why in the world did we join the ACC??? Imho we should have stayed with OSU and WSU to re-form the Pac-12 or if not that, join the WAC. a) Burdensome travel schedule, the athletes miss almost five full weeks of classes while on the road, and the thought of that must be a big turn-off to new recruits. b) The cost of all that coast-to-coast airfare, 4 nites hotel each trip, and meals; c) From a fan perspective, not many in the Bay Area are interested in seeing Wake Forest, Boston College, etc. Just venting, its done now.
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socaltownie
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In reply to polarbear • 4:43p, 1/10/26
polarbear said:
Strykur said:
calumnus said:
This was a game we needed to win and it was there for the taking. We have Duke and UNC at Haas next.

If we win one of those we're fine but lose both and then Furd, gonna have to start asking questions about this whole deal

I'm already asking questions about this whole deal. We just fired our FB coach and now MBB + WBB is now 1-7 vs. the ACC, with the one win being helped by a questionable officials call. The big head scratcher for me is why in the world did we join the ACC??? Imho we should have stayed with OSU and WSU to re-form the Pac-12 or if not that, join the WAC. a) Burdensome travel schedule, the athletes miss almost five full weeks of classes while on the road, and the thought of that must be a big turn-off to new recruits. b) The cost of all that coast-to-coast airfare, 4 nites hotel each trip, and meals; c) From a fan perspective, not many in the Bay Area are interested in seeing Wake Forest, Boston College, etc. Just venting, its done now.


Well you know why. A group of influential alums wanted to be "relevent" and they are driving the bus. Their hearts and interest lie with FB.
Take care of your Chicken
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calumnus
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In reply to socaltownie • 6:06p, 1/10/26
socaltownie said:
polarbear said:
Strykur said:
calumnus said:
This was a game we needed to win and it was there for the taking. We have Duke and UNC at Haas next.

If we win one of those we're fine but lose both and then Furd, gonna have to start asking questions about this whole deal

I'm already asking questions about this whole deal. We just fired our FB coach and now MBB + WBB is now 1-7 vs. the ACC, with the one win being helped by a questionable officials call. The big head scratcher for me is why in the world did we join the ACC??? Imho we should have stayed with OSU and WSU to re-form the Pac-12 or if not that, join the WAC. a) Burdensome travel schedule, the athletes miss almost five full weeks of classes while on the road, and the thought of that must be a big turn-off to new recruits. b) The cost of all that coast-to-coast airfare, 4 nites hotel each trip, and meals; c) From a fan perspective, not many in the Bay Area are interested in seeing Wake Forest, Boston College, etc. Just venting, its done now.


Well you know why. A group of influential alums wanted to be "relevent" and they are driving the bus. Their hearts and interest lie with FB.

Football is the big money generator, once we have football on track, basketball is easy and the ACC is a GREAT conference for basketball. Moreover in basketball there is no need to win the conference, it is success in the Tournament that really matters. Our conference schedule is fantastic, we just need to play more significant West Coast teams OOC.

I can't believe anyone is envious of Oregon State.
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JimSox
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In reply to Harky4 • 6:39p, 1/10/26
Harky4 said:
JimSox said:
Golden One said:
Camden really cost us this game. He has been terrible!


I don't know why he totally lost his ability to shoot. His shots haven't even been close.

The simple answer is that Camden plays better against Dominican, Morgan State, Columbia, Presbyterian et al than against ACC talent who expose his lack of athleticism and inability to create his own shots


I'm not sure that's right. Earlier in the season I was marveling at his quick and accurate release on threes. Now he's not quick and not even close to accurate. Maybe I was wrong about what I thought I was seeing from him, but I don't think so. Once a player demonstrates a skill, it's a skill that he has. It's not luck. I think that it may be just a matter of somehow losing the shooting rhythm that he previously had. How to get it back? Beats me. That's why we have coaches.
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HKBear97!
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In reply to Harky4 • 6:41p, 1/10/26
Harky4 said:
JimSox said:
Golden One said:
Camden really cost us this game. He has been terrible!


I don't know why he totally lost his ability to shoot. His shots haven't even been close.

The simple answer is that Camden plays better against Dominican, Morgan State, Columbia, Presbyterian et al than against ACC talent who expose his lack of athleticism and inability to create his own shots


Exactly this. It's been his MO since his college career started!
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HearstMining
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In reply to Harky4 • 8:18p, 1/10/26
Harky4 said:
JimSox said:
Golden One said:
Camden really cost us this game. He has been terrible!


I don't know why he totally lost his ability to shoot. His shots haven't even been close.

The simple answer is that Camden plays better against Dominican, Morgan State, Columbia, Presbyterian et al than against ACC talent who expose his lack of athleticism and inability to create his own shots

Exactly. ACC opponents are likely a couple of inches taller and a half-second quicker to close on defense. Welcome to big-boy (and girl) basketball. Maybe Cal should schedule four fewer cream-puffs and four more competitive teams before the conference begins. To be fair, though, VaTech has a similar record so must also have a pretty soft preseason schedule.
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Johnfox
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9:36p, 1/10/26
We have so much work cut out for us if we want a shot at the tourney. Today would've helped so much but you can't win them all!

Special shoutout to Milos Ilic - had some knee injury and is finally finding his footing which is a great sight to see. He was really effective in all facets of the game.

Camden has gotten a lot of slander on this board and some of it is deserved but he made a great pass to Ilic on the last play to set up an open Pippen three to send it to overtime. We badly need his production if we want to close the last half of the season strong.

Pippen, Ames, and the bigs (Dort, Ilic, Kocanas) have been reliable in the games. Meaning our destiny lies in the hands of Bell and Camden.

I'd like to see DJ Campbell find his rhythm for more depth.

Regarding the tourney.

You need to be 9-9 or 10-8 to be in the conversation. 11-7 definitely gets you in.

Boston College away, Pitt at home, Georgia Tech at home and away, Stanford at home, and FSU away are likely wins. That's only 6.

Toss ups are Stanford away, Clemson at home, Syracuse away, SMU at home, and Wake Forest away

Need to win 2 of these to go 9-9. Win 3 to go 10-8. Or win 4 and go 11-7.

Likely losses are Duke at home, UNC at home, and Miami away

Or perhaps we could steal duke or unc sleeping at haas. One could dream.
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westcoastdude
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9:37p, 1/10/26
As I posted after the loss to Virginia, too much was extrapolated from the victory over UCLA.
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Strykur
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In reply to HearstMining • 10:08p, 1/10/26
HearstMining said:
Harky4 said:
JimSox said:
Golden One said:
Camden really cost us this game. He has been terrible!


I don't know why he totally lost his ability to shoot. His shots haven't even been close.

The simple answer is that Camden plays better against Dominican, Morgan State, Columbia, Presbyterian et al than against ACC talent who expose his lack of athleticism and inability to create his own shots

To be fair, though, VaTech has a similar record so must also have a pretty soft preseason schedule.

Virginia Tech beat Virginia on New Year's Eve so they are no joke
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Big C
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In reply to westcoastdude • 10:15p, 1/10/26
westcoastdude said:
As I posted after the loss to Virginia, too much was extrapolated from the victory over UCLA.

The win over UCLA and our gaudy non-conference record. Fact is, this is probably not an NCAA Tournament team and was never expected to be. But we are improved over the eight previous seasons and that's progress.

Let's get that makeshift practice facility up and running and raise some more NIL-type money. We will only get better!
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wifeisafurd
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10:35p, 1/10/26
Lot more mistakes and turnovers this game, but I still think Cal wins the game if it was in Berkeley. This is an improved team.
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HoopDreams
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In reply to Johnfox • 11:06p, 1/10/26
Johnfox said:
We have so much work cut out for us if we want a shot at the tourney. Today would've helped so much but you can't win them all!

Special shoutout to Milos Ilic - had some knee injury and is finally finding his footing which is a great sight to see. He was really effective in all facets of the game.

Camden has gotten a lot of slander on this board and some of it is deserved but he made a great pass to Ilic on the last play to set up an open Pippen three to send it to overtime. We badly need his production if we want to close the last half of the season strong.

Pippen, Ames, and the bigs (Dort, Ilic, Kocanas) have been reliable in the games. Meaning our destiny lies in the hands of Bell and Camden.

I'd like to see DJ Campbell find his rhythm for more depth.

Regarding the tourney.

You need to be 9-9 or 10-8 to be in the conversation. 11-7 definitely gets you in.

Boston College away, Pitt at home, Georgia Tech at home and away, Stanford at home, and FSU away are likely wins. That's only 6.

Toss ups are Stanford away, Clemson at home, Syracuse away, SMU at home, and Wake Forest away

Need to win 2 of these to go 9-9. Win 3 to go 10-8. Or win 4 and go 11-7.

Likely losses are Duke at home, UNC at home, and Miami away

Or perhaps we could steal duke or unc sleeping at haas. One could dream.

Cal beats UNC. you heard it here first
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sycasey
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In reply to westcoastdude • 12:16a, 1/11/26
westcoastdude said:
As I posted after the loss to Virginia, too much was extrapolated from the victory over UCLA.

The UCLA game was also in SF so practically a home game. True road games are proving tougher (as you would expect).

Cal remains a bubble and likely NIT-level team. That's an improvement over where we've been, so I'm not mad about it for this season. Just got to keep progressing.
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HKBear97!
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In reply to sycasey • 9:38a, 1/11/26
sycasey said:
westcoastdude said:
As I posted after the loss to Virginia, too much was extrapolated from the victory over UCLA.

The UCLA game was also in SF so practically a home game. True road games are proving tougher (as you would expect).

Cal remains a bubble and likely NIT-level team. That's an improvement over where we've been, so I'm not mad about it for this season. Just got to keep progressing.

I'm not yet convinced this is a bubble or NIT team. After playing one of the nation's easiest schedules, they have been thoroughly outclassed by the good teams in the league, lost to a decent team and had a fortunate win at home against a very mediocre ND team. The stretch between the Stanford games on January 24th and February 21st will determine if they are decent enough to even sniff the bubble or NIT. Improved from last two years, sure, but still a work in progress.
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sycasey
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In reply to HKBear97! • 9:50a, 1/11/26
HKBear97! said:
sycasey said:
westcoastdude said:
As I posted after the loss to Virginia, too much was extrapolated from the victory over UCLA.

The UCLA game was also in SF so practically a home game. True road games are proving tougher (as you would expect).

Cal remains a bubble and likely NIT-level team. That's an improvement over where we've been, so I'm not mad about it for this season. Just got to keep progressing.

I'm not yet convinced this is a bubble or NIT team. After playing one of the nation's easiest schedules, they have been thoroughly outclassed by the good teams in the league, lost to a decent team and had a fortunate win at home against a very mediocre ND team. The stretch between the Stanford games on January 24th and February 21st will determine if they are decent enough to even sniff the bubble or NIT. Improved from last two years, sure, but still a work in progress.

Could wind up a bit below NIT level, sure. I'm just saying we're in that range.
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Johnfox
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In reply to HoopDreams • 8:17p, 1/17/26
Great call HoopDreams
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calumnus
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In reply to sycasey • 1:22a, 1/19/26
sycasey said:
HKBear97! said:
sycasey said:
westcoastdude said:
As I posted after the loss to Virginia, too much was extrapolated from the victory over UCLA.

The UCLA game was also in SF so practically a home game. True road games are proving tougher (as you would expect).

Cal remains a bubble and likely NIT-level team. That's an improvement over where we've been, so I'm not mad about it for this season. Just got to keep progressing.

I'm not yet convinced this is a bubble or NIT team. After playing one of the nation's easiest schedules, they have been thoroughly outclassed by the good teams in the league, lost to a decent team and had a fortunate win at home against a very mediocre ND team. The stretch between the Stanford games on January 24th and February 21st will determine if they are decent enough to even sniff the bubble or NIT. Improved from last two years, sure, but still a work in progress.

Could wind up a bit below NIT level, sure. I'm just saying we're in that range.

Cal is now #59 in the NET rankings which is definitely NIT range and striking distance for NCAA bubble. We need a couple more wins like UNC and no more losses like VT. The Stanford games are huge in that way.
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