Men's Basketball Hosts 'Dangerous' Dartmouth Sunday

After a week off of playing games because of final exams, the Cal men’s basketball team is back in action Sunday, hosting Ivy League foe Dartmouth (3-6) at 1 p.m.

The Bears (6-5) haven’t played a game since defeating Santa Clara on Dec. 11. 

Head coach Mark Fox met with the media via Zoom on Saturday and said the Bears did practice during the week, but they had trouble getting everybody on the floor at once. 

“We had a little virus going through our team and a couple of guys missed practice because of illness, not covid,” Fox said. “We’ve had three guys out at various points this week because of illness that is not covid related. 

“Makale Foreman needed some downtime, he practiced yesterday and looked a little better. Jordan Shepherd needed to rest that hand and our hope is that he’ll play his first game without the hard splint. That would be great news for us.”

What is not great news is that sophomore Monty Bowser and junior D.J. Thorpe have not sufficiently recovered from their injuries and will probably redshirt this season.

“They just cannot return to practice full time, pain-free,” Fox said.

Marsalis Roberson, who missed the first nine games with an injury, made his seasonal debut against Idaho State, Dec. 8. He did not play in the Santa Clara game but is ready to go Sunday.

“Slowly but surely we’re getting healthier, Fox said. Marsalis has been able to come back and that has been a welcome addition to practice. We have had so many of those (injuries), and they are all in the same position.

Matt Cashore -- USA Today

David McLaughlin

Dartmouth, which lost in overtime to Stanford on Thursday night, is on a five-game losing streak. The Big Green led by 10 points midway through the second half, but Stanford tied it with 0.7 seconds left and ran away in overtime. 

"I told the guys that they deserved to win the game, but tentatively lost our edge at the end of the game and didn't play to win," Dartmouth head coach David McLaughlin said after the game. "We moved the ball really well, handled their pressure for most of the game, and made plays, but we just didn't make the plays we had to at the end to secure the win."

Fox said Dartmouth might be better than its record. “They have a dangerous team. They did all that they could the other night,” he said. “They are finding their groove. They do a lot of 3-point shooting. They have some experience.”

Guard Brendan Barry leads the Big Green in scoring, averaging 15.0 points per game. He is prolific from long range, hitting 43.9 percent (36-for-82) on 3-pointers.

“He is making four3-pointers per game,” Fox said. “He is the category of the elite when it comes to 3-point shooters. He shoots ‘em off the dribble, he shoots ‘em off the catch. He moves without it. He is really a gifted shooter. And I am sure he worked very hard to become that. He’s an outstanding player.”

Notes

• Cal has won all six of the previous meetings in the series. The last game was in 2008. Before that was 1984 and before that,1955,
• The Bears have won six straight at Haas.
• Andre Kelly is 11th nationally in field-goal percentage (64.8) and also ranks among Pac-12 leaders in rebounds per game (9.1, second) and points per game (15.2, fifth). Kelly has four double-doubles, including three such games with 20+ points and 10+ rebounds.
• The Bears have out-rebounded their opponents in eight of 11 games this season and posted a +18 margin in two of the last four games vs. Oregon State and Santa Clara. Cal hasn’t been beaten on the boards since Nov. 18