Cal Basketball: Bears Eager to Turn Tables on Oregon in Home Finale

Coach Mark Madsen said he expects to be emotional before Cal’s home finale against Oregon on Saturday when the Bears pay tribute to their outgoing seniors.

Keonte Kennedy, one of those seniors, says the emotion he anticipates feeling is revenge.

“We owe them one. We were up big at their place,” he said of Cal’s 80-73 defeat at Oregon on Jan. 13, in which the Bears surrendered an 18-point first-half lead. “Now they’ve got to come to the Haas of Pain and we’ve got to get the job done.”

The Bears lost their next game, 77-75 to Washington at home, but are 6-3 since then, including Thursday’s 81-73 come-from-behind win over Oregon State. Cal brings a 12-15 overall record and 8-8 Pac-12 ledger into Saturday’s 4 p.m. rematch vs. the Ducks.

With just four games left before the Pac-12 tournament, the Bears find themselves alone in sixth place in the conference standings. Quite a turnaround from last year, when the worst season in program history left Cal at 3-29 overall, 2-18 in league games.

Madsen, in his first season, brought in four transfers and at least three of them — Kennedy, Fardaws Aimaq and Jalen Cone — will play for the final time at Haas Pavilion on Saturday. Junior Jaylon Tyson, second in the Pac-12 with a 19.8 scoring average, says he intends to test the NBA draft waters after the season but has not made a decision on whether to return or turn pro.

Madsen said the foursome — which has combined to provide 54 points and nearly 24 rebounds per game — is at the heart of the Bears’ about-face.

“I’m going to be reflective because this is all about the players,” he said. “They put so much into it. I’m extremely proud of them. It’s going to be emotional. We’ll get through that emotion and then get out there and try to win a basketball game.”

Cone said the newcomers came to Berkley with a clear vision for what they wanted to help create after six straight losing seasons by the team.

“There’s a lot of pride. We wanted to turn this program in the right direction by the time we left, and I think so far we’ve done that,” said Cone, who scored all 17 of his points in the second half against Oregon State. “But we’re not done. Coach Madsen is still going to be here and a lot of other guys on the roster. We want to keep building this program and get it back to where it used to be.”

Kennedy is not ready to let this season end anytime soon.

“It’s our last year. We all came here to make a difference,” he said. “We believe we’re a championship team. There’s still a lot of games to win.”

The Ducks (18-8, 10-5) remain alone in third place after aa 78-65 win at Stanford, their second straight Pac-12 road victory. Jadrian Tracey made four of Oregon’s 12 3-pointers and scored a season-high 20 points and Jackson Shelstad made three from deep and had 19 points.

* SENIOR CEREMONIES: Besides Aimaq, Cone and Kennedy, players being recognized in senior ceremonies are Devin Askew and Monty Bowser along with walk-ons Adrian Claiborne Jr. and Wrenn Robinson. 

Askew, who was expected to be the starting point guard, has sat out much of this season due to a foot injury and will apply for a medical redshirt year. He also still has year of eligibility available because of the COVID exemption, meaning he could play two more collegiate seasons, although he has not made clear what his plans are.

Likewise, Bowser is a redshirt junior athletically with another season available, but is expected to graduate this spring as a fourth-year student.

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Cover photo of Fardaws Aimaq by Kyle Terada, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo