Cal's Offense Comes Up Empty Late in Loss to Florida State
With 3:30 left on the clock and the score knotted at 60, Cal had every opportunity to steal a road win in Tallahassee. Five possessions.
Five chances to take the lead. Zero made field goals.
That stretch told the story of the game.
Despite Florida State managing just two made baskets in the final five minutes, Cal couldn’t capitalize. The Bears got some decent looks-Milos Ilic had a solid chance inside, even got a second look on a putback.
Justin Pippen’s last-second three to win it was a respectable shot under pressure. But in crunch time, the Bears couldn’t generate clean looks, and more importantly, couldn’t knock down the ones they got.
That cold stretch sealed a frustrating loss in a game that was there for the taking.
Missing Dort, But Not Where You’d Expect
Coming into this one, the big question was how Cal would handle the absence of Lee Dort. The sophomore center, who’s been a defensive anchor all season, was sidelined after tweaking something on a hard landing during an alley-oop attempt against Stanford. Without him, it was fair to expect some slippage around the rim-less rim protection, more second-chance points for FSU, maybe a drop-off in rebounding.
But that didn’t really materialize.
Florida State shot just 48% on two-pointers, well below their season average of 53.4%. And while they narrowly won the rebounding battle, Cal only surrendered three second-chance points all game. Credit Ilic, who stepped up in Dort’s absence and held his own on the glass and defensively.
Instead, Dort’s absence showed up most on the offensive end.
Cal shot just 10-for-30 on two-pointers-easily their worst performance inside the arc all season. And the shot chart paints a clear picture: 5-for-12 at the rim is already underwhelming, but 5-for-18 on two-point jumpers? That’s a backbreaker.
Shot Selection Still a Work in Progress
This wasn’t just about Dort being out. It was also about the kinds of shots Cal’s offense generates-and settles for.
The Bears aren’t a team that consistently breaks down defenses off the dribble. They rely more on back cuts and post touches, often looking to feed Dort in the paint or sneak in behind defenders for layups.
Without him, those options shrink. And when the offense stalls, we see a lot of tough, contested jumpers.
John Camden and Dai Dai Ames are both capable of creating their own looks, but too often those possessions end with fadeaways. Chris Bell has a habit of pump-faking a three, sidestepping a defender, and pulling up for a mid-range jumper.
These are shots that, when they fall, look great. But when they don’t-and in this game, they didn’t-Cal’s offense can grind to a halt.
These are good shooters, no doubt. But when the offense leans too heavily on difficult twos and the threes aren’t falling at a high enough clip to compensate, you end up with nights like this-where the defense does its job, but the offense can’t finish the job.
Defense Keeps Them Close, But Ceiling Is in Sight
To their credit, Cal’s defense continues to trend in the right direction. Holding Florida State to a subpar offensive night-especially on the road-is no small feat. But this game also felt like a glimpse at Cal’s offensive ceiling as currently constructed.
There’s no easy fix here. Sure, head coach Mark Madsen could try to tighten up the shot selection, slow the pace, and emphasize better spacing to create more open threes or backdoor cuts.
But the book is out on Cal’s offense. Opposing defenses know what’s coming, and without a true dribble-drive threat or a healthy Dort to anchor the paint, the margin for error shrinks.
What’s Next: A Bigger Test Awaits
This loss won’t derail Cal’s NCAA Tournament hopes, but it does add some pressure. Dropping a winnable road game-one where they were slight favorites-means they’ll need to find a résumé-boosting win somewhere else to make up for it.
That opportunity comes Sunday against Miami, a Quad 1 opponent and a much tougher test. And that’s where Dort’s absence could really sting.
The Hurricanes boast a physical front line, headlined by Malik Reneau, an All-ACC caliber forward who brings it on both ends. He draws fouls, crashes the glass, and finishes at a 61% clip inside the arc.
And the scary part? Reneau might not even be Miami’s best rebounder.
If Cal wants to pull the upset, they’ll likely need Dort back in the lineup. Because against Miami’s frontcourt, the margin for error isn’t just small-it’s microscopic.