Cal's bid for NCAA men's tournament berth takes hit with home loss to Pittsburgh

Story byCal's bid for NCAA men's tournament berth takes hit with home loss to PittsburghCal forward John Camden pushes the all upcourt during the Bears' game against Pittsburgh at Haas Pavilion on Saturday. (Al Sermeno/KLC Fotos)FreelanceSun, March 1, 2026 at 1:03 AM UTC·4 min read

Cal's NCAA Tournament prospects, which looked so promising after its 73-69 victory over SMU on Wednesday, took a major hit Saturday afternoon at Haas Pavilion.

Pittsburgh did not trail as the Panthers upended the Bears 72-56. Cal went 5-for-22 from beyond the arc and put up its season-low point total.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

The Bears (20-9, 8-8 ACC) play road games against Georgia Tech (11-18, 2-14) on Wednesday and against Wake Forest (14-14, 5-10 pending the outcome of its game against Syracuse) next Saturday before playing in the conference tournament the following week.

An educated estimate is that the Bears will need three wins - including however long they stay in the conference tournament - to have a legitimate shot an NCAA bid.

On Saturday, Pitt (11-18, 4-12) got 16 points apiece from Cameron Corhen and Nojus Indrusaitis (4-for-6 on 3's) and 15 points and 12 rebounds from Barry Dunning Jr.

Dai Dai Ames had 11 points and Lee Dort 10 for the Bears.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

Cal entered Saturday with a NET ranking of 58, on the edge of a realistic chance for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Pitt's NET ranking was 123.

Thus, Cal absorbed its first Quad 3 loss of the season. The NET is broken into four Quads, with 1 considered the strongest. The Bears were 13-0 in combined Quad 3 and 4 games before Saturday.

Pittsburgh 72, Cal 56

FG

FT

Reb

Corhen

34

7-10

2-3

1-2

4

3

16

Siulepa

24

2-8

2-2

2-4

1

2

6

Minor

37

3-6

5-6

1-3

1

1

13

Witherspoon

34

2-6

2-2

0-5

6

3

6

Dunning

39

6-15

2-3

4-12

0

1

15

Indrusaitis

29

6-11

0-0

1-3

1

1

16

Moore

3

0-0

0-0

0-1

1

2

0

Totals

200

26-56

13-16

9-30

14

13

72

Percentages: FG .464, FT .813.

3-Point Goals: 7-21, .333 (Indrusaitis 4-6, Minor 2-4, Dunning 1-5, Witherspoon 0-1, Corhen 0-2, Siulepa 0-3).

Team Rebounds: 4. Team Turnovers: 2.

Blocked Shots: 3 (Dunning 2, Siulepa).

Turnovers: 11 (Dunning 3, Minor 3, Witherspoon 3, Corhen 2).

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

Steals: 11 (Corhen 4, Siulepa 3, Witherspoon 3, Minor).

Technical Fouls: None.

FG

FT

Reb

Bell

21

1-5

0-0

0-1

0

0

3

Camden

34

4-11

0-0

0-2

1

3

9

Dort

19

4-5

2-3

2-6

0

3

10

Ames

29

5-12

1-1

0-2

0

3

11

Pippen

34

3-11

0-0

1-2

4

1

7

Campbell

24

3-6

0-0

0-1

0

2

8

Ilic

21

2-3

2-3

2-9

4

2

6

Carr

9

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

1

0

Yeanay

6

0-0

0-0

0-2

0

0

0

Dorsey

3

1-1

0-0

1-1

0

0

2

Totals

200

23-54

5-7

6-26

9

15

56

Percentages: FG .426, FT .714.

3-Point Goals: 5-22, .227 (Campbell 2-4, Bell 1-4, Pippen 1-4, Camden 1-6, Ilic 0-1, Ames 0-3).

Team Rebounds: 3. Team Turnovers: 2.

Blocked Shots: 3 (Yeanay 2, Ilic).

Turnovers: 14 (Ames 5, Ilic 5, Pippen 2, Bell, Camden).

Steals: 8 (Camden 2, Ilic 2, Ames, Carr, Dorsey, Dort).

Technical Fouls: Ames, 1:05 second.

Pittsburgh

34

38

-

72

Cal

26

30

-

56

A_5,061 (11,877).

The Bears trailed by 11 early in the second half but after Justin Pippen drove for a bucket with just less than 12 minutes remaining, they were down only 47-44.

Cal's offense then hit a wall. The Bears went five minutes without a point and trailed 54-44. They got no closer than seven the rest of the way.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

Cal committed a dozen turnovers in the first half. The final sequence of the half was emblematic of the first 20 minutes.

Roman Siulepa stole the ball from Pippen. Siulepa missed his ensuing layup try, but Dunning was there for the follow to beat the buzzer.

The Panthers took a 34-26 lead to the locker room.

Briefly: Cal honored six seniors before the game: Bell, forward John Camden, guard DeJuan Campbell, Dort, center Milos Ilic and forward Rytis Petraitis, who played in seven games in November before suffering a season-ending injury. … It's certainly conceivable Cal could play another game - in the NIT - at Haas this season. … The Bears did not attempt a free throw in the first half.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

Steve Kroner is a freelance writer. Email: [email protected]; X: @SteveKronerSF

This article originally published at Cal's bid for NCAA men's tournament berth takes hit with home loss to Pittsburgh.

AdvertisementAdvertisement