SMU and Cal have more than just 20-win seasons in mind when they attempt to improve their NCAA Tournament credentials at the other’s expense in an Atlantic Coast Conference head-to-head Wednesday night in Berkeley, Calif.
Both teams will take the court with 19-8 overall records, the Mustangs (8-6 ACC) seeking their third consecutive 20-win campaign, while the Golden Bears (7-7 ACC) attempt to reach the milestone for the first time since 2016-17.
SMU has a one-game lead in its duel with Cal for ACC tournament positioning, with the top nine teams earning a first-round bye. The Mustangs have won four of five to move into eighth place; the Golden Bears have used four wins in their last six games to climb into a tie for ninth.
The game matches two teams on a nice offensive roll with SMU having tallied 95 and 94 points in its last two games — home wins over Louisville and Boston College — while Cal has scored 86 or more four times in its last six contests.
The matchup could turn into a duel of big men, especially if Cal gets starting center Lee Dort back from a seven-game absence with what the Golden Bears have labeled a “lower-body injury.”
The 6-foot-10 Dort has been far and away Cal’s leading rebounder this season at 7.7 per game to go with 8.3 points. Despite the long absence, he also leads the team in total blocks with 19.
When optimistically discussing Dort’s potential return with reporters earlier this week, Cal coach Mark Madsen labeled the senior’s role in the Golden Bears’ interior “huge.”
“He scores it on the low block, he’s a rim protector, he gets every rebound,” Madsen said.
Dort’s availability could be critical against an SMU team that dominated Boston College inside on Saturday to the tune of a 46-20 scoring advantage in the paint. Samet Yigitoglu, who stands 7-2, and 6-10 Jaden Toombs combined for 28 points and 11 rebounds in 44 minutes against the Golden Eagles.
“We dominate in the paint every game, so we’ve just got to keep dominating,” Yigitoglu said after Saturday’s win. “Nobody can stop us in the paint, especially when I’m playing with Toombs. If I miss a shot, I know that he will go get it. If he missed the shot, I know that I’ll go get it.”
