Cameron Corhen and Nojus Indrusaitis scored 16 points apiece to lead Pittsburgh to a 72-56 upset win over Cal in Berkeley on Saturday.
Corhen put together an efficient offensive performance for the visitors, shooting 7-of-10 from the field while Indrusaitis made 6-of-11 attempts overall and 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Barry Dunning Jr. chipped in 15 points on 6-of-15 shooting, in addition to grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds.
Pittsburgh (11-18) moves to 4-12 in ACC play, which moves them ahead of Notre Dame for 15th place in the ACC due to the head-to-head advantage. That’s crucial because only the top 15 finishers in the regular season make the ACC Tournament.
The game was essentially a must-win for Cal’s at-large NCAA Tournament hopes, as the Golden Bears (20-9) now sit at 8-8 in ACC play after starting 12-1 in nonconference play. Saturday’s shortcoming will go down as Cal’s first Quad 3 loss of the season, but the timing of it all but dashes the program’s already thinning hopes at ending a decade-long tournament drought.
Cal appeared to flip the momentum early in the second half after being outscored 34-26 in the first. However, the Golden Bears were then held scoreless for a 4:53 stretch near the midway point of the second half, allowing Pittsburgh to go on a 7-0 run that was too much for the hosts to overcome.
Dai Dai Ames led Cal with 11 points in the loss, shooting 5-of-12 from the field. Lee Dort finished with 10 points on a more efficient 4-of-5 shooting, while John Camden added 9 points on 4-of-11 from the field overall (1-of-6 from 3-point range).
The loss snaps a three-game winning streak for the Golden Bears, who had clawed their way back into the bubble conversation with their recent run. But Cal never led in this affair.
