Two men’s basketball programs that share a common coach who took them to some of their greatest heights meet in Berkeley, Calif., on Friday night when Morgan State and Cal duel in a nonconference matchup.
In seeking their first NCAA Tournament bid since Todd Bozeman was the coach in 2010, Morgan State (2-8) tips off a three-game West Coast swing riding the momentum of an 81-73 home win over Niagara last Saturday.
The Bears have made the NCAA Tournament just twice in their history, both times during Bozeman’s 13-season run from 2007-19. Kevin Broadus has coached the team the last seven seasons.
With his team having lost seven straight, Broadus labeled the Niagara visit a “must-win game.” His squad responded with 9-for-20 shooting on 3-pointers, with Alfred Worrell Jr. nailing 6 of 7 en route to 24 points, the second-most of his college career.
“It was a great win for us, and our loyal fans came out and supported us,” Broadus gushed to reporters after the game. “This was our Super Bowl — a must-win game — and our guys stepped up to the challenge.”
The Bears, whose roster features three Californians, will also visit San Francisco and Loyola Marymount on the five-day trip.
The first stop figures to be the toughest as Cal (10-1) is off to its best start since 2014. The Golden Bears’ 79-70 home win over Northwestern State last Saturday was their seventh straight victory, also their longest since 2014.
Cal, which hasn’t been honored with a national ranking since November of 2016 but received 13 votes in this week’s Associated Press poll, would love to duplicate the success of Bozeman’s first full-season Cal team. That team went 22-8 in 1993-94 and rose all the way to No. 6 in the AP poll, the highest ranking in program history.
Despite this recent success, John Camden (season-high 25 points vs. Northwestern State) assured the team can do better.
“A win is a win at this point this season. … We don’t just expect to come in here and blow these teams out,” he noted to the postgame media gathering. “But we do need to be more focused (and) more locked in when we come in here.”
