Stanford let Cal off the hook in December, hope to atone

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Some games you just want to forget. For Stanford, the Cal game Dec. 30 is one that they want to attach to a lead ball and drop in the ocean.

That was the night the Cardinal blew a 17-point in the final 9½ minutes, and the Bears won 77-74. Stanford went 3-for-13 from the field and 2-for-6 from the line during that stretch while Cal got hot.

The Cardinal get a chance for atonement Sunday at Haas Pavilion. They know that if it hadn’t been for the Cal loss, they could have started the Pac-12 season with six straight wins.

“We try not to think about it,” point guard Daejon Davis said. “We know we missed a huge chance. … We know we’ve improved since then. We’re a much more confident team, a much more experienced team all around. We’re in a really good place right now.”

That depends on how you look at it. They have a winning record, 7-6, in conference play (13-13 overall) so — in theory — they could go 12-6 in the Pac-12. Now for the reality: They have lost two in a row and five of their past seven, and their RPI (96) trails that of eight other Pac-12 teams. They finish the regular season at No. 17 Arizona and No. 25 Arizona State. Stanford has lost the past eight times it ventured to Tucson.

What this means is that like so many Cardinal teams over the past decade, unless they find lightning in their Gatorade bottle and win the conference tournament, they’re shooting for the NIT.

The strange part is how far they have fallen since Jan. 20, when they went into the Arizona game in a tie for first place — and nearly won. Then things deteriorated.

The Washington trip in mid-January produced the only two road wins Stanford has enjoyed this season — all the more reason why it needs to win in Berkeley.

Stanford, CA - December 30, 2017: Cal's Darius McNeill (#1) and Don Coleman (#14) hold off Stanford's Michael Humphrey (#10) during NCAA Pac-12 Men's Basketball game at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, California. less Stanford, CA - December 30, 2017: Cal's Darius McNeill (#1) and Don Coleman (#14) hold off Stanford's Michael Humphrey (#10) during NCAA Pac-12 Men's Basketball game at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, ... more Photo: Bob Drebin / Bob Drebin / Isiphotos.com Photo: Bob Drebin / Bob Drebin / Isiphotos.com Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close Stanford let Cal off the hook in December, hope to atone 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

“We just know it’s a totally different environment each time we step out there” on the road, Davis said. “It’s only us out there supporting us. We need to build a better relationship on the road, just fighting together all the way to the end.”

Maybe they can do that at Cal, but they didn’t do it last week at Utah (a 15-point loss) or Colorado (eight-point loss).

“I was pleased with the Colorado game in terms of effort,” head coach Jerod Haase said. “I thought we really got after it. We were anemic offensively, so we couldn’t get the win, but the guys were competing.”

Cal “does a great job of getting to the paint by dribble or pass,” he said. “We have to guard the basketball; we’ll have to be great with our post defense, and the game is probably going to be won or lost within 10 feet of the basket.”

Tom FitzGerald is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tfitzgerald@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @tomgfitzgerald

Stanford-Cal

on Sunday

Who: Stanford (13-13, 7-6 Pac-12) at Cal (8-18, 2-11)

When: 5 p.m.

TV/Radio: ESPNU/810