California (SID): Cal Hosts Pac-12 Leader UCLA In Pete Newell Classic

Feb. 12, 2013

Mike Montgomery Weekly News Conference

BERKELEY - California returns to Haas Pavilion, where the Golden Bears will play five of their final seven games of the regular season, beginning with Thursday night's showdown with Pac-12 leader UCLA presented by Bank of the West at 6:05 p.m. (PT).

Thursday's game will be televised nationally on ESPN2 with Dave Pasch handling the play-by-play and Bill Walton serving as the analyst.

The Cal IMG Sports Network will carry the game on KSFS 910 AM in the Bay Area with Todd McKim (play-by-play) and former Golden Bear Jon Wheeler (analyst) on the call. The broadcast is also available online by clicking here. The pre-game show starts at 5:30 p.m. (PT). The broadcast is also available on SiriusXM channel 85.

Thursday's contest marks the third time in the past four games the Bears will face the Pac-12 leader. They have taken down the conference leader twice in the last three games, defeating No. 10 Oregon, 58-54, and No. 7 Arizona (77-69) last time out. Thursday marks the final contest of a challenging four-game stretch against each of the top-four teams (lost at third-place ASU, 66-62) in the league.

THE LAST MEETING

January 3, 2013
Los Angeles, Calif.

Cal, 14-9 overall and 6-5 in the Pac-12, sits two games out of first place in a four-way tie for fifth place in the league.

? Thursday's game will serve as the third annual Pete Newell Classic. The program will recognize the legendary head coach during a special halftime ceremony where Andy Wolfe, a First Team All-American for the Golden Bears in the 1940's, will receive the Pete Newell Career Achievement Award.

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? Mike Montgomery, the NCAA's eighth-winningest active Division I head coach with 649 wins, is now the fourth winningest coach in Pac-12 history with 266 league wins after tying Washington's Hec Edmundson in the win at No. 7 Arizona on Sunday.

? Mike Montgomery became the fifth coach in school history to record 100 wins and the third fastest to achieve the milestone mark on Jan. 31 against Oregon State.

? The junior guard duo of Allen Crabbe and Justin Cobbs is the highest scoring pair in the Pac-12 with a combined average of 34.4 points per game. Crabbe leads the Pac-12 and ranks 17th nationally at 19.8 points per game, while Cobbs ranks 11th in the conference at 14.6 points per contest. The pair has combined to score 790 of Cal's 1,569 points (50.4 percent).

? Allen Crabbe, who was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week on Monday following his 31-point game in the victory at No. 7 Arizona last Sunday, enters the UCLA game 13th in school history with 1,385 points in 88 career games.

? Allen Crabbe and Justin Cobbs are joined in the line-up by sophomore F David Kravish, freshman G Tyrone Wallace and junior F Richard Solomon. Cal has used this lineup each of the last seven games.

? The National Collegiate Athletic Association and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) are celebrating 75 years of March Madness by commissioning one-of-a-kind paintings celebrating each of the national championship coaches who led their teams into history. A painting honoring Cal, coach of the 1959 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship-winning Golden Bears will be unveiled at Thursday's game against UCLA.

CAL TAKES DOWN TWO TOP-10 TEAMS IN 8-DAY SPAN
Cal has faced a pair of top-10 nationally-ranked teams in an eight-day span in Pac-12 leads No. 10 Oregon and No. 7 Arizona. The Bears earned victories against both foes, beating the Ducks, 58-54, at Haas Pavilion on Feb. 1 and earning the win against the Wildcats in Tucson on Feb. 10.

The victory over No. 7 Arizona was the highest-ranked opponent the Bears have defeated since March 8, 2007 when Cal beat No. 3 UCLA, 76-69, in overtime in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament in Los Angeles. It was Cal's first road victory over a top-10 team since Jan. 31, 2008, when the Bears defeated No. 9 Washington State, 69-64, in Pullman, Wash.

Cal is 2-2 in its four games against nationally-ranked opponents this season, also facing No. 13 Creighton (L, 79-64) and No. 18 UNLV (L, 76-75).

STEALING THE SPOTLIGHT
Cal has produced 63 steals in its last six games after combining for 77 steals in its first 17 contests. Cobbs leads the way with 14 steals during that span.

CRABBE CONTINUES TO CLIMB ALL-TIME SCORING LIST
Junior Allen Crabbe became the 42nd player in school history to reach the 1,000-point milestone for his Golden Bear career. He hit the four-digit total in the season's third game at Denver on Nov. 16. Crabbe achieved the milestone in his 68th career game, 19 games less than it took Cal's all-time leading scorer Jerome Randle (1,835 from 2006-10) to reach the 1,000-point mark. Crabbe enters Thursday's UCLA game 13th in career scoring with 1,385 points in 88 games.

PAC-12 SCORING LEADER ALL SEASON
With an average of 19.8 points per game, Crabbe has led the Pac-12 Conference in scoring all season and ranks 17th in the nation overall. His career-high 33 points against Pepperdine equals the second-most points by an individual in the conference this season.

Crabbe is also among the conference leaders in free-throw percentage (7th, .832), three-point field goals made per game (7th, 1.9) and field goal percentage (13th, .483).

PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Allen Crabbe was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week for the first time in his career on Monday (Feb. 11), following his 31-point, seven-rebound, five-assist game to lead Cal to victory over No. 7 Arizona last Sunday. The junior's total was the most by a Wildcat opponent this season.

CRABBE'S 20-POINT GAMES
Crabbe has 25 career 20-point games, including 12 this season. He has posted four-straight 20-point games twice in his career, both this season and as a freshman. Cal is 8-4 when Crabbe has scored 20 or more points this season. Crabbe's last five 20-point games have come on the road. Here is a look at Crabbe's 20-point games this season.

SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST Crabbe has recorded 16 or more points in the second half in seven games this season. He also registered a 20-point first half on 8-of-12 shooting and 4-of-4 from 3-point range against CSUB. Here is a look at Crabbe's top second-half performances.

CRABBE AND COBBS
Junior guards Justin Cobbs and Allen Crabbe have combined to score 790 of Cal's 1,569 points through 23 games. Crabbe leads the Pac-12 conference with 455 points on the year, while Cobbs is 12th in the league (11th in points per game) with a total of 335 points. Crabbe and Cobbs are the highest scoring pair in the Pac-12, combining for 34.4 points per game. The duo has each recorded 20-point games in the same contest on five occasions. Cal owns a 4-1 record in those games.

JUNIOR GUARDS HAVE INCREASED MINUTES/PRODUCTION
Allen Crabbe has already recorded 93 more points this season than he did through the first 23 games of his sophomore campaign. The guard, who is averaging 2.3 more minutes per game this season (36.0) than he did last year (33.7), had 362 points through the first 23 games of 2011-12.

Justin Cobbs has surpassed his scoring total from the season's first 23 games of last season by 39 points in 2012-13. Last year, he recorded 296 points through the Bears' first 23 games. He is averaging 3.9 more minutes a game this season (35.2) as compared to last year (31.3).

WALLACE PROVIDES INSTANT IMPACT
Freshman guard Tyrone Wallace has provided an instant impact for the Bears. He earned a starting role in Cal's 10th game (vs. UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 18) of the season and has played at least 30 minutes in six of the Bears' last seven games. The first-year guard posted his first career double-double in his first career start against UCSB with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Wallace is Cal's fifth-leading scorer (7.2 ppg.) and lone freshman to play in all 23 games. He played a career-long 38 minutes at USC and vs. Oregon. The freshman scored a career-best 16 points vs. Washington State and at Arizona State. Wallace has reached double figures in rebounding twice with 10 each against No. 13 Creighton and UCSB, while his career-best eight assists came at Utah.

Since Wallace was inserted into the starting lineup 14 games ago, he has averaged 7.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists.

KRAVISH STRONG IN THE POST
After a 2011-12 season where David Kravish earned a spot on the All-Pac-12 Freshman team, the 6-9 forward added 20 pounds to his frame in the off-season. He is the team's leading rebounder (ranks 14th in the Pac-12 with 6.7 rpg.) and shot blocker (7th in the Pac-12 at 1.4 bpg.). The forward has posted seven or more rebounds in a game in 11 contests. Kravish recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds at Denver. He has posted four double-digit rebounding games this season, including 12 at UCLA and 10 vs. Pacific. The sophomore ranks seventh all-time at Cal with 74 career blocks.

SOLOMON RETURNING TO FORM
Junior Richard Solomon, who missed the final 15 games of last season, has played in all 23 games this season. He has started 21 contests. Solomon is Cal's third-leading scorer (8.0 ppg.) and second-leading rebounder (6.4 rpg.). The junior has scored in double figures in eight games, including a career-high 18 points vs. Prairie View A&M. He recorded a career-best 12 rebounds vs. No. 10 Oregon. Solomon has posted a pair of double-doubles this season (11 points and 10 rebounds at UCLA, 13 points and 12 rebounds vs. Oregon). He also registered a career-high six blocks vs. WSU to go along with seven points and eight rebounds, becoming the first player in school history with at least six points, six rebounds and six blocks in a game. Solomon has totaled 28 rebounds in his last four games.

THURMAN EFFICIENT WITH MINUTES Senior forward Robert Thurman has made the most of his minutes on the floor in 2012-13. The forward, who has started two games this season, is averaging 17.5 minutes per contest. The senior made his first career start in his 55th career game vs. Washington on Jan. 9. He is averaging 5.0 ppg. and 3.7 rpg. The forward posted a season-high 14 points in 23 minutes vs. UCSB.

SMITH BACK AT THE POINT FOR BEARS
Senior guard Brandon Smith, who missed six games after suffering a head injury vs. PVAM on Dec. 22, made his return to the court six games ago at Utah. After being sidelined for more than a month, he was cleared to play on Jan. 23. The senior played his longest minutes since Dec. 9 with 23 minutes on the floor vs. Oregon State. He scored six points and dished out a pair of assists vs. the Beavers.

SUPER POWERS
After appearing in just five of the first nine games, junior guard Jeff Powers has played in 11 of the last 13 games. He has scored all 25 of his points on the season and logged 112 of his 125 minutes of the year in his last 11 games. Powers started the Bears' game against Washington State, playing a season-long 19 minutes against the Cougars. The junior was sidelined three games ago after suffering a bone bruise on his knee against Oregon State.

BAK BAK
Senior center Bak Bak has also increased his presence in the Bears' line-up. Over his last 10 games, Bak has totaled 63 minutes on the floor. He had played 26 minutes overall in his first five appearances of the season prior to the USC contest on Jan. 5. Bak scored a season-high six points in six minutes in the win at No. 7 Arizona last time out.

A LOOK AT UCLA
UCLA comes to Berkeley following a sweep of the Washington schools this past week. The Bruins are tied atop the Pac-12 standings with Arizona and Oregon with an 8-3 league mark. UCLA is 18-6 overall, receiving votes in both nationall polls.

UCLA leads the Pac-12 offensively, averaging 76.0 points per game. However, the Bruins are second to last in defense, surrendering 68.4 points per contest.

Freshman forward Shabazz Muhammad leads the Bruins in scoring and ranks second in the Pac-12 behind Allen Crabbe, averaging 18.5 points per game. Freshman guard Jordan Adams (14.7 ppg.) and redshirt junior forward Travis Wear (12.2 ppg.) are also averaging double figures in the scoring column for UCLA.

Ben Howland owns a 226-103 record in his 10th season as head coach at UCLA.

Cal has won the last two meetings with UCLA in Berkeley, defeating the Bruins 76-72 in overtime on Feb. 20, 2011 and 85-69 on Dec. 31, 2011. UCLA's last win at Haas Pavilion came on Jan. 6, 2010 (76-75).

CALIFORNIA-UCLA SERIES HISTORY
California and UCLA have met on the hardwood 233 times previously. The Bruins own a 133-100 advantage in the all-time series with the Golden Bears. Cal has won three of the last four games in the series. The Bruins snapped Cal's three-game winning streak in the series with a 79-65 victory in Los Angeles on Jan. 3.

Source: http://www.bbstate.com/news/643733

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