Jan. 11, 2013

Complete Release

BERKELEY - California looks to rebound from Wednesday's defeat to Washington when the Golden Bears host Washington State Saturday at 1:05 p.m. (PT) inside Haas Pavilion. The first 3,000 kids in attendance at Saturday's game will receive a mini drawstring bag.

The Bears, 9-6 overall this season and 1-2 in the Pac-12, look for their 10th win of the year and second in the conference after Wednesday's 62-47 setback to the Huskies in Berkeley.

Saturday's game will be televised nationally on the Pac-12 Networks with Cal alum Roxy Bernstein handling the play-by-play Dan Belluomini 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 Jon Wheeler (analyst) on the call. The broadcast is also available here. The pre-game show starts at 12:30 p.m. (PT). The broadcast is also available on Sirius channel 137 and on XM channel 193.

Cal, second in the Pac-12 in rebounding at 39.7 boards per game, has out-rebounded 12 of its 15 opponents this season. The Bears recorded 40 or more rebounds in four-straight games earlier this season for the first time since the 1997-98 campaign.

The junior guard duo of Allen Crabbe and Justin Cobbs is the highest scoring pair in the Pac-12 Conference. Crabbe leads the Pac-12 and ranks 15th nationally at 20.5 points per game, while Cobbs ranks ninth in the conference at 15.2 points per contest.

The pair has combined to score 536 of Cal's 1,042 points (51.4 percent) and connected on 188 of the Bears' 387 field goals this season.

Crabbe became the 42nd member of the school's 1,000-point club with 20 points at Denver on Nov. 16. He enters the Washington State game 19th in school history with 1,238 points in 80 career games.

Crabbe and Cobbs are joined in the line-up by sophomore forward David Kravish, freshman guard Tyrone Wallace and senior forward Robert Thurman, who made his first career start in the Bears' last game on Wednesday vs. Washington. Cal has used three different starting lineups in its 15 games this season.

Saturday's matchup features the top-two scorers in the Pac-12 in Crabbe and second-place Brock Motum of Washington State with a 20.0 ppg. average.

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 Saturday's Washington State game 19th in career scoring with 1,238 points in 80 games.

PAC-12 SCORING LEADER
With an average of 20.5 points per game, Crabbe leads the Pac-12 Conference in scoring and ranks 15th 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 (4th .863) and three-point field goals made per game (T-9th, 1.7).

CRABBE'S 20-POINT GAMES
Crabbe has 22 career 20-point games and nine in 2012-13. He has topped the 20-point mark in the Bears' last four games at USC (27), at UCLA (21), vs. Harvard (27) and Prairie View A&M (23). Crabbe, who also posted four-straight 20-point games as a freshman, matched his longest streak of 20-point outings. The junior also topped the 20-point mark at Wisconsin (25), vs. CSU Bakersfield (27), against Pepperdine (career-high 33), at Denver (20) and against Pacific (24) this season. The record for 20-point Games in a season is 23 by Lamond Murray in 1993-94.

SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST
Crabbe has recorded 16 or more points in the second half in five games this season, including three of the last four contests. He 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 536 of Cal's 1,042 points through the first 15 games. Crabbe leads the Pac-12 conference with 308 points on the year, while Cobbs is 10th in the league (ninth in points per game) with total 228 points.

JUNIOR GUARDS HAVE INCREASED MINUTES/PRODUCTION
Allen Crabbe has already recorded 70 more points this season than he did through the first 15 games of his sophomore campaign. The guard, who is averaging 2.5 more minutes per game this season (34.9) than he did last year (32.4), had 238 points through the first 15 games of 2011-12.

Justin Cobbs has surpassed his scoring total from the season's first 15 games last season by 42 points in 2012-13. Last year, he recorded 186 points through the Bears' first 15 games. He is averaging 5.7 more minutes a game this season (35.0) as compared to last year (29.3).

COBBS EARNS TOURNAMENT AND WEEKLY HONORS
Junior guard Justin Cobbs was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week on Nov. 26 after leading Cal to the DIRECTV Classic championship in Anaheim. The junior was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after scoring 58 points in three victories. The guard was 25-of-29 (.862) from the free-throw line and posted 17 rebounds, 13 assists and six steals in the tournament. Cobbs scored four of his 21 points in the final 71 seconds to lead Cal to the 73-70 win over Drake. He followed that with 17 points in the 68-57 win over Georgia Tech and 20 points in the 78-58 victory over Pacific

Cobbs has scored in double figures in 13 of Cal's 15 games this season with four games of 20 or more points in the scoring column.

WALLACE INSTANT IMPACT
Freshman guard Tyrone Wallace has seen his minutes increase as the season has progressed. He earned his first career start vs. UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 18. The first-year guard responded with his first career double-double against the Gauchos with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

He is Cal's fifth-leading scorer (5.9 ppg.) and lone freshman to play in all 15 games so far this season. Wallace has played at least 25 minutes in each of the last nine games. He played a career-long 38 minutes at USC two games ago.

Since Wallace was inserted into the starting lineup five games ago, he has averaged 5.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists.

KRAVISH CONTROLS THE GLASS
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 with 114 through 15 games, and ranks 10th in the Pac-12 with 7.6 boards per game. The forward has posted seven or more rebounds in a game in nine contests. Kravish recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds at Denver on Nov. 16. He posted a season-best 13 rebounds vs. No. 13 Creighton and has four double-digit rebounding performances this season, including 12 at UCLA three games ago. The sophomore also has a pair of three-block performances against CSU Bakersfield and at UCLA. He posted a season-high 14 points last time out vs. Washington.

As a freshman, Kravish started 24 games and averaged 6.9 points and 5.6 rebounds. He recorded 41 blocks - third-most by a freshman in school history - ranked ninth overall and second among freshmen in the Pac-12.

SOLOMON PROVIDES POST PRESENCE
Junior Richard Solomon returned to the Cal lineup in the season opener after missing the final 15 games of last year, Solomon started the first 15 games before coming off the bench last game. He is averaging 8.5 ppg. and 6.3 rpg. The junior has scored in double figures in six games, including a career-high 18 points vs. Prairie View A&M. He posted his second career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds at UCLA. Solomon also registered a career-high five blocks vs. Harvard.

THURMAN EFFICIENT WITH MINUTES
Senior forward Robert Thurman has made the most of his minutes on the floor in 2012-13. The forward leads is averaging 4.9 ppg. and 3.7 rpg. in just 18.1minutes per contest. Thurman earned his first career start in his 55th career game last time out vs. Washington (4 points, four rebounds). He posted a season-high 14 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes vs. UCSB.

SENIOR TRIO LOOKS FOR ANOTHER LEAGUE TITLE
The senior class of guard Brandon Smith and forwards Bak Bak and Robert Thurman were each a member of the 2009-10 team that won the league title. Smith played in 26 games that season, while Bak played in eight. Thurman redshirted after transferring from Norwich University.

All three have seen action this year. Smith started the first nine games and was averaging with 3.5 ppg. in 20.7 minutes per contest before a head injury has forced him to miss the last four games Thurman has been the most productive of the three with 4.9 ppg. in 18.1 minutes per contest. Bak has averaged 5.7 minutes in seven games.

SCOUTING WASHINGTON STATE
Washington State enters Saturday's game 9-6 overall and 0-2 in the Pac-12 Conference. The Cougars have dropped their first two league games at home to Washington (68-63) and on the road at Stanford (78-67). WSU had won its previous four games against Fresno State, Jackson State, Buffalo and Idaho State.

Washington State yields the least amount of points in the Pac-12, surrendering just 56.1 points per game. The Cougars, however, produce the second lowest points on offense in the league at 63.9 points per game.

Senior forward Brock Motum leads Washington State and ranks third in the Pac-12 overall in scoring with a 20.0 points per game average. He also leads the Cougars on the glass with 6.5 rebounds per contest.

Cal and WSU have faced two common opponents so far in Pepperdine and Washington. Cal defeated Pepperdine, 79-62, while WSU dropped a 58-56 decision to the Waves. Both schools suffered setbacks to the Huskies (Cal: 62-47, WSU: 68-63).

CALIFORNIA-WASHINGTON STATE SERIES HISTORY
California and Washington State have met on the hardwood 120 times previously. The Golden Bears hold a 73-47 advantage in the all-time series with the Cougars. Cal has won six of the last 10 match-ups against WSU. The Cougars have captured the last two games in the series, including a 77-75 win over the Bears in their lone meeting last season in Pullman, Wash.