Jan. 17, 2013

California Game Notes

BERKELEY - California travels across the Bay to the Peninsula where the Golden Bears will take on Stanford on Saturday at 1:36 p.m. (PT) inside Maples Pavilion.

The Bears, 10-6 overall this season and 2-2 in the Pac-12, look for their third win in their last four games after defeating Washington State, 67-54, this past Saturday in Berkeley.

Saturday's game will be televised nationally on Fox Sports Net with Justin Kutcher handling the play-by-play, Marques Johnson serving as the analyst and Laura McKeeman reporting from the sideline.

The Cal IMG Sports Network will carry the game on KSFS 910 AM in the Bay Area with Cal alum Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play) and Todd McKim (analyst) on the call. The broadcast is also available through CalBears.com/All-Access. The pre-game show starts at 1 p.m. (PT). Fans can also listen to Saturday's game on Sirius channel 94 and on XM channel 193.

• Cal, second in the Pac-12 in rebounding at 39.7 boards per game, has out-rebounded 13 of its 16 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 with a combined average of 35 points per game. Crabbe leads the Pac-12 and ranks 16th nationally at 20.1 points per game, while Cobbs ranks ninth in the conference at 14.9 points per contest.

• The pair has combined to score 560 of Cal's 1,109 points (50.5 percent) and connected on 193 of the Bears' 405 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 Stanford game 18th in school history with 1,252 points in 81 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 two games agovs. Washington. Cal has used three different starting lineups in its 16 games this season.

• Fifth year Cal head coach Mike Montgomery enters Saturday's game just two wins shy from his 100th career victory at the helm of the Golden Bears. Montgomery, who owns 645 career victories in his 31st year as a head coach that also included 18 years at Stanford, owns a 98-53 record in his fifth season in Berkeley.

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 stanfrd game 18th in career scoring with 1,252 points in 81 games.

PAC-12 SCORING LEADER
With an average of 20.1 points per game, Crabbe leads the Pac-12 Conference in scoring and ranks 16th 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 (3rd, .854) and three-point field goals made per game (11th, 1.6).

CRABBE'S 20-POINT GAMES
Allen Crabbe has 22 career 20-point games, including nine this season. He has topped the 20-point mark in four of the Bears' last six games. Crabbe has posted four-straight 20-point games twice in his career, both this season and as a freshman. The record for 20-point games in a season is 23 by Lamond Murray in 1993-94. 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 five games this season, including three of the last five contests. 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 560 of Cal's 1,109 points through the first 16 games. Crabbe leads the Pac-12 conference with 322 points on the year, while Cobbs is 11th in the league (10th in points per game) with total 238 points.

JUNIOR GUARDS HAVE INCREASED MINUTES/PRODUCTION
Allen Crabbe has already recorded 68 more points this season than he did through the first 16 games of his sophomore campaign. The guard, who is averaging 2.2 more minutes per game this season (34.9) than he did last year (32.7), had 254 points through the first 16 games of 2011-12.

Justin Cobbs has surpassed his scoring total from the season's first 16 games of last season by 34 points in 2012-13. Last year, he recorded 204 points through the Bears' first 16 games. He is averaging 6.0 more minutes a game this season (35.3) as compared to last year (29.3).

WALLACE IS INSTANT IMPACT FOR BEARS
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 25 minutes in each of the Bears' last 10 games.

The first-year guard posted his first career double-double in his first career start against UC Santa Barbara with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Wallace is Cal's fifth-leading scorer (6.6 ppg.) and lone freshman to play in all 16 games. He played a career-long 38 minutes at USC two games ago. The freshman scored a career-best 16 points and pulled down six rebounds last time out vs. Washington State.

Since Wallace was inserted into the starting lineup six games ago, he has averaged 7.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.9 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 119 through 16 games, and ranks 11th in the Pac-12 with 7.4 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 and 10 vs. Pacific. The sophomore has also posted three blocks in a game on four occasions (vs. CSUB, vs. Creighton, at USC, and vs. Washington State). He has totaled eight blocks in Cal's last three games. 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, who missed the final 15 games of last season, has played in all 16 games this season. He started the first 14 games before coming off the bench the last two contests. Solomon is averaging 8.4 ppg. and 6.4 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 six blocks last time out vs. Washington State.

THURMAN EFFICIENT WITH MINUTES
Senior forward Robert Thurman has made the most of his minutes on the floor in 2012-13. The forward is averaging 4.9 ppg. and 3.8 rpg. in just 17.9 minutes per contest. Thurman earned his first career start in his 55th career game two games ago vs. Washington (4 points, 4 rebounds). He posted a season-high 14 points and 6 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 five games Thurman earned a spot in the starting lineup two games ago and is averaging 4.9 ppg. in 17.9 minutes per contest. Bak has averaged 2.0 points in 6.9 minutes per game in eight contests.

SCOUTING STANFORD
Stanford closes a three-game homestand when the Cardinal hosts Cal on Saturday. Stanford comes into Saturday's contest 10-7 overall and 1-3 in conference play. The Cardinal earned a split in last week's Pac-12 action, defeating Washington State (78-67) before falling to Washington (65-60) at Maples Pavilion.

Junior forward Dwight Powell leads the Cardinal in scoring at 14.8 points per game and is the team's second-leading rebounder at 7.5 rebounds per contest. Sophomore guard Chasson Randle, who came off the bench for the Cardinal for the first time this season in Stanford's last game, is contributing 13.4 points per game and 2.9 assists per contest. Junior forward Josh Huestis is averaging a team-best 9.0 rebounds per game, good for fifth-best in the Pac-12.

Junior guard Aaron Bright leads the Pac-12 in free throw percentage at .919 (34-of-37).

With 221 offensive rebounds (13.0 per game), Stanford leads the Pac-12. The Cardinal is shooting a conference-worst .407 field goal percentage through 17 games.

CALIFORNIA-STANFORD SERIES HISTORY
California and Stanford have met on the hardwood 260 times previously. The Golden Bears hold a 145-115 advantage in the all-time series with the Cardinal. Cal has won six of the last eight match-ups against Stanford. Cal and Stanford split the regular-season series last year with each team winning at home (69-59 at Cal and 70-75 at Stanford). The Bears defeated Stanford, 77-71, in the Pac-12 Tournament in Los Angeles.