Feb. 9, 2013
California Game Notes 
TUCSON - California continues its tour of the Grand Canyon state in Tucson as the Golden Bears face their second top-10 opponent in three games with a Sunday match-up at No. 7 Arizona at Olson Court at the McKale Center at 4:06 p.m. (PT).
Sunday's game is the third in a challenging four-game stretch that matches the Bears against the top-four teams in the Pac-12, including Oregon, Arizona State, Arizona and UCLA. The contest marks the second time in three games Cal faces the conference leader. Cal defeated the previous league leader Oregon, 58-54, last Saturday in Berkeley, before falling, 66-62, at third-place ASU on Thursday.
• Cal, 13-9 overall and 5-5 in the Pac-12, looks to snap a three-game losing streak to the Wildcats in the series.
• Mike Montgomery, the NCAA's eighth-winningest active Division I head coach with 648 wins, is one win shy of becoming the fourth winningest coach in Pac-12 history with 265 league wins.
• Mike Montgomery became the fifth coach in school history to record 100 wins (Jan. 31 against Oregon State) and the third fastest to achieve the milestone mark.
• The junior guard duo of Allen Crabbe and Justin Cobbs is the highest scoring pair in the Pac-12 with a combined average of 33.6 points per game. Crabbe leads the Pac-12 and ranks 23rd nationally at 19.3 points per game, while Cobbs ranks 12th in the conference at 14.3 points per contest. The pair has combined to score 738 of Cal's 1,492 points (49.5 percent).
• Allen Crabbe enters the Arizona game 15th in school history with 1,354 points in 87 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 11 of the past 13 games.
• Cal has produced 60 steals in its last five games after combining for 77 steals in its first 17 contests. Cobbs leads the way with 12 steals during that span.
• Sunday marks Cal's second top-10 opponent in the last three games. The Bears are 1-3 against nationally-ranked opponents this season, defeating No. 10 Oregon, 58-54 and falling to No. 18 UNLV (76-65) and No. 13 Creighton (74-64).
• Cal last defeated a top-10 team on the road on Jan. 31, 2008 - a 69-64 win at No. 9 Washington St.
• Arizona is the highest-ranked opponent Cal will play since facing No. 3 Kansas (L, 78-63) on Dec. 22, 2010. Cal's last victory over an opponent ranked No. 7 or higher came against No. 3 UCLA (76-69) in overtime in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament in Los Angeles on March 8, 2007.
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 Sunday's Arizona game 15th in career scoring with 1,354 points in 87 games.
PAC-12 SCORING LEADER ALL SEASON
With an average of 19.3 points per game, Crabbe has led the Pac-12 Conference in scoring all season and ranks 23rd 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 (6th, .835) and three-point field goals made per game (7th, 1.8).
CRABBE'S 20-POINT GAMES
Crabbe has 24 career 20-point games, including 11 this season. He has posted four-straight 20-point games twice in his career, both this season and as a freshman. Cal is 7-4 when Crabbe has scored 20 or more points this season. Here is a look at Crabbe's 20-point games this season.
FROM BEYOND THE ARC
Crabbe is one of the Pac-12 conference's top three-point shooters. Through 22 games of his junior season, he has drained 185 career three-pointers, which ranks third on Cal's all-time list. His .386 three-point field percentage is ninth-best in school history. As a sophomore in 2011-12, Crabbe recorded 62 three-pointers, which ranked as the seventh-most in a season in school history.
CRABBE AND COBBS
Junior guards Justin Cobbs and Allen Crabbe have combined to score 738 of Cal's 1,492 points through 22 games. Crabbe leads the Pac-12 conference with 424 points on the year, while Cobbs is 14th in the league (12th in points per game) with a total of 314 points.
JUNIOR GUARDS HAVE INCREASED MINUTES/PRODUCTION
Allen Crabbe has already recorded 87 more points this season than he did through the first 22 games of his sophomore campaign. The guard, who is averaging 2.5 more minutes per game this season (36.0) than he did last year (33.5), had 347 points through the first 22 games of 2011-12.
Justin Cobbs has surpassed his scoring total from the season's first 22 games of last season by 27 points in 2012-13. Last year, he recorded 287 points through the Bears' first 22 games. He is averaging 4.3 more minutes a game this season (35.3) as compared to last year (31.0).
WALLACE 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 25 minutes in 15 of the Bears' last 16 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 (7.3 ppg.) and lone freshman to play in all 22 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 last time out 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 13 games ago, he has averaged 8.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 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 (tied for seventh 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 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. He ranks seventh all-time at Cal with 72 career blocks.
SOLOMON RETURNING TO FORM
Junior Richard Solomon, who missed the final 15 games of last season, has played in all 22 games this season. He has started 20 contests. Solomon is Cal's third-leading scorer (8.1 ppg.) and second-leading rebounder (6.6 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 26 rebounds in his last three 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 17.8 minutes per contest. The senior made his first career start in his 55th career game vs. Washington on Jan. 9. He is averaging 5.2 ppg. and 3.8 rpg. The forward posted a season-high 14 points in 23 minutes vs. UCSB. Thurman has totaled 33 points and 23 rebounds in his last five games.
SMITH RETURNS TO COURT
Senior guard Brandon Smith, who missed six games after suffering a head injury against Prairie View A&M on Dec. 22, made his return to the court five games ago at Utah. After being sidelined from all basketball activities 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 10 of the last 12 games. He has scored all 25 of his points on the season and logged 109 of his 122 minutes of the year in his last 10 games. Powers started the Bears' game against Washington State, playing a season-long 19 minutes against the Cougars. The junior was sidelined two 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 the last nine games, Bak has totaled 57 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 five points in a season-long 15 minutes vs. Washington State.
A LOOK AT ARIZONA
Arizona, ranked seventh in both national polls, enters Sunday with a 20-2 overall record. The Wildcats sit atop the Pac-12 standings with an 8-2 conference mark.
The Wildcats have been ranked in the top 10 in both polls for 12 consecutive weeks, the most by a Pac-12 team in five years.
UA is coming off a 73-66 victory over Stanford at home on Wednesday. The Wildcats' lone blemishes on the year came at Oregon (70-66) and at home to UCLA (84-73).
Arizona leads the Pac-12 and ranks 14th nationally with a .754 (361-of-479) free throw percentage. Arizona ranks second in the conference in scoring (74.7 ppg.) and third in defense (61.9 ppg.). UA also leads the Pac-12 with 7.6 three-pointers per game
Senior guard Mark Lyons leads Arizona in scoring at 15.4 ppg., while senior forward Solomon Hill is averaging 14.0 ppg. and sophomore guard Nick Johnson is contributing 12.5 ppg.
Sean Miller is in his fourth season as head coach at Arizona with an 89-37 mark at the helm of the Wildcats' program.
CALIFORNIA-ARIZONA SERIES HISTORY
California and Arizona have met on the hardwood 83 times previously. The Wildcats own a 55-28 advantage in the all-time series with the Golden Bears. Arizona has won the last three games in the series, dating back to the 2009-10 season. The Bears faced UA just once last season, dropping a 78-74 decision in Berkeley. Cal's last win in Tucson was an 83-77 triumph on March 5, 2009.
