July 26, 2012

BERKELEY - The California men's basketball team's opening matchup and television information for the 2012 Anaheim Classic has been announced.

The Golden Bears will open play in the tournament against Drake at 8:30 p.m. (PT) on Thursday, Nov. 22. ESPN2 will provide live coverage of the opening-round matchup.

Drake returns four starter from a team that completed the 2011-12 season 18-16 overall, splitting its 18 games in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bulldogs dropped a 74-68 decision to Rice in the second round of the CIT postseason tournament in March.

Cal is among eight teams selected to play in the 2012 Anaheim Classic. The Bears join Drake, Drexel, Georgia Tech, Pacific, Rice, Saint Mary's College (CA), and Xavier in the three-day event. Cal, Saint Mary's, and Xavier were each participants in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

The sixth-annual tournament will be held over Thanksgiving weekend--Thursday, Friday, and Sunday (Nov. 22, 23, and 25)--at the Anaheim Convention Center, adjacent to Disneyland.

The Anaheim Classic will feature 12 games over the three-day schedule, with each team playing one game per day. They will advance through a bracket-tournament format and the two teams that remain undefeated face off in the championship game on Sunday, Nov. 25.

Pacific will meet Xavier in the tournament's opening contest on Nov. 22 at 11 a.m. (PT) on ESPNU, while Drexel and Saint Mary's clash at 1:30 p.m. (PT) on ESPN2 and Rice faces Georgia Tech at 6 p.m. (PT) on ESPNU.

In all, ESPNU will carry six of the tournament games, while ESPN2 will air five, including the Championship Game on Sunday, Nov. 25, at 6 p.m. (PT). ESPN3 will have the one remaining game and the entire tournament will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com and through smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.

The inaugural Anaheim Classic was played in 2007 and was won by USC. In the following years, Wake Forest (2008), West Virginia (2009), UNLV (2010), and Saint Louis (2011), were all tournament winners. Each champion has gone on to qualify for that year's NCAA Tournament.

In Cal's sole preseason tournament of 2011-12, the Bears advanced to the championship game of the Progressive College Basketball Experience (CBE) Classic by defeating George Washington, Austin Peay, and Georgia before falling to Missouri in the championship game.

The Bears tied for second in the Pac-12's inaugural season with a 13-5 record in league games. In each of head coach Mike Montgomery's four years at Cal, the Bears have finished among the top four in the conference and advanced to play in the postseason; three times to the NCAA tournament.

Cal will be led by last season's leading scorer and rebounder, junior guard Allen Crabbe, who was named to the Pac-12 All-Conference first team after averaging 15.2 points per game. Junior guard Justin Cobbs, an All-Pac-12 honorable mention, finished second in the conference with 5.1 assists per game. Sophomore forward David Kravish notched 41 blocked shots; eighth most in a single season at Cal, en route to being named to the five-man Pac-12 All-Freshman Team.

Click here to visit the Anaheim Classic's website for more information on the tournament. For more information on Disneyland Resort, visit www.disneyland.com.