Nov. 24, 2012
California Game Notes 
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ANAHEIM - California meets fellow northern California school, Pacific, in the championship game of the DIRECTV Classic on Sunday at 6 p.m. at the Anaheim Convention Center as the Bears look to open the season 6-0 for the first time since the 2007-08 season
The ESPN family of networks continue to provide live television coverage of the DIRECTV Classic. The Cal-Pacific matchup will be televised on ESPN2 with Dave Flemming handling the play-by-play and Sean Farnham serving as an analyst. The game can be accessed on WatchESPN.com.
The Cal IMG Sports Network will carry the game on KSFS NewsTalk 910 AM locally 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 5:30 p.m.
The 2012 field for the DIRECTV Classic consists of Cal, Drake, Rice, Georgia Tech, Drexel, Saint Mary's, Xavier and Pacific. The tournament concludes with four games on Sunday, with the first contest slated to begin at 10:30 a.m. (PT) and the title game set for 6 p.m.
Thursday, November 22
• Game No. 1 - Pacific def. Xavier, 70-67
• Game No. 2 - Saint Mary's def. Drexel, 76-64
• Game No. 3 - Georgia Tech def. Rice, 54-36
• Game No. 4 - Cal def. Drake, 73-70
Friday, November 23
• Game No. 5 - Pacific def. Saint Mary's, 76-66
• Game No. 6 - Xavier def. Drexel, 69-65
• Game No. 7 - Drake def. Rice, 77-66
• Game No. 8 - Cal def. Georgia Tech, 68-57
Sunday, November 25
• Game No. 9 - Xavier vs. Drake, ESPNU, 10:30 a.m. PT
• Game No. 10 - Drexel vs. Rice, ESPN3, 1 p.m. PT
• Game No. 11 - Saint Mary's vs. Georgia Tech, ESPNU, 3:30 p.m. PT
• Game No. 12 - Cal vs. Pacific/Championship, ESPN2, 6 p.m. PT
Cal improved to 5-0 on the season with a 67-58 victory over Georgia Tech on Friday in the DIRECTV Classic semifinals. The Bears used 17 points from junior Justin Cobbs and 12 points and nine rebounds from fellow junior Richard Solomon to down the Yellow Jackets.
Four of the Bears' five wins have come by double digits, including Friday's 11-point win over GT. The junior guard duo of Cobbs and Allen Crabbe have led Cal in scoring in each of the first five games. Crabbe paces the Bears with a 21.6 ppg. average, while Cobbs is averaging 20.0 ppg. The pair has combined for 208 of the team's 370 points this season. Crabbe became the 42nd member of the school's 1,000-point club with 20 points at Denver three games ago. He enters Friday's semifinals 39th in the Cal scoring record books with 1,038 points in 70 career games.
Crabbe and Cobbs are joined in the line-up by Solomon, sophomore forward David Kravish and senior guard Brandon Smith. The Bears have used the same starting lineup in all five games.
5-0 START
California has opened the season 5-0 for the second time under fifth-year head coach Mike Montgomery. The Bears have won four of their first five games by a double-digit margin.
CONTROLLING THE GLASS
Cal has out-rebounded each of its first five opponents and has recorded 40 or more rebounds in five-straight games for the first time in more than 10 seasons.
Cal posted a +8 (46-38) advantage against CSU Bakersfield, a +3 (39-36) edge vs. Pepperdine, a +12 (40-28) advantage at Denver, a +14 (40-26) edge vs. Drake and a +12 (41-29) advantage vs. GT.
CRABBE ENTERS 1,000-POINT CLUB
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 with a three-pointer at the 9:34 mark of the second half at Denver on Nov. 16. Crabbe achieved the milestone in his 68th career game, which is 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 Pacific game 39th in school history in career scoring with 1,038 points in 70 career games.
PAC-12'S LEADING SCORER
With an average of 21.6 points per game through the season's first five contests, Crabbe is the Pac-12 Conference's leading scorer and ranks 21st in the nation overall entering Saturday's games. His career-high 33 points against Pepperdine this season equaled the most points by an individual in the conference through Friday's action. Oregon State's Ahmad Starks scored 33 against New Mexico State on Nov. 11. He is also among the conference leaders in three-point field goals made per game, free-throw percentage, three-point field goal percentage and minutes played.
SCORING IN BUNCHES
Crabbe has scored 13 or more points in a single half in four of the first five games. In the first half of the season opener vs. CSUB, the junior poured in 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-4 from the three-point range. In the second half of the Pepperdine contest, the guard registered 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. In the second half of the Bears' game at Denver, Crabbe posted 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. He registered 13 of his 15 points in the second-half vs. Drake. In Friday's win vs. GT, Crabbe netted six points in the first half and seven in the second.
FROM THE LINE
Crabbe has attempted 206 career free throws through the first five games of his junior season in Berkeley, converting 172 of those attempts. The guard owns a .832 free-throw percentage, which ranks sixth on the school's all-time list. He was a perfect 9-of-9 on free-throw attempts against Pepperdine and 4-of-4 vs. Georgia Tech. Crabbe is 23-of-25 from the free throw line overall this season.
FROM BEYOND THE ARC
Crabbe is one of the Pac-12 conference's top three-point shooters. Through five games of his junior season, he has drained 158 career three-pointers, which ranks sixth on Cal's all-time list. His .404 three-point field percentage is tied for seventh-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.
With 20 or more points in the season's first three games, Crabbe fell one game shy of equaling his longest career stretch of 20-point contests. The guard recorded four-straight games of 20 or more points during his freshman season, pouring in 26 at Oregon State, 24 vs. Stanford, 21 against USC, and 20 vs. Mississippi in consecutive games. Crabbe opened the 2012-13 season with 27 points vs. CSU Bakersfield, posted a career-best 33 points against Pepperdine and 20 at Denver before ending his streak with 15 against Drake.
COBBS AND CRABBE
Junior guards Justin Cobbs and Allen Crabbe have combined to score 208 of Cal's 370 points through the first five games. Crabbe has poured in a conference-leading 108 points on the year, while Cobbs, who was an All-Pac-12 honorable mention pick last season, isn't far behind with 100 points.
The duo has connected on 70 of the Bears' 132 field goals this season and is shooting a combined .530 (70-of-132) from the floor through the first five games of the year. The pair has also accounted for 32 of Cal's 67 assists this season.
COBBS AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS
Junior Justin Cobbs, who led Cal with 21 points against Drake and 17 vs. Georgia Tech, ranks among the conference leaders in scoring, field goal percentage, free throw percentage and assists per game. Cobbs leads the Bears in assists (17) for the second-straight season. The 6-3 guard, who transferred from Minnesota, made his Cal debut last season after sitting out 2010-11 due to NCAA transfer regulations. He earned a starting role eight games into last season and finished the year with a 12.6 points-per-game average. Cobbs was Cal's assist leader and ranked third in the Pac-12 Conference in assists with 169 last season for a 4.9 assists-per-game average. His 169 assists was the ninth-most in a season in school history.
KRAVISH PROVIDES POST PRESENCE
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 and has become a bigger presence in the post. In the season opener vs. CSU Bakersfield, the sophomore posted a game-high three blocks to go along with nine rebounds. He is the team's leading rebounder with 42 through five games, which is tied for fourth in the Pac-12 through Friday's action. Kravish recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds at Denver on Nov. 16.
As a freshman, Kravish started 24 games and averaged 6.9 points and 5.6 rebounds. He recorded 41 blocks - the third-most by a freshman in school history - ranked ninth overall and second among freshmen in the Pac-12. Kravish's .594 field-goal percentage (98-of-165) was the highest among Cal's regular starters last season.
SOLOMON RETURNS TO LINEUP
Junior forward Richard Solomon returned to the Cal lineup in the season opener, playing his first game since Jan. 12, 2012. After missing the final 15 games last season, Solomon has started each of the Bears' first five games, averaging 7.2 ppg. and 6.2 rpg. He fell two points shy of his career-high with 12 points against Georgia Tech on Friday and one rebound shy of his career-best total with nine boards vs. the Yellow Jackets in the semifinals. The forward averaged 6.0 points and 6.2 rebounds to go along with 16 blocks last season.
THURMAN EFFICIENT WITH MINUTES
Senior forward Robert Thurman has made the most of his minutes on the floor in 2012-13. The forward ranks fifth on the team in scoring overall and first among non-starters who have played in all five games. Thurman is averaging 6.4 points and 3.8 rebounds in 20.8 minutes per game this season.
PAC-12 IN THE DIRECTV CLASSIC
With a win in Sunday's championship game, Cal would be the first Pac-12 school to capture the tournament title since USC won it all in 2007. A Pac-12 team has competed in the tournament each year since the event's inception in 2007.
WALLACE IN THE DIRECTV CLASSIC
Freshman guard Tyrone Wallace, a Bakersfield native, is averaging 10.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 53 total minutes over the Bears' two games so far in the DIRECTV Classic. The freshman has increased his high point total in each game, pouring in nine against Drake and 11 vs. Georgia Tech.
CAL IS 2-0 VS. PACIFIC UNDER MONTGOMERY
Cal has played Pacific twice previously under fifth-year head coach Mike Montgomery. Cal and Pacific met in Berkeley in Montgomery's first game as head coach of the Bears on Nov. 15, 2008, defeating Pacific 68-56. The Bears earned a 79-54 win in Stockton on Dec. 9, 2009.
Seniors Brandon Smith and Bak Bak are the lone two current Golden Bears to have played against Pacific. Both appeared in the Dec. 9 matchup in Stockton without scoring a point. Smith finished with two assists in seven minutes and Bak recorded one rebound in one minute of action against the Tigers.
SCOUTING PACIFIC
The Pacific Tigers reached the championship game of the DIRECTV Classic with victories over Xavier (70-67) and Saint Mary's (76-66).
The Tigers opened the season with a 76-38 win over Holy Names, before dropping decisions to Fresno State (66-61) and Oral Roberts (69-67).
Senior guard Lorenzo McCloud leads Pacific in scoring with at 12.8 ppg., while junior forward Ross Rivera is contributing 9.6 points per contest.
Pacific is coached by former Tigers basketball standout Bob Thomason (Pacific '71), who is in his 25th and final season as the head coach of his alma mater. He announced his retirement at the end of the 2012-13 season.
Pacific will leave the Big West and join the West Coast Conference beginning July 1, 2013.
CAl-PACIFIC SERIES HISTORY
Cal owns a 25-2 all-time record against Pacific in a series that began during the 2008-09 season. The Bears are 2-0 against the Tigers under Mike Montgomery.
Cal and Pacific met in Berkeley in Montgomery's first game as head coach of the Bears on Nov. 15, 2008, defeating Pacific 68-56. The Bears earned a 79-54 win in Stockton on Dec. 9, 2009.
