SB Nation Bay Area - Cal Basketball Begins Quest For Pac-12 Conference Titlehttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48817/bayrea-fave.png2011-12-29T23:52:42-08:00http://bayarea.sbnation.com/rss/stream/23091592011-12-29T23:52:42-08:002011-12-29T23:52:42-08:00Cal Vs. USC: Golden Bears Stave Off Trojans Rally, Win 63-59
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/california-golden-bears">California Golden Bears</a> looked in control for most of their contest with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/usc-trojans">USC Trojans</a>. USC's offense was unproductive and couldn't find any scoring room after scoring an early eight points in the opening minutes on easy baskets, finishing with only 19 first half points. Cal worked their way behind <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/53339/jorge-gutierrez">Jorge Gutierrez</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/28829/harper-kamp">Harper Kamp</a>, both of whom helped put the Bears up by double-digits for most of the game.</p>
<p>But then USC rallied, and their always impressive defense started locking down the Cal offense. The Bears played very disappointing basketball down the stretch, and the Trojans managed to bring it back down to a one-point game with a few seconds left. But with USC about to get the basketball back trailing by only one with seconds left, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123296/allen-crabbe">Allen Crabbe</a> (who had a quiet night) was fouled on a three point shot as the shot clock was about to expire. Crabbe<i><b> </b></i>nailed all three shots to ice the victory.</p>
<p>Gutierrez led the Bears with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Kamp and Crabbe both finished with 12 points each. Cal will probably need a much better effort if they plan on beating UCLA on New Year's Eve.</p>
<p><i><b>To discuss Cal basketball,<a target="_blank" href="http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com"> head to the California Golden Blogs</a>. To discuss USC basketball, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.conquestchronicles.com">check out Conquest Chronicles</a>.</b></i></p>
https://bayarea.sbnation.com/california-golden-bears/2011/12/29/2669949/cal-basketball-vs-usc-trojans-score-recapAvinash Kunnath2011-12-29T17:57:20-08:002011-12-29T17:57:20-08:00Cal Vs. USC Basketball: Golden Bears Start Pac-12 Play Against Trojans
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/california-golden-bears">California Golden Bears</a> are one of the many favorites in the crowd to win the Pac-12. They'll try to show how good they are when they take on the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/usc-trojans">USC Trojans</a>. Cal and USC pits together two of the best defenses in the conference; however, USC has a far bigger problem putting points on the board, while the Bears remain one of the most efficient offensive teams in the conference.</p>
<p>Cal might or might not be without big man <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123295/richard-solomon">Richard Solomon</a>, so the Bears will be stretched depth-wise with regards to their big men, as they'll have to rely on <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/145149/david-kravish">David Kravish</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/28829/harper-kamp">Harper Kamp</a> in all likelihood to try and handle a physical beast like Dewayne Dedemon. Although the Bears have struggled in the past trying to deal with the speedy Maurice Jones, Cal should have a superior advantage on the perimeter with <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/53339/jorge-gutierrez">Jorge Gutierrez</a>, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/99907/justin-cobbs">Justin Cobbs</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123296/allen-crabbe">Allen Crabbe</a>.</p>
<p><i><b>To talk about the game with Cal fans, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com">head to the California Golden Blogs</a>. To discuss the game with USC fans, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.conquestchronicles.com">go to Conquest Chronicles</a>. </b></i></p>
https://bayarea.sbnation.com/california-golden-bears/2011/12/29/2669466/cal-vs-usc-basketball-previewAvinash Kunnath2011-12-23T18:46:02-08:002011-12-23T18:46:02-08:00Cal Basketball Falls To UNLV 85-68
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/california-golden-bears">California Golden Bears</a> had a great opportunity to notch a respectable non-conference win for the Pac-12. All hopes of victory were erased early. The UNLV Runnin' Rebels raced out to a 46 point first half (the most Cal has given up in the first half all year), and led by double digits for the entire second half, cruising to a 17 point victory.</p>
<p>UNLV's athleticism and veteran leadership overwhelmed the Bears as they got solid performances from <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/100899/mike-moser">Mike Moser</a> (14 points, eight rebounds), <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/53319/oscar-bellfield">Oscar Bellfield</a> (11 points, 11 assists), <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/29005/chace-stanback">Chace Stanback</a> (15 points) and Anthony Marshall (22 points, nine rebounds). The Rebels look like a serious tournament contender; expect them to make some noise in March.</p>
<p>Cal saw their two top scorers struggle to find the range. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123296/allen-crabbe">Allen Crabbe</a> (flu) and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/53339/jorge-gutierrez">Jorge Gutierrez</a> (recovering from food poisoning) shot a combined 7 of 27 from the field and finished with 25 points overall. Cal guard <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/99907/justin-cobbs">Justin Cobbs</a> continued his hot scoring and provided the main scoring punch, finishing with 20 points and five assists. Cal bigs <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/28829/harper-kamp">Harper Kamp</a> (12 points, nine rebounds) and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/145149/david-kravish">David Kravish</a> (eight points, seven boards) had solid performances in support.</p>
<p>Cal now gets ready for Pac-12 play, finishing out-of-conference with a 10-3 record.</p>
<p><i><b>To discuss Cal basketball, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com">head on over to the California Golden Blogs</a>. </b></i></p>
https://bayarea.sbnation.com/california-golden-bears/2011/12/23/2658711/unlv-rebels-vs-california-golden-bears-score-recapAvinash Kunnath2011-12-20T22:41:55-08:002011-12-20T22:41:55-08:00Cal Basketball Beats Up UC Santa Barbara 70-50
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/california-golden-bears">California Golden Bears</a> are down <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123295/richard-solomon">Richard Solomon</a> until he recovers from a stress fracture injury. Then on Monday night they were missing star guard <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/53339/jorge-gutierrez">Jorge Gutierrez</a> because of food poisoning. With <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/101471/robert-thurman">Robert Thurman</a> out and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/28829/harper-kamp">Harper Kamp</a> limited, the Bears had a lot of problems going into a crucial matchup with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/uc-santa-barbara-gauchos">UC Santa Barbara Gauchos</a>.</p>
<p>It turned out to be no problem at all.</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/99907/justin-cobbs">Justin Cobbs</a> came in for Gutierrez and put up his best performance as a Golden Bear, scoring 25 points on 10 of 12 shooting from the field, and generally was unstoppable against the Gaucho defense. Cobbs's game was highlighted with a 35 foot three-pointer that pretty much wrapped things up late in the second half. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123296/allen-crabbe">Allen Crabbe</a> added 19 points and six rebounds, and freshman <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/145149/david-kravish">David Kravish</a> contributed nine rebounds and seven points when he had to step in and take up most of Solomon's minutes.</p>
<p>Cal gets ready for their final non-conference test of the season when they take on the UNLV Rebels in Las Vegas this Friday afternoon.</p>
<p><i><b>To discuss Cal basketball further, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com">head on over to the California Golden Blogs</a>.</b></i></p>
https://bayarea.sbnation.com/california-golden-bears/2011/12/20/2651352/california-golden-bears-vs-ucsb-gauchos-scoreAvinash Kunnath2011-12-18T04:37:57-08:002011-12-18T04:37:57-08:00Cal Basketball Rocks Up Weber State
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/california-golden-bears">California Golden Bears</a> had what looked like an imposing matchup against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/weber-st-wildcats">Weber St. Wildcats</a> when they had to deal with a scoring machine in Damian Lilliard, top scorer in the country. Thankfully for Cal, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/53339/jorge-gutierrez">Jorge Gutierrez</a> was more than ready to lock him down.</p>
<p>Lilliard finished with a feeble 4 of 17 shooting performance with Gutierrez locking him down. Gutierrez then shot 8 of 12 from the field and had 24 points on the night as he dominated the game on both sides of the floor. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123296/allen-crabbe">Allen Crabbe</a> added 16 points and and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/28829/harper-kamp">Harper Kamp</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123295/richard-solomon">Richard Solomon</a> each had 11.</p>
<p>The Bears also got great passing help from <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/99907/justin-cobbs">Justin Cobbs</a> (six assists along with six points) and Brandon Smith (five assists) to ensure the ball kept moving and the Bears kept on scoring. Freshman <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/145149/david-kravish">David Kravish</a> has another impressive outing, leading the Bears with eleven rebounds off the bench to go along with his six points.</p>
<p><i><b>To discuss Cal basketball, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com">head on over to the California Golden Blogs</a>. </b></i></p>
https://bayarea.sbnation.com/california-golden-bears/2011/12/18/2643370/california-golden-bears-vs-weber-st-wildcats-score-recapAvinash Kunnath2011-12-16T08:00:24-08:002011-12-16T08:00:24-08:002012 NCAA Tournament Bracketology: Stanford Cardinal, Cal Bears Projected As Middle Seeds
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<p>Where are the Bears and Cardinal projected to end up?</p> <p>March Madness may still be months away, but the first projected brackets of the year are slowly but surely starting to come out. While these projections are just in good fun this time of year -- heck, we're still weeks away from conference play, let alone the tournament -- it is fun to see where the experts expect your favorite team to end up.</p>
<p>For those of you who support teams in the Bay Area, both the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/stanford-cardinal">Stanford Cardinal</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/california-golden-bears">California Golden Bears</a> are currently projected to earn a solid seed, according to <a href="http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology" target="_blank">ESPN's Joe Lunardi</a>. </p>
<p>The 'Bracketologist' has the Cardinal as a No. 6 seed in the East region. They would hypothetically face the Wichita State Shockers in the first round, and would then likely face the No. 3 <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/baylor-bears">Baylor Bears</a>.</p>
<p>The Golden Bears are projected for a No. 8 seed in the West region, where they would face the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/vanderbilt-commodores">Vanderbilt Commodores</a>. Should California win, they would likely face the hated <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/duke-blue-devils">Duke Blue Devils</a> in the Round of 32.</p>
<p>There was only one other Pac-12 team (Arizona) to make the bracket. One has to expect the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/washington-huskies">Washington Huskies</a> to be on the next round of teams primed to enter the field of 68.</p>
<p><i>For more coverage, head on over to <a href="http://ruleoftree.com" target="_blank">Rule Of Tree</a> and <a href="http://californiagoldenblogs.com" target="_blank">Cal Golden Blogs</a>. Stay tuned to our StoryStream for continued Bracketology coverage. </i></p>
https://bayarea.sbnation.com/california-golden-bears/2011/12/16/2639756/bracketology-2012-ncaa-tournament-cal-bears-stanford-cardinalScott Coleman2011-12-05T03:41:55-08:002011-12-05T03:41:55-08:00Cal Basketball Loses To San Diego State 64-63
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/california-golden-bears">California Golden Bears</a> lost what could be a critical non-conference matchup when they fell to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/san-diego-st-aztecs">San Diego St. Aztecs</a>. Cal lost <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123295/richard-solomon">Richard Solomon</a> to suspension earlier last week, and the Bears didn't have the depth to win on the road on Sunday afternoon.</p>
<p>The Golden Bears actually didn't have a lot of trouble rebounding against the Aztecs, but it was their usually reliable shooting that let them down. Cal shot 40% from the field and missed seven crucial free throws. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123296/allen-crabbe">Allen Crabbe</a> led the Bears with 23 points but took 21 shots to get there, and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/99907/justin-cobbs">Justin Cobbs</a> chipped in 17 points on 14 shots. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/28829/harper-kamp">Harper Kamp</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/53339/jorge-gutierrez">Jorge Gutierrez</a> had uncharacteristic games, combining to hit 4 of 17 shots. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/145149/david-kravish">David Kravish</a> had a nice game off the bench with eight points and six rebounds. But no one could stop Chase Tapley, who had 25 points on the night.</p>
<p>Cal still does not have a marquee win on the season, and with the Pac-12 struggling, they might be in short supply going forward. <br><i><b><br>To discuss Cal basketball,<a target="_blank" href="http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com"> head to the California Golden Blogs</a>. </b></i></p>
https://bayarea.sbnation.com/california-golden-bears/2011/12/5/2611976/cal-golden-bears-vs-sdsu-aztecs-score-justin-cobbs-allen-crabbeAvinash Kunnath2011-11-28T22:19:47-08:002011-11-28T22:19:47-08:00Cal Basketball Struggles, But Beats McNeese State 73-57
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/california-golden-bears">California Golden Bears</a> faced the underwhelming <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/mcneese-st-cowboys">McNeese St. Cowboys</a> on Monday night, and Cal looked underwhelmed. Playing their fourth basketball game in seven days, Cal was ragged for most of the first half and were caught in a back-and-forth matchup with the Cowboys, as <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/100975/dontae-cannon">Dontae Cannon</a> shot 8 of 18 for 18 points while Patrick Richard went 6 of 14 for 15 points. McNeese State was leading in the final seconds of the first half before the Bears finally put up a buzzer beating three to take a 28-26 lead into halftime.</p>
<p>In the second half, Cal took over. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/53339/jorge-gutierrez">Jorge Gutierrez</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123296/allen-crabbe">Allen Crabbe</a> seemed to trade baskets for most of the first ten minutes to put the Bears up double digits; Gutierrez shot 11 of 15 from the field for 26 points, Crabbe went 8 of 15 for 20 points. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/28829/harper-kamp">Harper Kamp</a> had 10 points and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/99907/justin-cobbs">Justin Cobbs</a> chipped in 8. It wasn't the strongest performance by the Bears, but they still cruised to winning in the second half.</p>
<p>Cal will now have most of the week off before preparing for their toughest road test against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/san-diego-st-aztecs">San Diego St. Aztecs</a>.</p>
<p><i><b>To discuss Cal basketball, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com">go to the California Golden Blogs</a>. </b></i></p>
https://bayarea.sbnation.com/california-golden-bears/2011/11/28/2595473/cal-basketball-vs-mcneese-state-score-jorge-gutierrez-allen-crabbeAvinash Kunnath