Category: Cal Bears

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Michael Duca: Review of Cal-San Diego State game; Bears have Wyoming at Haas this Friday

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photo by Michael Duca http://www.sportsradioservice.com: Photo of the floor at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento during the San Diego State Aztecs and Cal Bears Monday night

The loss for the Cal Bears from last Monday night’s game against the San Diego State Aztecs 77-65 is not as concerning for Cal head coach Cuonzo Martin as other people might think. Nobody thought this team would go 36-0. These are the kind of games that could get you some grade of new players and get your program to go a little faster. It would have no difficulty at all getting someone’s attention in practice you probably got it through this game.

They defended pretty well they held the Aztecs to 36 percent shooting and that was a pretty good 36 percent throughout. They were not making good choices on offense. They should set themselves up on the low post and the needed to demanded the ball. They should have got the ball to Ivan Rabb even if they have to take some steps to free him up.

Michael Duca does the Cal Bears podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Rabb’s season debut uneven in Cal’s 77-65 loss to San Diego State in Sacramento

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By Morris Phillips

calbears.com photo: Cal Bears Ivan Rabb looking to dish a pass against the San Diego State Aztecs at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Monday night

SACRAMENTO–For those wondering how homegrown Cal star Ivan Rabb goes from 12.5 points, 8.6 rebounds a game as a freshman to living up to the belief that he could be a first-team All-American in his sophomore year, well, that process began Monday in Sacramento.

The results were mixed.

Rabb–the Bears’ unquestioned centerpiece and the first Cal player since Jason Kidd to be honored as such by the Associated Press before a season–missed the team’s first two games while dealing with a sprained toe, pushing back his debut to Monday against San Diego State.  But Rabb and the Bears looked disjointed in a 77-65 loss to the Aztecs.

“Obviously, I was a little rusty,” Rabb said.  “I think I was kind of disinterested at first.  Kind of trying to feel for the game too much instead of going and demanding the ball like I did more in the second half.  It’s not all on coaches, it’s on me. I have to be more aggressive to start the game.”

In the first half, with SDSU flashing double teams at Rabb on the catch, the 6’10” forward struggled, scoring just three points.  The Bears as a group struggled as well with just six made baskets as they fell behind 42-25 at the break.  In the second half with Rabb energized, the sophomore poured in 16 points and the Bears got with eight points on a couple of occasions.  But clearly Coach Cuonzo Martin had issues with his team’s play at the offensive end where the Aztecs benefitted from 16 Cal turnovers juxtaposed against just seven assists on 17 made baskets.

“I thought they did a great job of setting the tone early,” Martin said.  “Taking away our options offensively, getting out in passing lanes, forcing us to make one-on-one plays.  I thought they did a good job of capitalizing on quick shots, of fast shots, shots we didn’t necessarily want in the offense.”

Rabb led the Bears with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and he had an effective, running mate in Charlie Moore with 17 points on the heels of the freshman’s 38-point explosion against UC Irvine.  But Rabb and Moore didn’t get much help, the other seven Bears that saw action shot 6 for 32 and missed 8 of 11 three-point attempts.

Both the Aztecs and Bears were looking to integrate newly, healthy faces into their lineups on Monday on the big stage of the new Sacramento NBA arena, but in the first half, SDSU looked cohesive with those new faces, while the Bears did not.

The Aztecs’ experienced post guy from Sacramento, Malik Pope punctuated his season debut by scoring SDSU’s first six points of the game, and finished with 14 points, five rebounds.  Key reserves, Max Hoetzel and Valentine Izundu were on the floor for parts of the Aztecs’ first half 11-0 run that saw them lead by as many as 19 points before the half.  Both Hoetzel and Izundu missed San Diego State’s most recent game against San Diego Christian with knee and ankle issues respectively.

“Even though his stat line doesn’t look like it, he was huge,” Coach Steve Fisher said of Izundu, who played 18 of the first twenty minutes after starter Zylan Cheatham picked up two fouls.  “He altered shots, he changed shots, he blocked a shot, he rebounded the ball, he pushed and guarded the post, and really was important to that getting and growing the lead in the first half.”

For Cal, while they got Rabb back on the floor, Jabari Bird missed his second straight game with back issues.  Bird played well in 33 minutes in Cal’s opener against South Dakota State, and practiced over the weekend, but didn’t get cleared to play Monday.  Grant Mullins returned after missing the UC Irvine game, but couldn’t find his shot, missing nine of the 11 shots he took on Monday.

In a game that saw Cal rebound the ball decisively after halftime—they were plus 13 for the game in that category—the Bears suffered to take advantage of their mastery of the glass.  San Diego State harassed Cal into 32 percent shooting for the game, and had a hand in their 16 turnovers as well.

Clearly, the Aztecs built on familiarity with Cal that started last year in Las Vegas when SDSU stormed back in the second half and stunned Cal despite trailing by 15.  In fact, a stat line in the Aztecs’ post-game notes said it all: In the second half of last year’s game, and the first half of Monday’s game, SDSU outscored Cal by 39 points.

“The one thing that we’re better at–that hurt us last year—is we’re better with the ball.  We have been more careful, taken more pride in not turning the ball over.  And that wins for you.  We didn’t have a lot of foolish turnovers.  And we competed hard.  So I told our players, ‘Good win.  And an extremely important win.”

Cal was one of four Pac-12 teams to lose Monday–joining Oregon, Washington State and Colorado—as the conference took a step back in terms of building post-season resumes.  The Aztecs took a step forward in that regard after an embarrassing 21-point loss at Gonzaga last week.  After losing to their Mountain West opponent Monday, the Bears will need better showings against key non-conference opponents Seton Hall, Wyoming and Virginia in the coming weeks.

The Bears return to the floor on Friday night at Haas Pavilion against the Cowboys of Wyoming at 8pm.

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Morris Phillips: Aztecs come loaded for Bear; second half does Cal in

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AP photo: Cal Bears Ivan Rabb drives on a San Diego State Aztecs defender Monday night at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento

On Monday the Cal Bears didn’t move the ball well to the guys whose real natural scorers and once again their with their key player Ivan Rabb but their without Jabari Bird he’s a gifted offensive player who can score from the outside. Cal’s Charlie Moore who scored 27 points in the Bears win over UC Irvine he didn’t show up like that at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento in the Bears loss to the San Diego State Aztecs 77-65.

The Aztecs are full of big defenders and talk show host Michael Duca said in the Pac 12 there’s all kinds of big defenders and Moore is barley six feet and it’ll be interesting to have the same kind of success against better defenders and bigger opponents. The Cal defense is going to be fine and with San Diego State their playing their best game.

Morris Phillips gives you the inside of Friday night’s Cal basketball game from Golden 1 Center in Sacramento at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal no match for healthy McCaffrey and Stanford in 45-31 Big Game loss

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–On a nasty, snarly day of weather, filled with emotion for the occasion of the 119th Big Game, in front of a sellout crowd itching for surprise, the last thing the Cal Bears could afford was for their opponent to be comfortable as if on a routine, cross-bay, business trip.

But that’s exactly what the Bears got as soon as Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey arrived and opened his ample briefcase.

McCaffrey made the spectacular look ordinary, rushing for a school-record 284 yards as Stanford ran past Cal, 45-31, and captured the Axe for the seventh, consecutive year.    Throughout, last season’s Heisman Trophy runner-up dipped, ducked, leapt and sprinted through and around the Bears as if he was performing a tightly-choreographed routine.

“He’s as good as advertised,” Coach Sonny Dykes admitted.

Luckily for Dykes, his Bears were better than expected as well, scoring on their initial, offensive play of the afternoon—a perfectly-executed screen that saw Chad Hansen catch a short pass and turn it into a 70-yard touchdown run.   In the second quarter, the Bears were even with double-digit favorite Stanford, 14 apiece, just a bit of the surprise Cal was hoping to hatch.

But ultimately, the Bears were undone by their Pac-12 worst defense and the fleet feet of McCaffrey.

Midway through the second quarter, the Bears appeared poised to answer Stanford’s tying score, driving to the Cardinal’s 21-yard line where they faced third-and-two.  But Khalfani Muhammad was thrown for a one-yard loss by Stanford’s Peter Kalambayi, forcing Dykes to forgo an opportunity to take a seven-point lead, instead settling for a 39-yard Matt Anderson field goal try.

But the normally sure-footed Anderson watched his kick sail wide right.

After an exchange of punts, Stanford took the lead for good right before halftime.  Quarterback Keller Chryst led the Cardinal on a 10-play drive culminating in Conrad Ukropina’s 40-yard field goal and a 17-14 Stanford lead.

McCaffrey, already a huge factor with a combined 147 yards rushing and receiving, then took his game to another level after halftime.  On second down from the Stanford 10, McCaffrey took a handoff, jabbed hard to his left, then again to his right.  McCaffrey’s quick change of direction left Cal’s Devante Downs and Jaylinn Hawkins lunging for air, while the junior tailback took off straight up the middle for a 90-yard touchdown run.   Equal parts athletic brilliance, and functional speed, McCaffrey’s big run put Stanford in the driver’s seat.

“At that point, Stanford had the momentum and we never seemed to get it back,” Dykes admitted.

Stanford Coach David Shaw also saw McCaffrey’s run as a game changer, but the rarely effusive Shaw had seen it before.

“I don’t know what else I can say.  Two years, I’ve kind of run out of words,” Shaw said.  “The bottom line is, he’s not the biggest guy but you can’t tell him that.  He runs like a big back.  He’s going to run in between the tackles, he’s going to make people miss and he has the speed in the open to finish the runs in the end zone.”

With Stanford comfortably ahead, Cal needed big plays, and initially, they came up with them.  Matt Anderson’s 43-yard field goal capped a 12-play drive to get the Bears within a touchdown.  Then after McCaffrey’s second touchdown run, Davis Webb led Cal on a 13-play touchdown drive that drew the Bears within 31-24.

But without a lick of defense, Cal was left grasping for straws.  Stanford scored touchdowns on two of their first three possessions of the fourth quarter to put the game away.  Webb’s second touchdown pass to Hansen with 3:01 remaining closed the scoring but had little impact on the result.

With athletic director Michael Williams watching intently, Dykes’ press conference played like a state of the union address as he patiently explained that the culture of his program is positive, and with some defensive stops, discipline and patience, the losing streak—now four straight under Dykes’ watch—to Stanford might soon come to an end.

“You can’t give up 350 rushing yards against anybody and expect to have a chance to win,” Dykes explained.  “That’s clearly something we need to get fixed.  That puts a lot of pressure on you offensively.  You feel like you have to score every possession and you can’t do that against a good defensive football team.”

The Bears’ aspirations to qualify for a bowl game for a second straight season came to end with the loss.  Once 4-4 after alternating wins and losses over their first eight games, the Bears have dropped four straight, and they failed to capitalize on their post-season rallying call that punctuated their week of preparation for the Big Game.

“We haven’t beaten UCLA in a while either, so it’s a great opportunity for our team, and we look forward to getting back to work tomorrow and finishing the season the way it should be,” Webb said.

LONG TIME CAL BROADCASTER STARKEY HONORED: Now in his 42nd year of broadcasting of Cal football, radio voice Joe Starkey was honored in a pre-game ceremony in which his broadcast booth was renamed in his honor.

Announcing his 483rd Cal football game on Saturday, and for the first time from the renamed Joe Starkey Broadcast Booth, Starkey is—for most Cal fans—the only voice they’ve ever known.

The Chicago native also enjoyed long stints as the voice of the 49ers and the former California Golden Seals NHL team.

 

No. 25 Cal stuns UC Irvine with comeback and overtime win behind 38 points from freshman Moore

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California’s Charlie Moore (13), Sam Singer (2), and Stephen Domingo (31) celebrate the 75-65 win over UC Irvine after an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016, in Berkeley, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Morris Phillips

At its conclusion, Coach Cuonzo Martin would term his Bears’ overtime victory over UC Irvine among the best he’s had in his career, but it wasn’t shaping up that way after a first half in which Cal shot just 26 percent with only six made baskets to show for 20 minutes of work.

Martin’s conundrum at halftime was simple, just difficult to resolve: Cal was without four of its best offensive players in preseason All-American Ivan Rabb, Jabari Bird, transfer Grant Mullins and reserve guard Brandon Chauca.  Among those healthy enough to play, none could be termed a gifted offensive player except freshman Charlie Moore, Cal’s shifty, quick ballhandler recruited out of Chicago.

What did Martin cook up at halftime to keep No. 25 Cal in the win column?  The third-year coach demanded better defense, increased ball movement, and despite his freshman’s obvious lack of experience, a whole lot more of Moore.

“I feel like we had a major advantage with Charlie working the ball screen, force those big guys to come out and defend him, just letting Charlie make plays,” Martin said.

And with Moore becoming more emboldened on every trip down the floor, the strategy worked as the freshman poured in 27 points after halftime, setting the school’s freshman scoring record in Cal’s come-from-behind 75-65 win.

Moore provided the game-tying basket and ensuing free throw with 1:53 remaining in regulation that got the Bears even after trailing by as many as 13 points early in the second half.  Then in overtime, with the visiting Anteaters losing steam, Moore capped the Cal victory with six-for-six foul shooting in the final 2:28 of overtime.

Moore’s 38-point explosion, breaking the school record set by Shareef Abdur-Rahim with 33 points in 1995, was surprising in that the freshman struggled in the Bears’ opener against South Dakota State in which he shot 1 for 8 from the field and finished with six points.  For Moore, the encouragement of Martin and his teammates was all it took for the transformation.

“I just think I was more comfortable on the court,” Moore said.  “Last game, I was just pretty much getting a feel as this is all a new thing to me.  My teammates helped me out today, just telling me to stay aggressive and not worry about the misses.”

Moore finished 10 of 20 from the field with three made 3-pointers and 15 of 17 shooting from the foul line.  Repeatedly, Moore slithered his way to the basket to either score or get to the foul line, even as the Anteaters knew Cal had little else to turn to offensively.  But that was the magic of Cal’s 5’11” star in the making once he was unleashed.

“Charlie is a great player,” Kameron Rooks said.  “You can see it in practice.  You can see how hard he works and how scrappy he is.  He is an all-around great player.”

Cal’s miraculous comeback was also UC Irvine’s depressing collapse.  The Anteaters led 62-55 with 3:07 remaining in regulation after big man Ioannis Dimakopoulos calmly sunk an open 3-pointer.  But Cal would score the final seven points of regulation, then put UC Irvine away with 13 of the 16 points in overtime.

“I’m proud of our guys, but to be what I think we can be, we will have to finish better than that,” Coach Russell Turner admitted.

UC Irvine was attempting to upset a ranked team for the first time since 2005.  Instead they suffered their fourth consecutive loss to the Bears, all since 2001.  While the Anteaters shot it well early, they were porous defensively, allowing the Bears 13 offensive rebounds leading to 18 second-chance points.

Rabb has missed both of Cal’s games thus far due to a toe injury, but he did practice prior to Wednesday’s game making it a strong possibility that he will make his season debut on Monday against San Diego State in Sacramento.  Mullins was scratched as a precautionary measure due to a neck strain issue, even as he was thought to be ready to go prior to the tip.  Bird was pulled due to back spasms, and Chauca is still recovering from a broken bone in his hand.

Without that quartet, Rooks, Moore and Stephen Domingo each established career-bests in points.  Rooks finished with 15 points, 8 rebounds before fouling out in overtime.  Domingo contributed 11 points, including the big three in overtime to give Cal a lead.

The Bears won despite shooting 36 percent from the field, and having five of their nine players that saw action go without at least one made basket from the field.  But the Bears kept the Anteaters without a made basket in overtime after the UC Irvine shot 48 percent from the field in regulation.

 

 

 

 

 

Cal Bears football podcast with Michael Duca: Big Game for Bears if their defense can turn a miracle; Cal to name broadcast booth after Joe Starkey

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sfgate.com photo: Cal Bears football broadcaster Joe Starkey will be honored by the Golden Bears as Cal will name the broadcast booth he worked in for five decades after him at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley this Saturday

The most nervous person at the Big Game this weekend at Cal Memorial Stadium will not actually be Stanford head David Shaw or Cal head coach Sonny Dykes but it will be Cal Bears broadcaster Joe Starkey who will be honored before the Big Game this Saturday as the Golden Bears will name the broadcast booth that he worked in for five decades after Starkey by the way this is not a send off Joe’s not retiring but Cal wanted to pay tribute to Joe at this time. We all know Joe personally and we get to interact with Joe mostly at A’s and Giants games during the summer because he has more time to speak with the reporters in the press boxes during the summer.

Joe is a very busy man during the football months because of his work with the Bears but he was almost non existent to speak with when he also worked doing San Francisco 49ers games and Cal games both home and on the road. Starkey got sick towards the end of his 49ers days catching a bad chest cold and losing his voice in Buffalo and at that point decided to work just Cal football games. What a Bonanza everyone loves Joe a great football broadcast talent, a very generous man giving his time to fans and to his colleagues and we all look forward to honor him at the Big Game this Saturday.

Michael Duca does the Cal Bears football podcasts and Morris Phillips does the Cal football game recaps and podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips: With the Big Game coming up Bears need to stop the run game

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spokesmanreview.com photo: Washington State running back Skyler Cracraft (21) on the run but he would be injured on this play ending his 2016 season against the Cal Bears . All’s not a loss he’s expected to be a high draft pick in the off season

You follow up Washington quarterback Jake Brown who played so well against the Cal Bears two weeks ago in Seattle. Last Saturday  it was  Washington State Cougars quarterback Luke Falk he’s a talented player it’s not his first time going around and this is Washington State’s second season being a really good football team and Falk carved Cal up and got them early. With Cal you can get the lead you really put yourself in good shape because with Cal their not really not built to make a huge come back obviously they can but once they fall behind they don’t have a lot of success.

The Cougars jumped on them early 28-7 at the half and immediately after the half it was 35-7 and three consecutive touchdowns from running back Skyler Cracraft it makes it tough for the Cal defense.

Morris Phillips does the Cal Bears podcast each week at http://www.cal bears.com

 

NCAA football podcast with Daniel Dullum: The Big Game–Cal struggling and Stanford on track could it mean a good battle for the Ax this Saturday

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AP photo: Cal Bears quarterback Davis Webb (7) looks for a receiver to throw to in the second half of their game against the Washington State Cougars on Saturday at Pullman

On the NCAA football podcast with Daniel for Michelle Richardson :

#1 Washington lost to USC at Huskie Stadium on Saturday it was an ending to a perfect record 9-0. A 26-13 a win for the USC Trojans.

#2 Stanford is getting back on track now that they have won three in a row including a big win over the Oregon Ducks 52-27 on Saturday at Corvallis

#3 The Big Game is next week at Strawberry Canyon for next Saturday with Cal (4-6) and coming off two tough loses to Washington at home and the Washington State Cougars at Pullman by huge loses last Saturday being no different in a 56-21. The Bears have not been able to get any offense going. The Stanford Cardinal  (7-3) have won three straight going into the Big Game after defeating the Oregon Ducks 52-27.

Daniel Dullum is filling in for Michelle Richardson on the NCAA podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com this week

The defense can’t rest: Cal run over by Pac-12 North leader WSU in Pullman

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By Morris Phillips

Across the grand landscape of another wall-to-wall Saturday of college football, the Cal Bears were hoping to create some buzz by fashioning an upset of No. 23 Washington State in the day’s final game.

But the Cougs, undefeated in the Pac-12 north, and playing in front of their home crowd, clearly had different plans, with the part about taking advantage of Cal’s conference-worst defense written right at the top.

Washington’s loss to USC in Seattle just before the kickoff in Pullman didn’t help Cal’s cause.  Instead, the upset of the No. 4 Huskies and the prospects of WSU taking over sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 North had the Cougs flying that much higher right before kickoff.

Only one scheme can be realized, and Saturday that was WSU’s in their easy 56-21 victory over Cal that for all intensive purposes was over at halftime.   River Cracraft’s second of three touchdown catches came just 37 seconds before halftime, putting WSU up 28-7, then four minutes into the third quarter, Cracraft and quarterback Luke Falk struck again on a nine-yard touchdown pass that capped a 12-play drive.

In all, the Cougs ran 22 of 27 offensive plays spanning the half, leaving the Cal defense–already thinned by injuries—gassed by overactivity.

“I was disappointed in the way we played, especially early in the ball game,” Coach Sonny Dykes said.      “We had opportunities in the first half to keep the game close, but we got behind and certainly did not put our best foot forward. Again you have to give those guys credit.”

“This loss is solely on us not being able to move the ball in the first quarter and giving them a pretty good lead,” quarterback Davis Webb said.  “We just did not come back from that.”

Cal opened the game with the ball, but after going three-and-out, WSU’s Kaleb Fossum returned Dylan Klump’s punt for a 75-yard touchdown return.  Things went downhill for Cal from there; they trailed 14-0 after one quarter, then after Cracraft and Falk hooked up for three, consecutive touchdowns, the Bears trailed 35-7 early in the third quarter.

Throughout, Cal’s defense struggled to stop WSU’s prolific pass game, and their veteran receivers Cracraft and Gabe Marks.  The Bears—allowing a Pac-12-worst 44 points a game—weren’t helped by a scouting report and video circulating of their most recent game in which Washington rolled up 66 points in Berkeley behind quarterback Jake Browning and receivers Dante Pettis and Jon Ross.

“It is just adversity we have to get over,” safety Khari Vanderbilt said. “It is nothing we can complain about. It is football. I am sure there are a lot of other teams that are going through the same thing. We just have to learn how to fight through and come together.”

Washington State, in the midst of their best season in decades, improved to 8-2, and 7-0 in the Pac-12 North.  After beating Cal, the Cougs can see their showdown with Washington in their future with the Apple Cup sure to decide who represents the North in the Pac-12 championship game.  Prior to that WSU and No. 16 Colorado will engage in what has to be the least likeliest big Pac-12 conference game in years next Saturday.

The Bears fell to 4-6 with the loss.  After losing three of their last four games, the Bears will need to beat Stanford and UCLA at home to gain bowl eligibility.

The 119th Big Game is up next for Cal at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

 

Cal opens season with rout of South Dakota State despite Ivan Rabb’s absence

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By Morris Phillips

calbears.com photo: Cal Bears center Kingsly Okoroh takes aim from the free throw line against South Dakota last Friday at Haas Pavilion in downtown Berkeley

BERKELEY–Talk about an opening night surprise.  The Cal Bears hosted a block party, but did so without their resident swat doctor, Ivan Rabb.

Rabb, the pre-season All-American was a late scratch due to a sprained toe, but his teammates didn’t let his absence ruin the festivities, as the Bears ran past South Dakota State, 82-53, registering 10 blocked shots in the rout.

The win was Cal’s 19th consecutive at home, and built on defense, as the Bears came within one blocked shot of the school record of 11, and outrebounded the visiting Jackrabbits 54-26.  Rabb led Cal in blocks with 42 as a freshman, but he hasn’t been cleared to resume physical activity since suffering the toe injury two weeks ago during practice.

“Our guys in the second half did of great job of forcing them to make plays, and our weak-side defenders did a tremendous job of making the next rotation, forcing them to make the next play, the next dribble,” Coach Cuonzo Martin said.

Cal led 40-32 early in the second half, and put the game away with a 30-3 run that had them ahead comfortably, 70-35 with 8:09 remaining.

“I think we came out pressing early to start,” SDSU Coach T.J. Otzelberger said.  “It took us a bit to get going offensively and once they got up on the 9-0 jump, we couldn’t come back. Same thing happened in the second half, after our first basket they went on a heck of a run.”

Without Rabb, Jaylen Brown (off to the NBA as the third pick overall in the draft), Jordan Mathews (transferred to Gonzaga) and graduated senior Tyrone Wallace, the Bears had to find some offense, and did so courtesy of seniors Sam Singer and Jabari Bird, who led Cal with 14 points each.

Roger Moute A Bidias had his biggest game as a Bear, contributing 12 points, six rebounds, five assists, and showing versatility that previously wasn’t a part of his then rudimentary game.  Martin praised the junior for his big game, and the work over the summer that made it possible.

”When I first got the job, he had a lot of work to do,” Martin said of Moute A Bidias.  “He was an athlete. To his credit, he has put a lot of work and time into it.”

The Bears were picked to finish fourth in the competitive Pac-12—behind Arizona, Oregon and UCLA—in a conference pre-season poll.  Rabb is a big piece to such a finish, but starters Bird, Kingsley Okoroh and Stephen Domingo are a big part of that as well.  Okoroh had four blocks, as did backup center Kameron Rooks.  Domingo played just 16 minutes as the starting power forward, but contributed seven points, five rebounds.

Mike Daum, SDSU’s leading, returning scorer who had 27 points in the Jackrabbits’ exhibition win over South Dakota Mines, was held to 14 points, missing nine of his 14 shot attempts.

The Bears next see action on Wednesday when UC Irvine visits Haas Pavilion at 8pm.