Tag: California

Winning ugly: Cal doesn’t let poor shooting prevent a win against WSU

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–A few things transpired on the way to Jabari Bird becoming the 47th Golden Bear to score 1,000 points in his career.

Six, consecutive missed shots, a whole bunch of angst, and–fortunately for Cal–Bird’s short memory in effect.

“He has to keep shooting because the shots were there.  I don’t know if he was necessarily pressing.  The shots didn’t fall,” coach Cuonzo Martin said of Bird, who found himself with an open look at a three with a minute remaining in a close game on Saturday.

Bird’s three gave Cal a four-point cushion in a low-scoring game that featured missed shots more than anything else.   They would go on to beat Washington State,  58-54, giving the Bears a modest, three-game win streak following three losses in the previous four games.

Cal’s season, and their post-season aspirations seemingly rest on their ability to beat teams they’re supposed to beat, and WSU provided the latest test. While markedly better than the one-conference win Cougars of last year, this group still figures in the bottom third of the Pac-12 standings.

Against Cal, WSU appeared prepared, especially in how to limit Cal offensively. Coach Ernie Kent had his Cougars focused on stopping Cal star Ivan Rabb, who didn’t score his initial basket until the game was 17 minutes in, and Cal trailed by six.

But in both halves, things swung decidedly to Cal in the final moments.

In the second half, and the score tied at 50, the Bears finished the job with a Charlie Moore layup preceding Bird’s big three with 52 seconds remaining.

Bird had missed all six shots he attempted before draining the last one. That gave Cal the cushion they needed, but also gave Bird his 1,000 career points.

“I didn’t really think of the 1000th point,” Rabb said of Bird’s feat. “I didn’t think he was really pressing for it.  As soon as he made that shot, I think somebody said it and I heard it, so really congratulations to Jabari.  He made it big at the end of the game, scoring big points and getting his 1000th point at the end of the game.”

The Bears improved to 4-2 in conference play with the win, which keeps them squarely among the Pac-12’s upper crust.  That perch will be tested next weekend when the Bears visit Utah and Colorado.

 

 

 

 

Locked in: Defensive-minded Cal holds UW to season-low 59 points, picks up critical conference win

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–Markelle Fultz, the fabulous freshman for Washington, is plenty familiar to the Cal Bears’ coaching staff.

Coach Cuonzo Martin recruited the Washington D.C. metro product only to see the 6’4″ guard land in Seattle with conference foe Washington.  Since joining the Huskies, a very curious, but telling pattern has emerged.

The youthful Huskies have struggled, Fultz has played well, not great, and the youngster’s draft prospects have climbed through the roof, with almost all projections seeing him as the first overall pick in the June NBA draft.

That incongruous combination of fortunes–along with the broken finger suffered by UW’s Malik Dime in their previous game against Oregon State–put the Huskies in a precarious spot for their visit to Berkeley,  where they haven’t won since 2013.

Martin’s defensive strategy for Washington, in particular Fultz, took it from there.

“We just felt like we should do everything in our power to hold him 10 points under his average, and that was our focus,” Martin recounted.  “We talked to our guards about this, and I think between Dontae, Charlie, Ivan and Stephen, they did a great job of blanking him.  Our bigs had to corral him and do their job, because one guy just can’t stand in front of him.  He’s too big of a guy.”

Fultz, harassed into missing 12 of his 15 shots from the field, finished with 12 points–10 points below his average of 22–and the Bears held on for a 69-59 victory Wednesday at Haas Pavilion.

Washington (8-8, 1-3) came in averaging 83 points a game and was held to as few as 59 for the first time this season. Throughout, the bigger Bears bothered Fultz and his teammates, who were further hampered by the absence of the 6’10” Dime, their one inside scoring presence.

“We were not patient enough to attack that type of defense tonight,” UW coach Lorenzo Romar conceded.  “They had a lot to do with that.”

The Bears improved to 3-2 in conference play, keeping them within hailing distance of undefeated, conference leaders Arizona and Oregon.  Ivan Rabb led Cal with 20 points, 14 rebounds, and Jabari Bird added 16, including four made threes.

Cal enjoyed a 45-40 edge in rebounds, and supported that with seven blocked shots and four steals.  Those numbers helped the Bears offset their poor shooting, which saw them miss 25 of their 39 shots in the first half.

“At the end of the day, in the moment, as long as we win, I’m happy,” Bird said.  “The next day we will look at film and see where we can do better, but as of right now, the W is the biggest thing for me.”

The Bears led at halftime by six, and maintained that lead until Washington surged to tie the score at 40 with 11:48 remaining.  Down the stretch, Cal’s defense imposed its will as they broke open a close game, forcing the Huskies to miss six of their final seven shots.

On Saturday,  the Bears (12-5, 3-2) host Washington State at Haas Pavilion starting at 1pm.

Cal beats No. 25 USC at the buzzer on Rabb’s blocked shot

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By Morris Phillips

Desperate for a win, the Cal Bears turned to Ivan Rabb with the game on the line Sunday night. 

With five seconds remaining,  Rabb calmly drained a pair of free throws, then as USC’s Jordan McLaughlin drove the length of the floor looking for a game-winner, Rabb came up with the saving block at the buzzer.

“I’m just glad nobody fouled,” Rabb said, noting that two of his teammates had swipes at McLaughlin immediately preceding his block.  “They just funneled him to the basket where I could make something happen.”

“I tried to get a layup and hoped to get a basket or a foul,” McLaughlin said of the final play.  “I saw a wide open lane.  They closed it at the end.”

Big? Indeed. With the narrow win, the Bears avoided a 1-3 start to Pac-12 conference play, and bagged their initial win over a ranked opponent after dropping their first three such contests. Cal last defeated a ranked opponent on the road in November 2014 when they got past Syracuse at Madison Square Garden. 

This game was especially tight in the second half where USC relied heavily on their high percentage shooting, while the Bears had an edge on the glass, and second chance points.  Cal benefitted from the return of 7’0″ Kameron Rooks who hadn’t played in more than a month, and contributed 6 rebounds in 14 minutes on the floor.

Rabb led Cal with 17 points, eight rebounds while Jabari Bird and Don Coleman had 12 points each.  Charlie Moore had his best showing in the past five games with 16 points on 6 of 8 shooting.

McLaughlin and Chimezie Metu had 20 points a piece for the Trojans (15-2, 2-2). USC coach Andy Enfield expressed disappointment with McLaughlin’s critical, missed free throws.

“When you have a guy shooting 80 percent from the foul line and he shoots 3 for 8, you can’t explain it,” Enfield said.

The Bears (11-5, 2-2) return to Haas Pavilion on Thursday to face Washington at 6pm.

 

 

 

Cal responds to challenge of playing at Pearl Harbor with a big second half against Princeton

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By Morris Phillips

The environment at Bloch Arena on Tuesday afternoon may have been more challenging than the Princeton Tigers ultimately.

The Cal Bears looked wide-eyed in the first half, then seemed more focused in a dominating second half that allowed them to pull away from Princeton in a 62-51 win.  Charlie Moore scored 10 of Cal’s 44 points in a hot-shooting, second half after the Bears shot just 25 percent from the field before halftime.  The 44 points was a high for Cal in a half through eight games.

“Charlie stepped up,” coach Cuonzo Martin said.  “He made plays.  He made shots.  He got to the rim.”

“Coach told me to assert myself a little bit more on the offensive end in the second half and make sure we execute the offense,” Moore said after scoring 15 points for the game, one of four Bears to score in double figures.

With service men and women lining the court, and comprising the vast majority of the 2,500 in attendance at the arena with open air vistas at its top, Bloch Arena made for as unique an environment to ever to host a California basketball game.  The smallish venue at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickham is hosting holiday, college basketball for the second consecutive year.  The event this year marks the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, an attack that Bloch Arena miraculously survived.

Instead of the Oklahoma-Villanova Final Four preview that highlighted last year’s event, this one started with the Bears and the Tigers attempting to overcome awful shooting from the game’s outset.  At one point, during the first half, Princeton missed 14 consecutive shots.  But the Bears fell cold at the half’s conclusion, and the Tigers led 20-18 at the break.

In the second half, Cal surged behind Jabari Bird, playing for the first time in six games after his bout with back spasms.  Bird scored 11 of his 13 after halftime, and the Bears made their final 16 of 24 shots from the field to turn the tide.

Meanwhile the Tigers went cold after taking their final lead, 46-44, with 7:45 remaining on Henry Caruso’s three.  At that point, Cal responded with an 11-1 run to put the game away.

“They made some really big plays down the stretch,” Princeton coach Mitch Henderson said.  “About three or four big plays and we really struggled in that little window there and that was the difference in the game.”

Sam Singer and Grant Mullins, who missed the previous game against Alcorn State due to a death in his family, scored 11 points each.  Devin Cannady led Princeton with 16 points, but missed 11 of his 15 shots from the field.  Spencer Weisz added 10 for the Tigers.

Ivan Rabb had a quiet game offensively.  The 6’10” forward missed his first five shots, and finished with a season-low six points.  But Rabb had 10 rebounds, and contributed to the Bears huge disparity on the glass (49-33) and points in the paint (34-12).

The Bears return to Bloch Arena Wednesday afternoon to face Big East opponent, Seton Hall.  The Pirates got past Hawaii in Tuesday’s nightcap, 68-57, as Angel Delado scored 16 points.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cal Advances Into NIT Quarterfinals For First Time Since 2000 With 75-64 Win Over Arkansas

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Photo Courtesy Cal Bears
Photo Courtesy Cal Bears

By Kahlil Najar

In a battle between a two and three seed, the California Golden Bears held off the feisty Arkansas Razorbacks 75 -64. Ca was led by Jabari Bird who scored 19 points and David Kravish who tossed in 13 points and snagged eight rebounds . Tyrone Wallace poure in 16 points and Senior Justin Cobbs scored 9 in his final game at Haas Pavilion. The Bears now face top-seeded SMU this Wednesday in Dallas.

The Razorbacks didn’t start strong today but came back late in the second half when they went on a 20-7 run but was ultimately stopped by the Bears. Arkansas’ Rashad Madden was the start of the night for the Razobacks as he has 15 points and five rebounds. Freshman phenom Bobby Portis started off by scoring the Razorback’s first eight points and ended with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Cal started off fast thanks to Cobbs who was controlling the tempo early and had half of Cal’s points five minutes in the game. The Razorbacks made it tight when the brought the lead down to five but then the Bears went on a 16-0 run and were up 31-8 with under five minutes left in the first half.

In the second half, the Bears were ahead by 21 points with 15 minutes left to play but then the Razorbacks got their own hot streak when they went on a 20-7 run and brought the lead all way down to eight but Cal’s  Wallace was able to make four free throws and Cobbs got a well timed basket and gave the Bears their first visit to the NIT quarterfinals in 14 years.

 

TEAM NOTES

· With tonight’s 75-64 victory over Arkansas, the Bears have reached the NIT quarterfinals for the fourth time in school history. Cal is now 14-6 all-time in the NIT.

· Cal’s 15-point halftime lead tonight was its largest at the break since it led Furman 43-25 at halftime on Dec. 28

· The Bears shot .55.3 percent from the field, their highest clip since Jan. 18 against Washington State.

PLAYER NOTES

Senior Guard Justin Cobbs

· With six assists, moved into a tie with Jerome Randle for second place on Cal’s all-time list with 524 in his career

· With nine points Monday, now has 1,451 in his career. Cobbs is in 11th place on Cal’s all-time scoring list

Freshman Guard Jabari Bird

· Scored 19 points, the second-highest total of his career and most since scoring a career-high 24 vs. Oakland on Nov. 15

· Set a career-high with eight rebounds

Junior forward David Kravish

· With three blocks, now has 72 blocks this season, building on his own single-season record For his career, Kravish has 176 blocks, which ranks second in school annals.

Freshman guard Sam Singer

· Dished out a career-high five assists

 

Kings downtown arena: Consensus Macy’s building will stand empty without eminent domain

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by Ken Gimblin

SACRAMENTO–With the city of Sacramento holding a check of $4.35 million in escrow which was wired to the city from the Sacramento Kings the Kings owners Sacramento Basketball Holdings, the Kings and the city now wait for the owners of the Macy’s building located at the Westfield Downtown Plaza located at the western end of the mall to make a decision to sell the building.

The money would only come into play if the city council approves eminent domain in the case of the Macy’s building property owners CalPERS and U.S. Bank who did reach terms to sell the building last March but the deal fell apart. While the reasons were not clear why CalPERS and U.S. Bank changed their minds money was rumored to be the top reason and that the Macy’s building owners can hold out for more since the city and the Kings are desperate to purchase the building.

The building is crucial for the Kings as part of that land would be used for the new downtown arena, CalPERS said through a statement released to the media that CalPERS “recongnizes the signifcance of the city’s downtown redevelopment efforts and we are confident that we will reach a solution that is in the best interests of everyone involved our members, the tenant and the city of Sacramento.”

Time is of the essence as the NBA has set an October 2017 deadline to get the arena done and ready or the Kings will have to move out of Sacramento, so for the city of Sacramento and the Kings it’s win big or move elsewhere. That win would have to come in two hurdles the first, the Kings and the city face an anti arena movement to try and place a disclaimer on the ballot in June that all future sports and entertainment facilities that are paid for with city funds be approved by the voters first and the second is the eminent domain issue with the Macy’s building owners.

U.S. Bank did not issue any statements regarding the sale of the building but sources say their holding out for more than the $4.35 million escrow that the Kings have the city holding onto. Kings president Chris Granger said the Kings are behind the city council’s effort to use eminent domain to buy and move the CalPERS and U.S.Bank owners via a buyout.

The tone of the CalPERS statement sounds like they’re ready to play ball and that they want to sit down with the city and see what they have to offer and Granger added that the Kings are prepared to use eminent domain, “fully committed to our partnership in every facet.”: City officials have said that in talking with eminent domain attorneys the city would have a strong case seeing that the building would be used for a sporting arena, used for high school and college sporting events, graduations, concerts, the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau and at the very minimum hold up to nine events each year and the tenants would not have to pay.

Taking these community events into account eminent domain attorneys say most judges would rule in favor of eminent domain and that CalPERS and U.S.Bank under such scrutiny would have to sell and move. The city tried using eminent domain years ago once but landowner Moe Mohanna who had control of several K Street properties settled the case before facing eminent domain from the city.

In California the Los Angeles Dodgers used eminent domain to obtain Dodgers Stadium in 1959-60 and the Lakers used eminent domain to gain property ownership where Staples Center sits in downtown Los Angeles. One eminent domain laywer said it’s a matter of time for the Macy’s owners and that under case law “Courts have found that (a sports stadium) is a public use, it’s certainly not new” said Brent Hawkins, a partner of Best, Best, and Krieger law firm in Sacramento in an interview with the Sacramento Bee.

Ken Gimblin covers the NBA for Sportstalk radio

Kings downtown arena: STOP withdrawal signatures signals momentum for Kings arena

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by Ken Gimblin

SACRAMENTO–The campaign by the anti arena group STOP or Sacramento Taxpayers Opposed To Pork which looked like they were picking up some momentum this past summer as it looked as they would have enough signatures to put a disclaimer on the ballot before any new sports or entertainment facilities could be built, that would ask the voter if they apporove public monies to pay for such new buildings.

The campaign was required to present 22,000 signatures to be turned into the Sacramento registrar of voters, so far 14,012 withdrawal cards of the 15,277 forms that had been turned in by the downtownarena.org/Crown Downtown have not been counted. What hurts STOP’s campaign even worse is that there are a good number of reported unregistered voters who will be dropped out of the petition drive if that can be verified by the county registrar.

As of Monday 9,576 were counted as valid voters well short of the 22,000 needed to make the disclaimer a requirement on June ballot. It was also reported that some of the voters that signed the petition were not in the boundaries of Sacramento when the signatures were checked by the register’s office. Also it was said that some of the 34,000 signatures that were turned of those signatures the names might have been of voters names of who didn’t even sign the petition in the first place.

According to Jill LaVine Sacramento county registrar not only were there people who might not have signed the petition or did not live in Sacramento but they also may not have signatures that match against their registered signature in previous balloting or their registration cards on file with the county, “We will verify the voter was an eligible voter in the city limits, at the address listed, on the dates the petition was circulated, and the signature matches. If there is a withdrawal on file, it will link up and that signature will be noted as ‘withdrawn,’ said LaVine.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson also said that STOP will be resposible for the bill for the time and labor from the office of registrar. At one time STOP looked like they would have enough signatures to get the disclaimer on any future ballots but with all these factors now involved the Mayor and the city are planning one final crushing blow to STOP’s efforts by deferring the costs of the registrar’s office to the non-profit group, “(STOP) are not folks who have Sacramento’s best interests in mind. For me this isn’t what it appears to be, this initiative is like a trojan horse, it’s like a bait and switch.” said Johnson in a recent interview with the Sacramento Bee.

Johnson said that Sacramento was misled into thinking that STOP got these signatures legitimately, “we are ready to fight especially attacked from outside our community, we’re not going to be fooled. We’ve been here before.” Hedge fund manager Chris Hansen who tried to buy and move and build a new arena for the Kings in downtown Seattle. Later the NBA ruled that Sacramento should keep it’s team if they can get a new arena built by the 2016 season. Since Hansen lost his bid for the Kings and later he spent $100,000 of his own money for the petiton drive to get the facility subsidy disclaimer on the coming June ballot in Sacramento.

Hansen who would have had another shot at an NBA team in Seattle lost his credibility after it was found out that he was behind the campaign to undermind the Kings aspirations to build a new arena in downtown Sacramento.

Worse Hansen was fined by the registrar of voters for campaign violations to the tune of $50,000. STOP continued the campaign taking the signatures. STOP’s president Jullian Camacho says the mayor is misleading the public over his fight against the signatures, “he’s grasping at straws, if there are outside interests, they are centered at Region Builders (a pro arena group) not in STOP’s organization. Moreover the mayor’s statement is highly indicative of the misinformation that’s plauged this effort, an effort by local folks to be more involved in the long term direction of the city.” said Camacho. STOP turned in roughly 40,000 signatures on Tuesday at the city clerks office.

Ken Gimblin is covering the NBA for Sportstalk radio

Santa Barbara’s picturesque, just not for the Cal Bears

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UCSB’s junior guard Zalmico Harmon dished out 10 assists for the Gauchos on Friday night. (Presidio Sports Photos)
UCSB’s junior guard Zalmico Harmon dished out 10 assists for the Gauchos on Friday night. (Presidio Sports Photos)

By Morris Phillips

In the last 30 years, UCLA has agreed to play in the gym of one of the other nine Division I basketball programs scattered across the greater Los Angeles area just four times.  In 1988, the Bruins ventured down the San Diego Freeway to help UC Irvine open their just built Bren Center and went home losers.

They haven’t been back since.

Mike Montgomery’s probably had dinner in Moraga more times than he’s agreed to bring one of his Stanford or California teams to play the St. Mary’s Gaels in their gym (once).  The Cal Bears hadn’t brought one of their basketball teams to beautiful Santa Barbara in 34 seasons. Kentucky plays at Western Kentucky?  Forget it.

There’s a reason for all of this: basketball coaches shrewdly avoid playing in places that are nearby, where an upset is a possibility, and a win for the little guy could make headlines that local, recruitable athletes would undoubtedly notice.

Montgomery knows better; he’s been smartly crafting who his teams play for years.  But the state is struggling financially, so UC schools have been encouraged to play each other more frequently to keep all the money in the system.

Well, in part due to all of that Cal became the first Pac-12 team to venture into the Thunderdome in 11 years and the improving Gauchos and leading scorer Alan Williams were ready.  Williams had 24 points and 12 rebounds, and UCSB pulled away from Cal in the second half to win, 72-65.

“We’ve been so close to breaking through with a big home win in the past and just couldn’t get over the humps, so this was pretty special,” UCSB Coach Bob Williams said.

The Gauchos defeated the Bears for the first time after 10 previous defeats in the series between the two schools.

The Bears’ defense again wilted in the second half allowing the Gauchos to shoot 59 percent and score 45 points.  Meanwhile, the Bears were struggling, shooting just 36 percent for the game and unable to answer UCSB’s firepower down the stretch.

Freshman Jordan Mathews led the Bears with a career-best 22 points.  Justin Cobbs chipped in 13, and David Kravish had 12.

The Bears used a rally to grab the lead, 28-27, at halftime, but UCSB surged in the second half, and hit four big free throws down the stretch to clinch it.

The Bears fell to 6-3 on the season with Nevada up next at Haas Pavilion on Tuesday.

Kings new arena: Local businessman donates 25K to keep subsidy question on ballot

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 by Ken Gimblin

SACRAMENTO–Local business tycoon Chris Rufer has put up $25,000 in donated money to the campaign to stop the Sacramento Kings downtown arena which would place a subsidy question on the June 2014 Sacramento ballot. While the City, local government, and many supporters of the Kings proposed new downtown arena at Westfield Mall is under plans the opposition could turn out to be a wild card as they’re fund raising is starting to take on a life of it’s on.

Rufer whose business is in Sacramento is taking the opposing view. In addition to Rufer’s donation there are two groups working to oppose the arena build in downtown and they both have raised tens of thousands of dollars in their campaign to oppose it.

The groups are fighting to keep an intiative on the ballot that questions if public sudsidies should finance any new proposed sports or entertainment facilities in Sacramento. So far the group STOP Sacramento Taxpayers opposed to Pork and Voters for a Fair Arena Deal have stepped up raising nearly $40,000.

A group who is in favor of the subsidy has delivered collecting cash and checks in the amount of $26,000 and this group is fighting to keep the question of public subsidies being used off the ballot. The price tag for a new Sacramento downtown arena subsidy is $258 million.

The Voters for a Fair Arena Deal have raised $8,500 and STOP has raised $31,473 both groups who are pushing for the opposition to the new arena and putting the question about public funds being spent towards any new such subsidies need 22,000 signatures on the petition to get the queston on the ballot. The 22,000 signatures needed are due by mid December.

The campaign’s credibilty was in question over  the summer when Chris Hansen who wanted to buy the Kings and move them to Seattle funded the signature gathering effort to get the question on the ballot spending $100,000 and having a Los Angeles law firm manage the campaign. STOP said they had no idea that Hansen funded the campaign and Hansen later ended up having to pay a $50,000 fine for violating California campaign disclosure laws.

Rufer is the founder of a company group called Morning Star which is a tamato producer which profits $350 million annually. Rufer’s company now controls 40 percent of the tamato processing in America. Rufer had issues in his company when a former Morning Star executive Fredrick Scott Salyer was sentenced to six years in prison for rackateering and price fixing charges. Rufer said in court papers that alledgedly Salyer cheated the company by bribing executives from competing companies at Kraft foods and Frito Lay, Salyer also alledgedly bribed Rufer’s personal assistant to steal confidential company data.

Ken Gimblin is covering the Sacramento Kings new arena build for Sportstalk Radio

Step up in competition? Cal’s prepared in win over Arkansas

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Image

By Morris Phillips

Ricky Kreklow has suited up and managed to play just 14 times since he transferred from Missouri to Berkley three seasons ago.  Forced to sit and watch in his transfer year, then frustrated by his nagging injuries and frustrating to the coaches who knew how his scoring ability could positively affect the team, the redshirt junior had been the missing  ingredient needed to transform the Cal Bears into one of the nation’s better offensive teams.

On Monday afternoon in Maui, Kreklow may have officially added his talents to the mix.

Kreklow boosted the Bears with a career-best 17 points as Cal pulled away in the second half in their 85-77 win over Arkansas in the Maui Invitational tournament opener.

The Bears shot 53 percent in the second half, enjoyed a healthy edge 48-32 on the glass, and trailed only twice all afternoon.  Arkansas’ final lead was 35-34 and the Bears responded with a 13-4 run in the ensuing three minutes.   The Razorbacks forced 18 turnovers but couldn’t shoot well enough—35 percent in the first half, and 37 percent for the game–to threaten Cal in the final 15 minutes.

The Bears will face No. 8 Syracuse on Tuesday in the Maui semifinals at 4pm.  No. 18 Baylor and Dayton will face off in the nightcap.  The Flyers rallied to upset No. 11 Gonzaga, 84-79.

Cal moved to 5-0 on the young season and passed their most significant test to date after wins in four matchups with teams in the bottom third of Division I.  The Razorbacks of the SEC fell to 3-1 after notable wins over SMU and Louisiana-Lafayette.

Five Bears scored in double figures led by David Kravish with 19.  Jabari Bird and Justin Cobbs added 15 points each.  Richard Solomon had 11 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in just 20 minutes of action due to foul trouble.

Michael Qualls led Arkansas with 21 points off the bench, and Bobby Portis scored five points to lead the Razorbacks’ starters.   Qualls and Anthlon Bell—who added 16 points—started Arkansas’ first three games, but came off the bench against California in a team-mandated disciplinary move.

Cal won’t see the same Orangemen that ended in their season in the NCAA tournament second round last spring.  Of Syracuse’s top scorers, only C.J. Fair remains.  Fair had 16 points and 10 rebounds in the Orangemen’s 85-77 win over Minnesota.