Cal Tangles With No. 10 Texas For 2K Classic Title

NEW YORK - California meets No. 10 Texas for the 2K Classic, benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project title Friday at 4:30 p.m. PT at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Golden Bears, 3-0 this season, defeated No. 23 Syracuse, 73-59, in Thursday’s semifinal round to advance to Friday’s Championship game.

Friday’s game will be televised on ESPN2 with John Saunders (play-by-play), Dick Vitale (analyst) and Jeff Goodman (reporter) on the call. The radio broadcast team of Todd McKim (play-by-play) and former Cal assistant coach Jay John (analyst) will have the call on KSFO 560 AM in the Bay Area and on CalBears.com. Pre-game show starts at 3:30 p.m. PT.

CUONZO MARTIN OFF TO STRONG START WITH BEARS
Cuonzo Martin, who was introduced as Cal’s 16th head men’s basketball coach in program history on April 15, is the seventh Cal coach to win his first three games, but the first to defeat a nationally-ranked opponent in those first three contests. The Bears are coming off a 73-59 victory over No. 23 Syracuse on Thursday night.

Martin brings a track record of success that includes a conference Coach of the Year honor and postseason berths each of the past five seasons. He guided Tennessee the past three years, including a spot in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 last season, and prior to that served as the head coach at Missouri State for three years. He has directed his teams to a greater win total than the previous year at each of his coaching stops. In his seventh season as a head coach, Martin owns a 127-82 career record.

SOPHOMORE DUO LIGHT UP THE GARDEN
California’s sophomore duo of Jabari Bird and Jordan Mathews combined for 38 points in the victory over No. 23 Syracuse on Thursday. Mathews scored 20 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, thanks to 6-of-12 shooting, including a pair of three-pointers. Bird posted 16 points while connecting on 4-of-5 three-pointers.

Mathews leads Cal in scoring through three games at 18.7 ppg., while Bird is third on the team at 14.3 ppg. Both averages are a significant increase from their freshman season, with Mathews increasing his offensive production by 10.2 ppg. (8.5 - 18.7) and Bird increasing his scoring by 6.0 ppg. (8.3 - 14.3).

THIRD TOP-25 WIN IN LAST 24 GAMES
Cal posted its first win over a top-25 team in the Cuonzo Martin era and its third in the last 24 games, with Thursday’s victory over No. 23 Syracuse.

The Bears are 3-3 against teams in the top-25 poll since the start of last season overall.

Cal has won three of its last five games against teams in the top-10 nationally, dating back to the start of the 2012-13 season. The Bears defeated top-ranked Arizona (60-58 on Feb. 1, 2014) at home, No. 7 Arizona (77-69 on Feb. 10, 2013) on the road, and No. 10 Oregon (58-54 on Feb. 2, 2013) at home, while dropping decisions at No. 3 Arizona (87-59 on Feb. 26, 2014) and against No. 7 Syracuse (92-81 on Nov. 26, 2013) in Maui.

WALLACE VOTED PAC-12'S BEST
Junior guard Tyrone Wallace was voted the Pac-12 Player of the Week on Monday, after nearly averaging a double-double in wins over Alcorn State and Kennesaw State. He averaged 20 points and 9.5 rebounds, to go along with 5.5 assists per contest for the week. Against Alcorn State, Wallace had a career-best 22 points and 10 rebounds, while scoring 17 of his game-high 18 points in the second half against Kennesaw State. Wallace also contributed seven assists and nine rebounds in the win over the Owls. It is his second career Pac-12 Player of the Week honor, after capturing the season’s first award last year as well. Wallace had 10 points and six assists in the win over No. 23 Syracuse.

THE LINEUP
Cal’s three returning starters – senior forward David Kravish (10.3 ppg.), junior guard Tyrone Wallace (16.7 ppg.) and sophomore guard Jabari Bird (14.3 ppg.) – are responsible for 48.2 percent of the Bears’ scoring in their first three games.

Sophomore guard Jordan Mathews, who made 12 starts last season, has been the Bears’ leading scorer this year at 18.7 ppg. in his first season as a regular starter. Redshirt junior forward Christian Behrens, registered a career-high 10 points vs. Alcorn State in his first career start and is averaging 6.7 ppg. on the year.

Cal welcomed back eight letterwinners overall from last season Sophomore Sam Singer dished out a career-best eight assists in the win over No. 23 Syracuse, while fellow sophomore Roger Moute a Bidias posted a career-high seven points in 18 minutes vs. KSU.

THE NEWCOMERS
Five of Cal’s seven newcomers have made their debuts in the first three games. Graduate student Dwight Tarwater, a transfer from Cornell University, has totaled 24 points so far. Freshman center Kingsley Okoroh posted four points, five rebounds and a block in 18 minutes vs. No. 23 Syracuse. Freshmen Nick Hamilton, Cole Welle and junior Brenden Glapion have each played in two of Cal’s three games.

KRAVISH NEARING ALL-TIME BLOCK RECORD
Senior David Kravish is close to becoming Cal’s all-time blocks leader. With a team-leading nine blocks this season, Kravish owns 186 for his career. He ranks second all-time in school history, just 21 blocks shy of Michael Stewart’s record of 207 from 1994-97.

WALLACE RUNNING THE SHOW
Junior guard Tyrone Wallace has settled in as the Golden Bears’ point guard, becoming one of the Pac-12’s top distributors. After averaging just 2.7 assists per game his first two seasons as a shooting guard, Wallace is now averaging 5.7 assists per contest running the point.

GETTING OFFENSIVE
Cal’s up-tempo offense produced back-to-back point totals of greater than 90 points (91 vs. Alcorn State, 93 vs. Kennesaw State) for the first time since 2002. That year, the Bears defeated Washington State, 90-57, and No. 23 USC, in overtime, 92-91, in consecutive games.

BIRD AND MATHEWS AGAINST SYRACUSE
In two games against Syracuse, Jabari Bird and Jordan Mathews combined for 67 points. The duo combined for 38 in Thursday’s win over the Orange in New York. Mathews led the way with 22 points on 6-of-12 shooting with four rebounds and an assist in 27 minutes. Bird finished with 16 points, on 6-of-10 shooting overall and 4-of-5 from three-point range in 31 minutes.

In last year’s meeting with Syracuse at the Maui Invitational, Bird finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, two assists and a steal in 36 minutes, while Mathews collected 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting along with two assists in 22 minutes.

THE SERIES: CAL-TEXAS
Cal and Texas have met three times previously, with the Bears owning a 2-1 edge in the series. They last met on Nov. 15, 2000 as the Longhorns captured a 57-54 victory in the Preseason NIT in Austin, Texas. The first meeting between the two schools came on Dec. 21, 1962 in Berkeley, with the Bears posting a 70-62 win. Cal also earned an 82-77 victory in the American Legion Tournament, in Seattle, Wash. on Dec. 29, 1965.

SCOUTING TEXAS

• Defeated Iowa (71-57), North Dakota State (85-50) and Alcorn State (85-53)

• Limited first three opponents to 53.3 ppg. avg.

• Sophomore PG Isaiah Taylor is averaging a team-best 15.0 ppg.
• Head Coach Rick Barnes is in his 17th season at Texas (385-166). He is 587-300 overall.

• LAST MEETING: Texas defeated Cal, 57-54, in the Preseason NIT on Nov. 15, 2000.

2K CLASSIC BENEFITING WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT
This is Cal’s third appearance in the 2K Classic, and first time advancing to the Championship Game after Thursday’s win over Syracuse. The Golden Bears dropped a 95-73 decision to Syracuse on Nov. 19, 2009 in the semifinals in Madison Square Garden. In the 2009 consolation game, Ohio State defeated Cal, 76-70. During the Regional Round of the 2009 tournament, California earned victories over Murray State (75-70) and Detroit (95-61) at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, Calif. The Bears also appeared in the Regional Round of the 2004 tournament, posting a 78-61 victory over UC Riverside and dropping a 62-51 decision to Saint Mary’s at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, Calif.

The 2K Classic is the nation’s premier season-opening college basketball tournament. Twelve teams are competing in the event with four of the top teams in the country serving as regional hosts. Regional Round action took place from Nov. 14-17 with the four hosts (Cal, Syracuse, Iowa and Texas) advancing to the Championship Rounds, Nov. 20-21, at New York’s Madison Square Garden.