3/15/13 Streaking Bears Capitalize On Buffs' Frigid Offense - CUBuffs.com - Official Athletics Web site of the University of Colorado

CU guard Askia Booker looks for driving room Saturday at Cal. Photo Courtesy: Denis Concordel / www.widgic.com

Streaking Bears Capitalize On Buffs' Frigid Offense Release: 03/02/2013 Courtesy: Caryn Maconi, CUBuffs.com

BERKELEY, Calif. - Plagued by frigid shooting against the Pac- 12 Conference's hottest team, Colorado missed out on a chance Listen: to sweep its Bay Area road trip by losing 62-46 to California MBB at California here Saturday afternoon. 03/03/2013

CU, ranked fifth in the Pac-12 Conference going into Saturday's game, falls to 19-9 overall and 9-7 in the Pac-12. The third- Game Notes ranked Golden Bears, winning their seventh consecutive Quotes game, improved to 20-9 overall and 12-5. CU won 65-63 at Box Score Stanford on Wednesday, its third consecutive road win. Game Notes vs. Oregon But Colorado struggled offensively Saturday with a season low in points, field goals made (15) and shooting percentage (23.1). Freshman forward Xavier Johnson was the only CU player in double figures with 14 total points. Freshman Josh Scott also returned to the lineup after missing two games with a concussion. He scored four points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Cal's Justin Cobbs and Tyrone Wallace scored 16 points each, while David Kravish added 14 points and 11 rebounds. Wallace also hauled down 11 boards. www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?PRINTABLE_PAGE=YES&SPSID=3889&ATCLID=206575435&SPID=257&DB_OEM_ID=600&DB_LANG=C 1/3 3/15/13 Streaking Bears Capitalize On Buffs' Frigid Offense - CUBuffs.com - Official Athletics Web site of the University of Colorado "We didn't have one guy offensively make a shot tonight, but you have to credit Cal, they man-handled us," CU coach said. "Our first shot defense was pretty good but those second-chance shots were tough."

While the Buffs recorded a season-low six turnovers on the afternoon and a season-high 20 offensive rebounds, Boyle said his players didn't take advantage of those opportunities like the Bears did. Moreover, Cal outscored CU 44-12 in the paint.

"They key to the game was in the second half on the boards, down on their end. (Cal forward) Richard Solomon came up big with every and put-back," Boyle said. "I don't fault our guy's effort or desire, I mean 20 offensive rebounds, you don't do that by accident, but we just couldn't convert once we got them. I mean, if this doesn't motivate our guys to get in the weight room, then I don't know what does."

The Buffs came into Saturday's matchup looking to smother guard Allen Crabbe, the leading scorer in the Pac- 12 at more than 18 points per game. But when Crabbe recorded his third personal foul with 5:11 remaining in the half, he took to the bench.

An improving Cal team executed offensively without its star scorer, though. The Golden Bears went on an 8-0 run over the next four minutes to go up 22-15, and while senior guard Sabatino Chen hit a three to end the half on an energetic note, the Buffs were still down four (24-20) at intermission.

The Golden Bears held the Buffs to just 26 percent shooting in the first half, CU's worst first-half field goal percentage this season, and the Buffs' 20 first-half points tied a season low recorded earlier this season at Washington.

Much of CU's shooting woes came from a failure to capitalize off of Cal turnovers, as CU had a plus-2 turnover margin going into halftime, but had five fewer points off of turnovers than its opponent. Cal finished with eight points off of CU's six errors, while CU managed just one from Cal's 11.

The Buffs found some energy out of the locker room, closing the gap back to two on a Xavier Johnson trey with 14:16 left in the game. Cal responded, though, with an 8-3 run over the next five minutes capped by a SportsCenter Top-10-worthy dunk by Wallace.

"When a game is called in a way that is letting you be physical, you have to be physical," Boyle said. "Our guys weren't able to match that tonight in terms of finishing with the ball at the rim, and they were."

Cal had widened its gap to nine by the 5:32 mark - and with a final shooting percentage of 23.1 from the field, the Buffs' comeback attempt came nowhere close. By the final buzzer, CU was down 16 and went back to Boulder with its 62-46 loss.

"Cal wasn't this Cal when they came to Boulder a month ago," said Boyle, whose team won the first meeting 81- 71. "So they've improved. We were the best defensive team in the league for a stretch there, but these guys have overtaken us and you can see why."

CU returns to the Coors Events Center next weekend for its final two regular season matchups, against No. 24 Oregon on Thursday (7 p.m.) and Oregon State on Saturday (2:30 p.m.).

Boyle called Saturday's contest "a big time game and we didn't answer the bell. But it wasn't because of our lack of effort and we can't get too down on ourselves. We have two big games next week at home."

At 12-4 in the Pac-12, Oregon currently holds the top spot in the conference, while OSU is 11th at 3-13.

With the top Pac-12 teams all gunning for a hotly-contested first-round bye in the Pac-12 Tournament (Mar. 13-16 in Las Vegas), a positive turnaround is crucial for the Buffs when they return to the CEC.

Or, as Boyle phrased it, "We can't cry in our soup here."

www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?PRINTABLE_PAGE=YES&SPSID=3889&ATCLID=206575435&SPID=257&DB_OEM_ID=600&DB_LANG=C 2/3 3/15/13 Men's basketball: CU Buffs fall short against Cal - Boulder Daily Camera Boyle's squad shoots just 23.1 percent in Pac-12 loss By Ryan Thorburn Buffzone.com Boulder Daily Camera Posted: DailyCamera.com

BERKELEY, Calif. -- The Buffs did not begin March with a strong effort.

Colorado shot just 23.1 percent (15-for-65) from the field and was out-rebounded 46-36 during Saturday's 62-46 loss to Cal at Haas Pavilion.

As a result, the Bears (20-9, 12-5) won their seventh consecutive game and positioned themselves to possibly earn a share of the Pac-12 regular-season championship next week.

The Buffs (19-9, 9-7) squandered a chance to finish in the top four and earn a bye at the Pac-12 Tournament.

"It's big for them to understand what it takes to win this time of the year against this kind of team in this kind of environment," a disappointed Tad Boyle said. "If this game doesn't motivate our players, every single one of them, to get in the weight room, then I don't know what will. Because we got manhandled."

One of Boyle's goals every season is for CU to lead the Pac-12 in field goal percentage defense.

Cal, which shot 46.4 percent from the field, is going to accomplish that feat this season at CU's expense.

"They're No. 1 in the conference in defensive field goal percentage, that's where we've been and where we want to be," Boyle said. "We're No. 2 now because Cal is really guarding and that's the reason they've won.

"And they've got two guys that can go off at any time."

Boyle was referring to Allen Crabbe, the Pac-12's leading scorer, and Justin Cobbs, a three-time conference player of the week.

But it was freshman Tyrone Wallace who broke the Buffs' back with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Crabbe and Cobbs combined for 24 points on 9-for-25 shooting with several baskets coming after the game was already decided.

"Andre did a great job on Crabbe, but Wallace got out in transition and got some easy buckets," Boyle lamented.

Josh Scott returned to the starting lineup for the first time since suffering a concussion against Arizona State on Feb. 16.

The 6-10 freshman was rusty on offense (2-for-10 from the field, four points) and struggled to box out counterpart Richard Solomon, who scored six straight points after collecting three offensive rebounds to give Cal a 32-27 lead.

"I'd say it has a lot has to do with rust. I haven't played in two weeks and they did a good job defensively as well," said Scott, who did have 11 rebounds in 29 minutes. "I just need to get some good hard work in practice in. It felt like was unfamiliar with the ball."

www.dailycamera.com/cu-college-sports/ci_22705481/mens-basketball-cu-buffs-fall-short-against-cal# 1/5 3/15/13 Men's basketball: CU Buffs fall short against Cal - Boulder Daily Camera Xavier Johnson, who scored 18 points and pulled down 12 rebounds during CU's 81-71 victory over the Bears in Boulder, hit a 3-pointer and a to get the Buffs back within one possession midway through the second half.

Johnson was the only CU player to score in double figures with with 14 points, but the 6-7 freshman forward was just 4-for-14 from the field.

"Our game plan every time is defense and rebounding. If we do that we'll win," Johnson said. "In the second half we got out-rebounded a lot on our end of the floor and they were able to convert a lot of layups and open jump shots."

Wallace took full advantage of all the attention CU was paying to Crabbe and Cobbs. The 6-4 guard scored four points during a key spurt to give the Bears a 38-31 advantage and finished 8-for-12 from the floor.

Roberson completed a three-point play to cut the deficit to four points, but Wallace answered with a soaring dunk over the conference defensive player of the year candidate on the other end.

David Kravish's transition bucket after Jeremy Adams had a shot blocked by Crabbe in the paint gave Cal a 48-39 lead with 5:34 remaining.

Cal cruised from that point and led by as many as 19 points down the stretch.

"They were terrific defensively. When you play against a defense like that you have to be able to make shots," Boyle said. "Their defense was good, our offense wasn't good, and that's a recipe for disaster."

Sabatino Chen capped an otherwise ugly offensive performance in the first half with a 3-pointer just before the intermission to get the visitors within 24-20.

The senior guard's basket was the only made field goal from the bench in the game.

CU's starters weren't much better as the team made only 8 of 31 (25.8 percent) field goals and went 1-for-4 at the free throw line through 20 minutes.

The Buffs missed 13 of their first 15 shots and fell behind 14-8 after a basket by Wallace.

Askia Booker made a tough shot on the baseline, hit a 3-pointer as the shot clock was expiring, and Roberson followed up his own miss for two points in the paint to give CU the lead with 4:48 remaining in the half.

Then with Crabbe on the bench in early foul trouble the Bears embarked on an 8-0 spurt highlighted by a Wallace dunk off a CU turnover.

Cal shot 45.8 percent in the first half despite Crabbe being limited to six points on 2-for-8 shooting.

The Bears improved to 14-0 when leading at halftime.

CU hosts No. 24 Oregon on Thursday and Oregon State on Saturday to conclude the regular season.

"We have to learn how to win in an environment like this," Scott said. "We're young and we have six freshmen www.dailycamera.com/cu-college-sports/ci_22705481/mens-basketball-cu-buffs-fall-short-against-cal# 2/5 3/15/13 Men's basketball: CU Buffs fall short against Cal - Boulder Daily Camera this year. All any of us can do, and all coach expects from us, is to learn from games like this."

Follow Ryan on Twitter: @RyanThorburn

California 62, Colorado 46

COLORADO

FG FT Reb

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Johnson 36 4-14 3-6 3-7 0 2 14

Roberson 37 4-9 1-1 3-5 2 2 9

Scott 29 2-10 0-0 6-11 0 0 4

Booker 29 2-11 1-2 0-2 0 1 6

Dinwiddie 36 2-15 4-4 3-6 4 4 9

Talton 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Harris-Tunks 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0

Chen 15 1-4 0-0 1-1 0 1 3

Adams 11 0-2 1-2 2-2 0 2 1

Totals 200 15-65 10-15 20-36 6 13 46

Percentages: FG .231, FT .667.

3-Point Goals: 6-21, .286 (Johnson 3-4, Chen 1-3, Booker 1-5, Dinwiddie 1-5, Roberson 0-4).

Team Rebounds: 2.

Blocked Shots: 1 (Johnson).

Turnovers: 6 (Roberson 2, Dinwiddie, Booker, Harris-Tunks).

Steals: 4 (Roberson 3, Booker).

Technical Fouls: None.

CALIFORNIA

FG FT Reb

www.dailycamera.com/cu-college-sports/ci_22705481/mens-basketball-cu-buffs-fall-short-against-cal# 3/5 3/15/13 Men's basketball: CU Buffs fall short against Cal - Boulder Daily Camera Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Solomon 23 2-6 2-2 5-6 0 4 6

Kravish 37 6-9 2-2 2-11 0 1 14

Cobbs 37 5-15 6-6 0-3 5 1 16

Wallace 38 8-12 0-0 3-11 1 0 16

Crabbe 32 4-10 0-0 1-7 5 3 8

Smith 15 0-2 0-0 1-1 1 0 0

Thurman 18 1-2 0-0 1-2 0 2 2

Totals 200 26-56 10-10 14-46 12 11 62

Percentages: FG .464, FT 1.000.

3-Point Goals: 0-6, .000 (Wallace 0-1, Crabbe 0-2, Cobbs 0-3).

Team Rebounds: 5.

Blocked Shots: 7 (Kravish 3, Crabbe 2, Solomon 2).

Turnovers: 11 (Crabbe 3, Wallace 2, Cobbs 2, Thurman, Solomon, Kravish).

Steals: 2 (Wallace, Kravish).

Technical Fouls: None.

Colorado 20 26--46

California 24 38--62

A -- 10,679.

Officials -- Kevin Brill, Dick Cartmell, Ken Ditty.

Fast break

What went right

Xavier Johnson scored 14 points and pulled the visitors to within 42-37 with a pair of free throws with 8:21 remaining. CU also grabbed 20 offensive rebounds.

What went wrong

The Buffs made only 15 of 65 field goals (23.1 percent) and allowed Cal role players Tyrone Wallace (16 www.dailycamera.com/cu-college-sports/ci_22705481/mens-basketball-cu-buffs-fall-short-against-cal# 4/5 3/15/13 Men's basketball: CU Buffs fall short against Cal - Boulder Daily Camera points, 11 rebounds) and David Kravish (14 points, 11 rebounds) to the show.

Star of the game

Wallace finished 8-for-12 from the field while the Buffs were focused on the Bears' usual stars (Allen Crabbe and Justin Cobbs).

What's next?

The Buffs will host Oregon on Thursday at the Coors Events Center (7 p.m., ESPN2).

www.dailycamera.com/cu-college-sports/ci_22705481/mens-basketball-cu-buffs-fall-short-against-cal# 5/5 3/15/13 Men's basketball: CU Buffs feel good about their position - Boulder Daily Camera Men's basketball: CU Buffs feel good about their position By Ryan Thorburn Buffzone.com Boulder Daily Camera Posted: DailyCamera.com

BERKELEY, Calif. -- It appears the Buffs will have to win four games in Las Vegas instead of three to repeat as Pac-12 Tournament champions.

Tad Boyle said Colorado's 62-46 loss to Cal on Saturday at Haas Pavilion squashed his hopes for a top-four finish and bye at the conference tournament.

That means the Buffs (19-9, 9-7) will begin play at the MGM Grand on Wednesday, March 13, likely as the No. 5 (vs. No. 12) or No. 6 (vs. No. 11) seed.

CU beat Utah, Oregon, Cal and Arizona at the Pac-12 Tournament in Los Angeles last season to earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

The feeling inside the Buffs locker room, despite settling for a split of the Bay Area road trip, is that the program is in position for an at-large berth in two weeks on Selection Sunday.

"Last year was pretty exciting but this year we have more control of what we can do," CU guard Sabatino Chen said. "After our last road trip it came down to we weren't going to the tournament unless we won four games in four nights. That's very hard to do. ...

"Being in better position helps us with a young team being more relaxed because we don't have to be in do-or- die mode right now. That's definitely to our advantage."

CU was swept by Oregon and Oregon State to close out the regular season a year ago. The Ducks and Beavers visit the Coors Events Center this week.

"We've got two homes games we need to take care of before we can start thinking about the tournament. They are both great opportunities for our team," Boyle said. "Oregon is coming in on Thursday and they're a top-25 team. We have to take care of whatever we need to take care of and get ready for the Ducks. Then we have senior day against Oregon State. Two big games."

Bears that escaped

Cal's seventh consecutive victory had a lot to do with the performances of freshman guard Tyrone Wallace (16 points, 11 rebounds) and sophomore forward David Kravish (14 points, 11 rebounds).

Boyle wanted Wallace and Kravish to be Buffs.

"Both those kids were on recruiting visits to Colorado and came to Cal instead," Boyle said. "That stings a little bit."

Super recruit Jabari Bird was planning to visit Boulder last fall, but the Richmond, Calif., standout canceled the trip and has also committed to Cal.

Bird, a 6-6 guard, has has since been named a McDonald's All-American. He joins Matt Beeuwsaert (1984), www.dailycamera.com/sports/ci_22706541/mens-basketball-cu-buffs-feel-good-about-their# 1/2 3/15/13 Men's basketball: CU Buffs feel good about their position - Boulder Daily Camera Jason Kidd (1992), Shareef Abdur-Rahim (1995) and Leon Powe (2003) as Bears selected to play in the annual showcase of the nation's top high school players.

Glass half empty

The Buffs shot 23.1 percent from the field despite coming down with 20 offensive rebounds, which only led to 11 second-chance points.

Six of Josh Scott's 11 rebounds were on the offensive glass.

"We got 20 offensive rebounds, but we couldn't convert on them," Boyle said. "It was an unbelievably physical game and we weren't able to get to the free throw line."

The Bears were a perfect 10-for-10 at the free throw line while the Buffs went 10-for-15.

Cal won the overall battle of the boards 46-36 with 14 offensive rebounds.

Notable

The CU-Cal series is now tied 11-11 with the Buffs falling to 1-9 all-time in Berkeley. ... It was a season low for CU in points (46), field goals (15) and field goal percentage (23.1). ... Andre Roberson had five rebounds and is 36 away from breaking Stephane Pelle's CU record.

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@RyanThorburn

www.dailycamera.com/sports/ci_22706541/mens-basketball-cu-buffs-feel-good-about-their# 2/2 3/15/13 Cal men rout Colorado 62-46, eye Pac-12 title - ContraCostaTimes.com Cal men rout Colorado 62-46, eye Pac-12 title By Jeff Faraudo [email protected] San Jose Mercury News Posted: ContraCostaTimes.com

BERKELEY -- The Cal basketball team that was 3-4 in Pac-12 Conference play after a Jan. 27 loss at Colorado is no more.

The Golden Bears have come full circle in five weeks after a 62-46 smothering of the Buffaloes in front of season-high crowd of 10,679 elated fans at Haas Pavilion on Saturday afternoon.

"Cal wasn't this Cal when they came to Boulder a month ago," CU coach Tad Boyle said. "We were the best defensive team in the league for a stretch there, but these guys have overtaken us, and you can see why.

"They manhandled us."

Fans watched as the Bears:

Won their seventh straight -- their longest conference win streak in 10 seasons -- and ninth in the past 10;

Clinched no worse than fourth place in the Pac-12, assuring them a bye into the quarterfinals of the conference tournament;

Moved a big step closer to the NCAA tournament by trouncing an opponent that had beaten them five of the past six meetings;

Kept alive hopes of winning their second regular-season conference title in four seasons after a 50-year championship drought.

"We've got one more to win," sophomore forward David Kravish said. "Then it's out of our hands."

The Bears (20-9, 12-5), one game behind Oregon and UCLA in the loss column, close the regular season Wednesday at home against Stanford.

The long and aggressive Buffaloes (19-9, 9-7) figured to be a big obstacle. But Cal answered with a wire-to- wire defensive clinic, limiting them to 23.1 percent shooting, blocking seven shots, outrebounding them 46-36 and outscoring them 44-12 in the paint.

"We were fired up defensively," Cal coach said.

As much as anything, the Bears stood their ground and gave some back.

"What became apparent is it was going to be physical. The officials were not going to call a whole bunch," Montgomery said. "I thought our guys adjusted well to that. I don't think they got backed off, which is critical."

The Bears won by 16 points on a day when foul trouble and the CU defense stifled the offense of Pac-12 scoring leader Allen Crabbe. He had just eight points but also seven rebounds and five assists.

www.contracostatimes.com/cal-bears/ci_22705492/cal-men-rout-colorado-62-46-eye-pac 1/2 3/15/13 Cal men rout Colorado 62-46, eye Pac-12 title - ContraCostaTimes.com And he got plenty of help. Freshman guard Tyrone Wallace had 16 points and 11 rebounds -- and lit a fuse in the crowd with a thunderous transition dunk in the second half. Kravish had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and point guard Justin Cobbs contributed 16 points and five assists.

"Everybody pitched in in some way," Kravish said. "When you can beat a team that's kind of had your number the way we beat 'em, there's no reason not to have fun."

No one had more fun than Wallace. "I definitely came out today ready to play," he said.

"Pretty impressive," Montgomery said. "He kind of got wired in. Defensively, he was flying around, going to the glass."

Cal held the Buffaloes to eight points through the game's first 13 minutes and took a 24-20 lead into halftime.

The margin was 34-31 when Wallace scored consecutive baskets in the lane, and Cal's lead crept to 40-34 after his crowd-pleasing dunk with 9:11 left.

"Plays like that ... the place just goes crazy and infuses us with some energy," Kravish said.

The Bears pulled away from there, outscoring Colorado 18-7 over the final six-plus minutes.

Montgomery declined to speculate on how beating a team ranked No. 22 in the RPI computer rankings might boost the Bears' NCAA chances.

"It's totally out of my hands," he said. "We're just trying to have a good year. We're in the process of having that."

For more on Cal sports, see the Bear Talk blog at ibabuzz.com/beartalk. Follow Jeff Faraudo on Twitter at twitter.com/CalBearsBANG.

www.contracostatimes.com/cal-bears/ci_22705492/cal-men-rout-colorado-62-46-eye-pac 2/2