Jan. 25, 2007

Recap |  Box Score

California head coach Ben Braun

"Great teams don't give you a lot of opportunities. If we don't turn the ball over as much, we are in a better spot. We've got to do a better job defensively. In the first half, we had some great opportunities. We had a lot of missed opportunities in the second half, though. It's hard to get looks when you're turning it over."

"We hurt ourselves inside. You've got to make almost every play against great teams like this UCLA team. The good teams expose you, and UCLA is a very good team."

"I thought Theo Robertson and Ryan Anderson made some tough shots. Theo Robertson is playing at a high level right now. We're going to have to make some adjustments until Eric Vierneisel gets back in uniform."

"It was great to see the fans out tonight and for our students to be back. They make such a big difference in the game."

"USC is playing very well. They are doing it on both ends of the floor. We're going to have our hands full Saturday. Their team is for real. I think, offensively, USC is as talented as any team we'll play."

"Our guys will bounce back and put this game behind them. We have to do a better job playing team defense and getting our offense going. We'll make some adjustments before heading into the USC game. It's up to us to get back and tough it out. I don't see our team backing down at all."

California Player Quotes

Forward Theo Robertson

On Being Down only Four Points at Halftime

"We knew we weren't playing our basketball, and we were only down by four points. We gave ourselves a chance (to compete in the second half). We just got away from what we were trying to do."

On UCLA "You have to play a near perfect game to beat a team like that. They are a great defensive team. You have to impose your will against them. We have to do a better job of finding our guys. We can't make excuses, we got tot be physical and tough, they are not going to break or fold. It was a game of runs. We just have to make better adjustments."

Center Ryan Anderson

On Getting in Foul Trouble in the First Half

"We are real low on the bench. It is discouraging anytime anybody (on our team) gets into foul trouble."

"We need everyone to find a way to step up out there. We need to play a solid 40 minutes. We are not concerned about fatigue."

UCLA Coach Ben Howland Quotes

"We got a slow start on offense tonight -- you have to credit them [Cal] for part of that. This is a classic example of having your defense keep you in the game. This is a great game to win. Be it ugly, we'll take it."

On UCLA's Scoring Run to Start the Second Half
"We were much more patient in the second half. When you play a team that is being patient, you're going to feed off that."