After dispatching Rice, 97-65, before 10,530 fans last Friday, No. 14 Cal remains at Haas Pavilion for two more games this week. Monday, the Golden Bears will host UC Santa Barbara at 7 p.m., while East Carolina visits Friday night with an 8 p.m. start. Both contests will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.

The two match-ups are part of a four-game homestand to begin the year. Cal is 8-2 in non-conference home games under head coach Cuonzo Martin and 49-5 on Pete Newell Court vs. non-Pac-12 opponents since the start of the 2009-10 campaign.

This season, the Bears are led by senior guard Tyrone Wallace, a first-team All-Pac-12 selection last year when he ranked among the top five in the league in scoring, rebounding and assists. He provided a similarly impressive stat line against the Owls with 20 points, six rebounds and a career-best nine assists.

All five of Cal's starters reached double figures vs. Rice, including 14 apiece by freshmen Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb. Combined with 13 points from Jordan Mathews and 11 more from Jabari Bird, the Bears' starters accumulated 72 points (29-57 FG, 50.9%), 25 rebounds, 12 assists and just two turnovers.

Bears Cruise in Exhibition Win
The Bears got the 2015-16 season off to a rousing start with a 97-65 victory over Rice before 10,530 fans at Haas Pavilion Friday night. Cal never trailed and led by as many as 35 points in the second half. All five starters scored in double figures, led by Tyrone Wallace's 20 points and nine assists. Freshmen Ivan Rabb and Jaylen Brown both had 14 points their debuts, while Jordan Mathews had 13 and Jabari Bird 11. Cal outrebounded the Owls, 48-30, paced by Rabb's 13, and turned the ball over just seven times. The Bears have now won 10 consecutive season openers and 11 straight home openers.

A Career High in Assists for Wallace
Senior Tyrone Wallace finished Friday's game against Rice with 20 points, six rebounds and a career-high nine assists, surpassing his previous best of eight set at Utah in 2013. In addition, the point total marked the 17th time he has topped 20 points in his career, 12 of which have come since the start of last season.

Notable Debuts for Rabb, Brown
Playing in their first collegiate game against Rice, freshmen Ivan Rabb and Jaylen Brown both made important contributions to the win despite being saddled with foul trouble much of the night. Rabb finished with 14 points (6-8 FG, 2-2 FT), 13 rebounds and a pair of blocks in his 16 minutes of action. Brown, meanwhile, contributed 14 points (5-15 FG, 2-4 3P, 2-2 FT), a rebounds and two assists in 15 minutes. Below are some other notable first-game performances by recent Cal freshmen:

• Jason Kidd - 11 points, 10 assists vs. Sacramento State (12/1/92)
• Shareef Abdur-Rahim - 33 points, 9 rebounds, 5 blocks vs. Northern Arizona (11/25/95)
• Leon Powe - 12 points, 10 rebounds vs. Cal Poly (11/21/03)
• Ryan Anderson - 20 points, 8 rebounds vs. Utah Valley State (11/15/06)
• Allen Crabbe - 8 points, 4 rebounds vs. Cal State Northridge (11/16/10)

Pouring in the Points
Cal's 97-point output in the season opener against Rice marked the Bears' highest point total in a regulation game since a 98-62 victory over Dartmouth on Dec. 27, 2008. Cal did tally 105 points in a 107-015 triple OT loss to Arizona on Feb. 5, 2011. The Bears have surpassed 90 points in both season openers under Cuonzo Martin after downing Alcorn State, 91-57, last year.

Preseason Top 25
Cal is ranked among the nation's top 25 in both the AP and USA Today preseason polls for the first time since the 2009-10 season when the Bears were 12th in the USA Today and 13th in the Associated Press rankings. The Bears come in at No. 14 in both polls at the start of this year. In addition, Sports Illustrated pegs Cal at 13th in its preseason rankings and ESPN has the Bears at No. 12 in its preseason power rankings.

New Look to Haas Pavilion
Thanks to a generous $10 million gift from the Evelyn and Walter A. Haas Jr. Fund, Haas Pavilion received much needed improvements before the start of the 2015-16 season. The upgrades include a new center-hung scoreboard with additional LED boards around the arena, an enhanced sound system, an enlarged and modernized video control room, and improved lighting for the court.

Wallace Movin' Up Scoring List
With 20 points against Rice, Tyrone Wallace raised his career total to 1,216 points, which ranks 24th on Cal's all-time scoring list. He needs 16 more points to pass Jorge Gutierrez for the 23rd spot.

20. David Kravish (2012-15) 1,266
21. Brian Wethers (2000-03). 1,239
22. Ryan Anderson (2007-08) 1,236
23. Jorge Gutierrez (2009-12). 1,232
24. Tyrone Wallace (2013-present) 1,216

'Real Talk' with the Bears
While the Bears practice, play and train during the season, meetings in Cal's locker room below the court level at Haas Pavilion tackle a different subject far from the view from their fans. One-hour “Real Talk” sessions held each weekend and moderated by director of operations Marco Harris provide opportunities to discuss just about any subject except basketball. Themes and topics can range from dealing with tough times and difficult situations, to morals and family crises. Head coach Cuonzo Martin introduced Real Talks when he was head coach at Missouri State and has carried them with him over the course of his career.

Mathews from 3
Junior Jordan Mathews, who paced the Pac-12 last season when he connected at a 44.3% clip from behind the arc, has established himself as one of the best three-point shooters in school history. His rate from last year ranks 10th all-time at Cal, while his 70 made three-pointers are fourth on the school's single-season list. Career-wise, Mathews is No. 3 in Cal history at 41.8% on three-pointers, trailing only Theo Robertson (44.0%, 2006-10) and Billy Dreher (43.1%, 1991-92). With 114 three-pointers to date in the program (114-of-273), Mathews needs 25 more to reach Cal's top 10.

Tyson Jolly Signs with Bears
Tyson Jolly, a 6-4 guard out of Oklahoma City who is considered one of the top shooting guards in the country, signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University of California, Berkeley, on Nov. 11. He starred at Putnam City West High School, where he averaged 20.2 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game as a senior in 2014-15. Named The Oklahoman's Big All-City Player of the Year that season, he is enrolled this year as a post-grad student at the Elev8 Sports Institute in Delray Beach, Florida. Jolly was a consensus top-five prospect in the state of Oklahoma, ranking second by 247Sports.cm and third by ESPN's recruiting service.

Roman Davis to Redshirt
Head coach Cuonzo Martin announced on Nov. 11 that freshman Roman Davis will use the 2015-16 season as a redshirt year.

Cal Returns to Maui in 2017
Cal will make its third all-time appearance in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational when the Golden Bears travel to Hawaii for the 2017 tournament. The field of teams that will join Chaminade at the Lahaina Civic Center also features LSU, Marquette, Michigan, Notre Dame, Virginia Commonwealth and Wichita State. The championship round of the 34th edition of the tournament will be held Nov. 20-22, 2017. Cal most recently played in Maui in the fall of 2013. The Bears defeated Arkansas, in the opening round before falling to No. 7 Syracuse and Dayton. In 1996, Cal played three consecutive top-25 teams and finished third in the field, with a win over No. 25 Iowa, a loss to No. 2 Kansas and a victory against No. 15 Massachusetts.