California Golden Bears Athletics

California seeks its fourth consecutive win when the Golden Bears host Saint Mary's Saturday in Haas Pavilion. The game tips off at 12:30 p.m. and can be seen on the Pac-12 Network and heard on KGO 810 AM.

The Golden Bears won their first four games of the season before dropping a pair of contests at the Las Vegas Invitational. Since then, Cal has reeled off three straight victories, including a 78-72 overtime decision at Wyoming and a 74-62 triumph over Incarnate Word in the past week.

A perfect 6-0 at home, the Bears are outscoring the opposition by nearly 20 points per game (80.2 to 61.8) and are outrebounding them by a +15.8 margin in Berkeley. For the season, rebounding has played a key role in the team's success, as Cal owns a +10.3 differential, which is tied for second best in the Pac-12 so far this year.

Freshman Ivan Rabb has been the Bears' top man on the glass, pulling down 8.2 caroms per game. He's also been Cal's most efficient player on the offensive end, having connected on 68.3 percent of his shots and gone 10-of-11 over his past two games. Senior Tyrone Wallace continues to pace the squad in scoring (18.4 ppg), assists (5.4 apg) and steals (1.1 spg).

Last Time Out: Brown, Bird Spark Win over Incarnate Word
Jabari Bird poured in a team-high 15 points off the bench and Jaylen Brown scored seven of his 13 points during a big second-half run to lead Cal to a 74-62 win over Incarnate Word Wednesday night. The Bears were tied at the break, then opened the second half on a 15-5 spurt, keyed by two dunks and a three-pointer from Brown. Cal shot 62.5 percent from the floor in the second half (15 of 24). Ivan Rabb posted a double-double with 12 points (5-6 FG) and 11 rebounds, while Tyrone Wallace finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. The Bears improved to 6-0 on their home court this season.

Boards Make a Difference for Bears
So far this season, when Cal outrebounds its opponent, it wins - a perfect 7-0. In those games, the Bears are a cumulative +106, which averages to an impressive +15.1 per contest. Cal has had a double-digit differential in six of its victories, including a high of +19 vs. East Carolina, and has been at least +8 every time. In the Bears triumph at Wyoming Dec. 5, they were minus-1 at the half (17-18), then outrebounded the Cowboys by 12 in the second half and overtime (26-14). Overall, Cal owns a +10.3 rebounding margin, which, if it holds up for the entire season, would be second only to th +11.2 posted by the 1959-60 season that finished as the NCAA runner-up.

Top Rebounding Margins in Cal History
1959-60 +11.2
2015-16 +10.3
1968-69 +6.5
1967-68 +5.8
1958-59 +5.0
Note: records complete through 1954-55

Bears Having a Block Party
Led by freshman Ivan Rabb's 16 blocks this season, the Bears have accumulated 40 blocks through nine games, an average of 4.4 per outing. Since the stat began being kept in 1978-79, the Bears have averaged more than 4.0 just five times. In the Dec. 1 win over Seattle, Cal swatted away a season-high 10 shots with Tyrone Wallace and Kameron Rooks getting three apiece. The last time Cal had at least 10 in a game came on Jan. 12, 2013, when the Bears recorded 11 in a 67-54 win over Washington State in Haas Pavilion.

Rabb Playing the Percentages
Freshman forward Ivan Rabb has gotten his college career off to a strong start, averaging 12.4 ppg and a team-high 8.2 rpg through the first nine games of the year. He's reached double figures seven times with a best of 18 vs. San Diego State. Perhaps most impressively, Rabb is shooting 68.3 percent from the floor, having connected on 43 of his 63 attempts. He's 10-for-11 over his past two games (90.9%) and 27-for-37 over his last five outings (73.0%). No Cal player has shot more than 60 percent from the floor for a full season since Solomon Hughes in 2000-01 (62.9%), while the school freshman record is 64.0% by Tony Gonzalez in 1994-95. Rabb has been at 50 percent or better in all but the UC Santa Barbara game when he was 1-for-3 from the field (he did go 10-for-10 at the FT line).

Brown's Big Night
Freshman Jaylen Brown had his best offensive night as a Golden Bear when he finished with 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the floor and 5-of-7 from the free throw line vs. Richmond Nov. 27. It was highest total for a Cal player since Jordan Mathews totaled 31 points vs. Washington on Jan. 2, 2015. Brown is now averaging 15.7 ppg - second on the squad.

Domingo Nominated For Good Works Team
Cal junior guard Stephen Domingo has been named a nominee for the 2016 Allstate National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Good Works Team®. This distinguished award shines a spotlight on a select group of student-athletes who have shown dedication to community service and altruism in their communities. Domingo, a 6-7 wing from San Francisco, has been an active participant in community service activities dating back to his time in high school. Among his areas of involvement with the Bears are visits to the Boys and Girls Club of Oakland and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland.

Wallace, Brown on Early Season Naismith List
Senior Tyrone Wallace and freshman Jaylen Brown added to their inventory of accolades Dec. 3 when the teammates were named to the 2016 Naismith Trophy Men's College Player of the Year Early Season Watch List. Both Wallace and Brown are also tabbed for the preseason top 50 list for the 2016 John R. Wooden Award. In addition, Wallace is one of 30 student-athletes on the Luke Olson Award Preseason Watch List and on the preseason list for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award (he was a finalist last season). Brown, meanwhile, is among the early candidates for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award.

Wallace Moving Up Scoring List
With 14 points against Incarnate Word Wednesday, Tyrone Wallace raised his career total to 1,362 points, putting him within striking distance of the No. 16 spot in school history. The position is currently held by Jackie Ridgle, who totaled 1,382 points from 1969-71. Wallace has reached double figures in scoring in 23 consecutive games dating back to last year.

14. Keith Smith (1987-90) - 1,398
15. Ansley Truitt (1970-72) - 1,384
16. Roy Fisher (1988-91) - 1,382
17. Tyrone Wallace (2013-present) - 1,362

Mathews from Downtown
Junior Jordan Mathews, who paced the Pac-12 last season when he connected at a 44.3% clip from behind the arc, is keeping up the pace this season as Cal's top marksman by making 16 of his 46 attempts (34.8%). Now with 128 career triples, he is closing in on the school's top 10 with only 11 more needed to match Shantay Legans (139, 2000-02). Mathews has drained at least one 3-pointer 16 games in a row, including the final seven games of last season. He's also made at least one basket from behind the arc in 30 of his past 31 games.