Pac-12 Tournament Quarterfinal: Cal vs. Utah
For the third time in the last five seasons, California and Utah's Pac-12 Tournament fates are intertwined, as the fifth-seeded Golden Bears are set to face off against the fourth-seeded Utes in Thursday's quarterfinal at the T-Mobile Arena. Action gets underway at 2:30 p.m., live on the Pac-12 Network and KGO Radio.
The Bears are 0-2 against the Utes in the Pac-12 Tournament, with Utah ousting Cal last season (82-78) and in 2013 (79-69) in a pair of overtime games.
Jabari Bird led the Bears in Wednesday's win over No. 12 seed-Oregon State with 20 points, tying his best tournament outing. Bird also had 20 against Utah in last season's semifinal loss. He's averaging a team-best 14.4 points on the season to lead four Bears scoring in double figures.
Ivan Rabb is averaging 14.2 points, followed by 12.2 from
Charlie Moore and 10.0 from
Grant Mullins.
The winner of Thursday's contest will advance to face the winner of top-seeded Oregon vs. No. 8-seed Arizona State in Friday's semifinal game, set for 6 p.m. and airing live on Pac-12 Network.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION: Thursday's action airs live from T-Mobile Arena on the Pac-12 Network. Roxy Bernstein and Don MacLean have the call once again, with Jill Savage reporting from the sideline. Todd McKim and
Jay John will provide analysis and commentary on the California Golden Bears Sports Network on KGO 810 AM. Follow the Bears on social media for a behind-the-scenes look at Facebook.com/CalMensBball and on Twitter and Instagram @CalMensBball.
• The Bears have never failed to reach the tournament quarterfinals, and own a 9-10 record in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals.
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Jabari Bird has now scored in double-figures in each of his last four games at the Pac-12 tournament. Bird went 3-6 from beyond the arc in the win after going 1-13 from deep in the Bears' previous three outings.
• Bird has now made 183 career three-pointers, tying Richard Midgley for fifth-most in program history. His 495 attempts rank as the fourth-most in school history.
• Bird has increased his scoring from 10.4 points per game last year to 14.2 PPG this season -- the largest scoring increase by a Pac-12 senior this season.
• Bird is one three-pointer away from tying
Grant Mullins and Allen Crabbe's 62 single-season three-pointers, a total which ranks 10th in the Cal record books.
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Ivan Rabb had a game-high 13 rebounds and added 12 points for his 17th double-double of the season. Rabb now has 29 career double-doubles, tying Leon Powe for the second-most by any Cal player over the last 20 seasons. His 29 career double-doubles are second only to Washington State's Josh Hawkinson among the Pac-12's active career leaders.
• With two three-pointers against the Beavs,
Grant Mullins has 62 treys on the season, which ties Allen Crabbe's 2011 record for single-season three-point field goals made, which ranks 10th.
• With his 10 points vs. the Beavers, Moore now has 378 points on the season, tying Jason Kidd for ninth-most by any Cal freshman. Moore's 94 free throws match the eighth-most by a Cal freshman.
• With three blocks against Oregon State,
Kingsley Okoroh now has 67 blocks this season. He is six blocks away from tying David Kravish's all-time record of 73, set in 2014.
• Okoroh has 128 career blocks, keeping him at fourth all-time among Cal's career blocked shots leaders. He is four blocks away from tying DeVon Hardin's third-place record of 132.
• Cal is looking to reach the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals for the second consecutive season. Cal has eight total semifinal appearances and is 2-6 overall in the semifinals.
