By Freddy Cianfano
The California Bears will be playing the Georgia Bulldogs from the SEC on 11/21 (Monday) at 9:45 EST in the CBE Classic at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The last meeting between these two teams was in 2002 and ended in a 78-73 Georgia victory.
Head Coach Mark Fox has compiled a record of 35-28 overall while being 14-18 in SEC conference play in three years at Georgia. He previously coached at the University of Nevada and was WAC Coach of the Year in 2005 & 2006. He is a smart, well established coach with a 158 – 71 record and almost a 70% career winning percentage.
The Georgia Bulldogs enjoy playing an up-tempo style of play favoring their strong backcourt and perimeter defense. This year’s team is in rebuilding mode replacing three of their top players that lost in the 1st round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament. Replacing Trey Tompkins, Travis Leslie and Jeremy Price will not be an easy transition as they must get accustomed to playing with a very inexperienced squad. This years backcourt is led by SR-G Gerald Robinson, who is averaging 13.7 ppg and almost 4 rebounds a game. His running mate will be 5 Star Recruit and Former Mr. Basketball in Georgia Kentavious Caldwell Pope. Pope is averaging 13.3 ppg and 5.3 rpg and is quickly forming one of the top guard tandems in the SEC with Robinson. SR-G Dustin Ware will be there as well (7.7 ppg & 3.0 rpg) as the Bulldogs will frequently be playing multiple guards to capitalize on their strengths. SO-G Marcus Thornton is pitching in scoring 6 points, grabbing 6 rebounds and distributing almost 2 assists per game.
Their frontline will consist of Montenegro born Freshman Nemanja Djurisic (averaging 8.7 ppg and 3 rpg) and Forward Donte Williams (averaging 8 ppg & 7 rpg). Junior College transfer John Florveus (standing at 6’11) will eventually help inside but has not quite reached that level yet as he is off to a slow start averaging only 3.3 ppg. The Bulldogs have had a very easy schedule so far beating the likes of Wofford, Bowling Green and S. Dakota State by an average of 11 points per game. Their three opponents have had a combined record of 3-5 and the upcoming schedule will be much more difficult as they face Cal and then (13) Xavier on 11/25.
The California Bears have started very well having won 3 in a row beating UC-Irvine, George Washington and Austin Peay by an average of 18 points per game. The Bears are led by Jorge Gutierrez (Coach Montgomery’s 1st recruit at Cal) averaging 13 ppg, 6 rpg, 5 assists and almost 2 steals. He is shooting 87% from the free throw line as well as 57% from the field. Guard Allen Crabbe is playing extremely well averaging almost 17 a game and over 3 rebounds but is coming a poor shooting performance (2/12) last game out against Austin Peay. Forward Harper Kamp is coming off a spectacular performance scoring 12 points, grabbing 9 rebounds, dishing out 2 assists and having 2 steals. He is putting the ball in the basket at a 63% rate. Freshman Forward David Kravish played awesome against Austin Peay scoring 12 points (a career high) in only 23 minutes, with a season average of 6 ppg and 6 rpg.
Look for an increase in playing time to come his way soon. Richard Solomon scored 8 points and had 9 rebounds against Austin Peay boosting his season totals to 6 ppg and over 7 rpg. Point Guard Brandon Smith had 11 points on 5/6 shooting to go with 2 assists and 2 steals. This was probably his best overall performance of the season as he looked extremely aggressive on the offensive end. Guard Justin Cobbs had 7 points and 4 assists as he is averaging 9 points and over 4 assists a game.
The Calfornia Bears are 23-2 in non-conference games under Coach Montgomery and won easily against Austin Peay in their prior game going up by 27 at the half (40-13) on a 21-5 run allowing just 1 field goal in that span. The attendance at CAL home games has not been spectacular only averaging about 6,000 per game, way below their capacity. This is a tough test for the Cal Bears as it is never easy facing any Southeastern conference opponent due to their high level of play and tremendous base of talent down South.
The California Bears are playing versus the Stanford Cardinals on Saturday (11/19) at 10:30 EST in Stanford, Ca. This is the 114th meeting between these two schools with a 46-46-11 record . The last meeting ended in a lopsided 48-14 Stanford victory last year. This game is known to many as “The Big Game”.
The 8th ranked Stanford Cardinals are led by Head Coach David Shaw and have a 9-1 record in his 1st season. They are 7-1 in conference play and are overcoming a 53-30 loss to the Oregon Ducks last week that ended their 11 game home winning streak. Coach Shaw & his squad are hoping to regroup quickly and avoid an emotional letdown this week after possibly losing opportunities to win the PAC-12 and play for a National Championship last week.
The Stanford Cardinals have many playmakers on offense and are led by Heisman Trophy candidate Andrew Luck. Luck has compiled almost 2700 yards passing with a 70% completion rate to go with his 29 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions. Stanford has a stable of running backs all of which are capable of taking a game over and have 27 rushing touchdowns this season. JR-TB Stepfan Taylor needs only 10 yards to achieve his second straight 1000 yard season to go with 8 touchdowns this season. Reserves JR TB- Tyler Gaffney has 375 yards rushing and 6 touchdowns, SR-TB Jeremy Stewart has recorded 8 touchdowns as well and SO- TB Anthony Wilkerson has contributed with two touchdowns rushing this season. The Cardinals #1 Wide Receiver is SR- Griff Whalen and his 45 receptions, 641 yards and 4 touchdowns. Stanford & QB Luck love to utilize the Tight End as a vertical deep threat and potent weapon inside the red zone. SR-TE Coby Fleener has 24 receptions, almost 500 yards receiving and 8 touchdown catches.
Stanford has a few standouts who could miss this game due to injury including:SR-TE- Zach Ertz– (22 receptions, 308 yards, 3 touchdowns) might miss his third straight game with a knee injury, SR-WR Chris Owosu– (35 receptions, 376 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns), FR-OT Cameron Fleming (Knee Injury) and FR-K Jordan Williamson – all might not play. Extremely favorable to Cal if they do not.
The Stanford Cardinal defense is very good and boasts the 7th ranked run defense in the country. The Cardinals have a very strong pass rush compiling 30 sacks led by OLB Chase Thomas 6.5 sacks. There are weaknesses within Stanford’s D as well. Last week, Oregon showcased how to beat up on Stanford by exposing their vulnerability to long runs by fast perimeter players and lack of sure tackling in the secondary- (gave up 232 yards rushing last week alone). Food for Thought for Cal Bears.
The California Golden Bears (6-4) were victorious last week in Berkeley 23-6 over the Oregon State Beavers. Cal assured itself a bowl game by winning its last two games and 3 out of their last 4. They have won 7 out of the last 9 contests against Stanford and are either going to catch them at the most opportune moment or worst time possible. This game will test the character and strength of both teams.
| The California Bears are playing versus the Stanford Cardinals on Saturday (11/19) at 10:30 EST in Stanford, Ca. This is the 114th meeting between these two schools with a 46-46-11 record . The last meeting ended in a lopsided 48-14 Stanford victory last year. This game is known to many as “The Big Game”.The 8th ranked Stanford Cardinals are led by Head Coach David Shaw and have a 9-1 record in his 1st season. They are 7-1 in conference play and are overcoming a 53-30 loss to the Oregon Ducks last week that ended their 11 game home winning streak. Coach Shaw & his squad are hoping to regroup quickly and avoid an emotional letdown this week after possibly losing opportunities to win the PAC-12 and play for a National Championship last week.
The Stanford Cardinals have many playmakers on offense and are led by Heisman Trophy candidate Andrew Luck. Luck has compiled almost 2700 yards passing with a 70% completion rate to go with his 29 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions. Stanford has a stable of running backs all of which are capable of taking a game over and have 27 rushing touchdowns this season. JR-TB Stepfan Taylor needs only 10 yards to achieve his second straight 1000 yard season to go with 8 touchdowns this season. Reserves JR TB- Tyler Gaffney has 375 yards rushing and 6 touchdowns, SR-TB Jeremy Stewart has recorded 8 touchdowns as well and SO- TB Anthony Wilkerson has contributed with two touchdowns rushing this season. The Cardinals #1 Wide Receiver is SR- Griff Whalen and his 45 receptions, 641 yards and 4 touchdowns. Stanford & QB Luck love to utilize the Tight End as a vertical deep threat and potent weapon inside the red zone. SR-TE Coby Fleener has 24 receptions, almost 500 yards receiving and 8 touchdown catches.
Stanford has a few standouts who could miss this game due to injury including:
SR-TE- Zach Ertz– (22 receptions, 308 yards, 3 touchdowns) might miss his third straight game with a knee injury, SR-WR Chris Owosu– (35 receptions, 376 receiving yards and
2 touchdowns), FR-OT Cameron Fleming (Knee Injury) and FR-K Jordan Williamson – all might not play. Extremely favorable to Cal if they do not.
The Stanford Cardinal defense is very good and boasts the 7th ranked run defense in the country. The Cardinals have a very strong pass rush compiling 30 sacks led by OLB Chase Thomas 6.5 sacks. There are weaknesses within Stanford’s D as well. Last week, Oregon showcased how to beat up on Stanford by exposing their vulnerability to long runs by fast perimeter players and lack of sure tackling in the secondary- (gave up 232 yards rushing last week alone). Food for Thought for Cal Bears.
The California Golden Bears (6-4) were victorious last week in Berkeley 23-6 over the Oregon State Beavers. Cal assured itself a bowl game by winning its last two games and 3 out of their last 4. They have won 7 out of the last 9 contests against Stanford and are either going to catch them at the most opportune moment or worst time possible. This game will test the character and strength of both teams.
Last week, the Bears had almost 300 yards rushing led by Isi Sofele(190 yards, 1 TD) and 96 yards rushing. Cal offense had 3 touchdown runs negated by penalties or it could have been worse. QB- Zach Maynard played conservatively (13/19, 128 yards, 1 TD) and it proved to be crucial in securing the win. WR’s Keenan Allen, Marvin Jones and (TE) Anthony Miller each had very quite games but that result cannot be the case this weekend as their production is extremely necessary to pull out a victory against the Cards. Cal’s defense played very well giving up only 27 rushing yards to Oregon State and forcing 2 interceptions (3 second half turnovers). The return of OLB’s Chris McCain and David Wilkerson this week would be very helpful in trying to slow down Stanford’s rushing attack.
The Bears need to ease up on the penalties as the zebras flagged them 15 times for 130 total yards last week. Completely unacceptable if they want to win this week and must be avoided. The Bears need to run the ball effectively and keep Luck and the offense off the field to keep this one close. Try to exploit WR- Keenan Allen and TB-Sofele on the outside and keep Maynard playing conservatively and look for TE- Anthony Miller down the middle of the field. Coach Tedford needs this win and Stanford can’t lose this game or the BCS will not come calling this year for the Cardinals. |
By Freddy Cianfano, Cal Bear Fan
The 2-0 California Bears will be playing the Austin Peay Governors at Haas
Pavilion in Berkeley on 11/15 at 10pm Est.
The Austin Peay Governors of the Ohio Valley Conference are led by
Head Coach Dave Loos and are located in Clarksville, Tennessee. He has
been their HC since 1990 and have not been able to reach the NCAA Tournament
since 2008. Last year Austin Peay achieved a 20-14 record and were invited to
participate in the 2011 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) where they were
defeated by Boise State 83-80.
The Governors are coming off a 81-70 defeat at the hands of the Middle
Tennessee Blue Raiders of the Sun Belt Conference. SR-Guard Tyshwan
Edmonson led the squad with
20 Pts, 3 Steals on 8/18 shooting with 4/10 coming from 3 pt. range.
SR-Guard/Forward-
Josh Terry also pitched in with 17 Pts, 7 Rebounds and 3 Steals but
was only 7/14 from the FT Line. JR-Guard Jerome Clyburn dropped 11
Points and 5 Assists. Decent contributions were made by SO-Forward Will
Triggs scoring 7 Points and 6 Rebounds
in 15 minutes as well as JR-Guard Justin Blake and his 8 Points on
2/4 accuracy beyond the 3-point arc. Sr- Center John Fraley had 2
Points, 10 Rebounds and 3 Blocks before suffering an apparent neck injury on a
dunk attempt- hopefully nothing serious- further details to be known before game
time.
In my estimation, the Governors are not a very disciplined team as
illustrated with their 19 turnovers, 27 personal fouls (Baker and Freeman fouled
out) and their terrible free throw shooting (19/36 from the charity stripe)
Austin Peay has a small lineup with only 1 player over 6’9- perfect for
dominance on the offensive and defensive rebounding department where Cal has
been phenomenal outrebounding their last two opponents by a
80-44 margin. These are all factors that Cal and Coach Montgomery
will seek to take advantage of with the likes of Gutierrez, Kamp, Kravish and
Solomon.
Cal Bears Basketball scoring has been led by the excellent play of Allen Crabbe,
Jorge Gutierrez and Justin Cobbs so far on the offensive end this
season with nice contributions by Forward- Harper Kamp ,JR-Forward
Bak Bak (from Sudan) and PG-Brandon Smith, who needs to pick up
the pace on offense a little more as his production is essential for future
games.
This game should help the Golden Bears in their preparation for a meeting
against SEC foe Georgia Bulldogs next week as they begin tournament play in
Kansas City, Missouri. possibly facing either Notre Dame or Missouri after
them.
First of all, I would like to introduce myself- I am Freddy Cianfano and I will be
writing the football, previews, as well as the Cal Bears Men’s Basketball
Team. With over 20 years experience in College Men’s Basketball, I am hoping
to provide you with the appropriate insight on this year’s team as well as
their opponents. Comments welcome! |
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| The Cal Bears (4-4) (1-4 in conference play and 5th in the Pac-12 North Division) will be facing the Washington State Cougars (3-5) (1-4 in conference play and 5th in Pac-12 North) on Saturday at AT&T Park in San Francisco, Ca (6:30pm).The Cal Bears (3-1 at home) are reeling having lost 4 out of the last 5 games and are entering a crucial stretch to become bowl eligible. With the next 2 games at home against Washington State this week and Oregon State next week, these matchups will dictate whether or not they finish strong or dwindle in the basement of the Pac-12. The final two games are against powerhouses Stanford currently ranked #5 Nationally and Arizona State- ranked #20 so now would probably be a good time for CoachTedford and the Bears to go on a nice winning streak.
California Bears offense is led by QB- Zach Maynard– 53% completion percentage, which is the lowest in the Pac-12, has 12TD and 10 int with 4 of them coming last week against rival UCLA. Coach Tedford is catching heat on whether or not to make a change at the QB position and go with Allen Bridgford, who is more of a classic drop-back passer but less mobile than Maynard. There are a few bright spots on the Cal offense as RB- Isi Sofele has almost 700 yards rushing and 6 touchdowns and WR- Kennan Allen has produced 67 receptions, almost a 1000 yards receiving (6TH in the Nation) and has scored 5 touchdowns. The special teams has been a standout as PK- Giorgio Tavecchio is 11/14 on field goals and the punter- Bryan Anger is a Ray Guy Finalist with 12 punts inside the 20yard line to go with a 45 yard average, ranking him 3 in the Pac-12. Also, the defense returns ILB Mychal Kendricks who should help control Washington State’s rushing attack.
Washington State counters with a strong passing attack QB-Marshall Loebbestael and his 16 touchdowns and 63%
completion percentage. He currently ranks 10th in the nation in passing yards. The backfield for the Cougars has local product Ricky Galvin,
from Berkeley, running for over 400 yards and 4touchdowns. The wide receiving corps is led by Marquess Wilson with 52 receptions, 889 yards receiving and 6 touchdowns and Isiah Barton with 41 receptions, almost 500 yards receiving and 4 touchdowns.
Washington State defense is very weak against the pass and run so this might not be a bad week to try a dual threat at quarterback and see if Bridgford is is up to the challenge or if Maynard just had a poor showing against UCLA. The Cougars are 1-3 on the road giving up 32 points a game so expect a lot of scoring on both sides. Last year’s meeting ended up with a 20-13 win for California with the series being led by Cal by
a 42-25-5 margin. |
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#4 seeded California Men’s Basketball will host #5 seeded Mississippi in the first round of the NIT at 9 pm (EDT) on Wednesday, 3/16/11. Join fellow Bear fans at The Australian or Pacific Standard to cheer on our team. If you can’t make it to one of our Bear Territory locations, the game can also be seen on ESPN 2. After the Bears put away Ole Miss, their next opponent will probably be the number one seed in the bracket, Colorado. Stay tuned for further updates on the Bear’s post season play…
California Women’s Basketball Team will face Cal Poly in San Louis Obispo on Thursday, March 17; Game time has not been announced. Check your local listings for game time.
Go Bears!
Cal Bears Run Over UCLA, 35-7.
Huge turnout at the Australian Bar — Cal Sports new headquarters. Cal fans lined up at bar, around bar, and into the street! But even with all that support, Bears were trounced by the Wolf Pack 31 to 52. Cal fan Endzone Bear has this to say about last Friday’s game:
“I think that the team this year went in the wrong direction on Friday night–we played the wrong team at the wrong place at the wrong time. We may get blown out on Saturday, but I don’t think we will. We know Arizona well and play them tough. We beat them last year. We are better this year. They will be a little flat after their big win. This team clearly has weaknesses. I believe that we are showing the effects of the idiots in the trees. We did not recruit well during those years. Those are the players that we are playing now.
Recruiting last year went very well. Recruiting this year is going very well. Hell, recruiting for 2012 seems to be going very well as well. We have the year in ATT Park, which will generate some buzz and then back to the new stadium. So, I think that the program is headed in the right direction, albeit much slower rate than we would like. I think that we are stuck with Reilly unless he gets injured.” — LK
fans cheered while Bears lose....
Bears Beat Buffalos
Golden Bears vs. Colorado Buffaloes
The Bears proved their 52-3 domination of UC Davis wasn’t an aberration as they beat the Colorado Buffaloes 52-7 on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010.
Cal has returned to the national rankings for the first time in 2010 at No. 24 with the release of the week three USA Today Coaches’ Poll on Sunday. The last time the Golden Bears were nationally ranked was heading into their 2009 season finale at Washington (No. 19 AP, No. 19 BCS, No. 22 USA Today). The Bears have now been ranked among the nation’s top 25 teams at one point in each of the last seven seasons and eight times in nine campaigns since head coach Jeff Tedford’s arrival in 2002.
Kevin Riley threw a career-high-tying four touchdown passes and California gave Colorado a rude welcome to what will be its new conference with a 52-7 victory Saturday. Shane Vereen caught one touchdown pass and ran for another score as the Golden Bears (2-0) broke out to a 31-0 halftime lead in Colorado’s first game against a Pac-10 team since announcing plans in June to join the conference.
Cal fans packed The Australian Bar for Cal’s first game of the season. Although Cal was favored to win by 40 points, they went even further to trounce U.C Davis at 52 to 3! Kevin Riley had a good game, and freshman wide receiver Allen had a spectacular debut as a Golden Bear.
-LK
We’re kicking off the NY Alumni Club Bears Blog! And why? Because Bears are one of the most accomplished Pac-10 teams in the last eight years. With Coach Jeff Tedford at the helm, Cal has won seven Big Games over Stanford. So what should we look for this fall? Optimism! According to the official Golden Bears Website, the reason for such strong confidence is that the recruiting class that was signed on in February was ranked No. 11 nationally by Rivals.
Tedford said that the Bears have a strong group of core players. “We feel like we addressed a lot of our needs. The class has a good balance of offense and defense, size, athleticism and speed. We’re looking forward to several members of this group coming in and competing to make contributions right away.”
Cal has seven homes games in 2010: UC Davis (Sept. 4 televised by Comcast SportsNet, California) , Colorado (Sept. 11, Fox Sports Net), UCLA (Oct. 9), Arizona State (Oct. 23), Oregon (Nov. 13), Stanford (Nov. 20, Fox Sports Net), Washington (Nov. 27).
And five 2010 road games: Nevada on Sept. 17 ( nationally-televised Friday night ESPN2), Arizona Sept. 25USC (Oct. 16, Fox Sports Net), Oregon State (Nov. 30), Washington State (Nov. 6).
–Lauren
Comments, posts, suggestions? Click on the comment box below, or email me at LKeyson@KeysonPublishing.com.
Oski Rules! 