A Quick Look at the Golden Bears
California opens the Pac-10 Tournament Wednesday when the eighth-seeded Golden Bears play No. 9 seed Oregon State at 6:12 p.m. at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. If Cal wins, the Bears will face top-seeded UCLA in the quarterfinals at 2:50 p.m. Thursday in a rematch of last year's championship contest.

Cal swept both regular-season games vs. Oregon State this year, and the Bears have won 17 of their last 19 meetings with the Beavers. On Jan. 18 in Corvallis, Cal emerged with a 77-74 victory behind 22 points each by Ayinde Ubaka and Ryan Anderson.

The Bears also prevailed on Feb. 17 in Haas Pavilion with an 84-80 overtime decision, as freshman Patrick Christopher (24 points) and sophomore Theo Robertson (21 points) both set career scoring highs.

For the season, the Bears have been competing with just nine healthy scholarship players since junior C DeVon Hardin injured his left foot Dec. 19, and they have responded by setting a school record with 223 three-pointers made. Ubaka (51) and Anderson (50) are the first Cal tandem to make at least 50 in the same season.

In addition, the Bears are virtually guaranteed to set a Cal mark for free throw accuracy, having connected on a Pac-10-leading 77.3 percent from the charity stripe. The Bears' top six scorers are all shooting higher than 77 percent, led by freshman Jerome Randle (82.7%) and junior Omar Wilkes (81.5%).

Anderson, the top-scoring freshman in the Pac-10 with 15.9 ppg, also paces the Bears in rebounding with 7.8 per game. He has reached double figures in points in 27 of 30 games, and his total of 477 points in third on Cal's rookie list behind only Shareef Abdur-Rahim (590 points, 1995-96) and Brian Hendrick (478, 1989-90).

Ubaka, who was voted to the Pac-10 All-Tournament squad last year, is contributing 13.6 ppg and a career-best 4.4 apg. He has averaged 21.5 ppg in two games vs. Oregon State this season and keyed the road win over the Beavers with 20 of his 22 points in the second half. Ubaka enters Wednesday's contest with 1,148 points, which ranks 22nd on Cal's all-time list. He is also fourth in career assists (407) and fifth in career three-pointers (152).

Cal Head Coach Ben Braun
Ben Braun (Wisconsin '75), the second-winningest coach in Cal history, is in his 11th year in Berkeley and 30th season as a collegiate head coach. His record at Cal stands at 200-137, while his career mark - which includes 11 years at Eastern Michigan and eight seasons at Siena Heights College - is 533-372. The 1997 Pac-10 Coach of the Year and one of 25 finalists for the 2003 Naismith National Coach of the Year award, Braun has led the Bears to the postseason seven times in his first 10 years. After taking Cal to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 1997, he guided the Bears to the NIT championship in 1999 and to the NIT quarterfinals in 2000. He also directed Cal to consecutive NCAA Tournaments in 2001, '02 and '03, plus another NCAA berth in 2006. At EMU from 1985-96, the three-time MAC Coach of the Year guided the Eagles to three NCAA Tournaments and one NIT appearance with an overall record of 185-132. He was also 148-103 from 1977-85 at Siena Heights. A native of Chicago, Braun earned a teaching degree in English with a minor in African-American studies at Wisconsin in 1975. He received his master's degree in guidance and counseling from Siena Heights.

Oregon State Scouting Report

A Look at Oregon State
Oregon State enters the Pac-10 Tournament as the ninth seed. The Beavers are led by Marcel Jones, who averages 15.1 ppg, and Sasa Cuic's 12.0 ppg. Jones had 29 points in the first Cal-OSU game this season, most for a Bear opponent in 2006-07. Cuic paces the squad with 42 three-pointers, while freshman Josh Tarver has a team-best 121 assists.

Cal-Oregon State Series History
Cal holds a 71-56 series record vs. Oregon State and has won 17 of the last 19 meetings between the schools. In the first match-up this season, Ayinde Ubaka and Ryan Anderson scored 22 points apiece to lead the Bears to a 77-74 victory over the Beavers on Jan. 18. Cal also claimed the rematch Feb. 17 in Berkeley with an 84-80 overtime decision. Both Patrick Christopher (24 points, 11 rebounds) and Theo Robertson (21 points) set career highs, while Ubaka tossed in 21 points.

Oregon State Head Coach Jay John
Jay John is in fifth season as head coach at Oregon State, where he has a 66-84 record. His best year came in 2005 when he guided the Beavers to a 17-15 mark and a berth in the NIT. John was an assistant for 15 seasons, including stints at Oregon and Arizona.

For more information: www.osubeavers.com

Golden Bear Notes

Last Time Out: Cal Falls to Arizona State, 42-41, in Home Finale
Derek Glasser grabbed a long offensive rebound and hit a three-pointer from the top of the key with 14 seconds left to lift Arizona State to a 42-41 win over Cal last Saturday in Haas Pavilion. The Bears had one final shot at the win, but Theo Robertson missed on his own three-point attempt with three seconds to go. Neither team could mount much of an offense throughout the game, and both teams went scoreless the final 6:51 except for Glasser's basket. Cal's 41-point output was its lowest since scoring 37 points vs. Washington State in 1988. Omar Wilkes paced the Bears with 16 points, 14 of which game in the first half when Cal built a 25-21 lead.

Cal vs. Oregon State in the Pac-10 Tournament
Cal owns a 2-1 record vs. Oregon State in the Pac-10 Tournament. The Bears picked up a 64-57 victory in the 1987 quarterfinals behind 15 points from Kevin Johnson and 14 points by Jon Wheeler. Two years later, OSU defeated Cal, 79-66, in the quarterfinal round. The teams last met in the 2003 quarters, with the Bears winning, 69-46. Richard Midgley scored a team-best 12 points for Cal, which held the Beavers to a tournament-record-low point total.

A Quick Look Back: Bears Reach Tourney Final in 2006
Behind a Most Valuable Player performance by Leon Powe, Cal reached the Pac-10 Tournament final for the first time last season. In the quarterfinals, Powe had 22 points and a tournament-record 20 rebounds to lead the Bears to an 82-67 win over USC. Powe then scored a tournament-record 41 points in a 91-87 double OT victory over Oregon in the semifinals. However, the Bears came up short in their chance for the championship with a 71-52 setback to UCLA. In addition to Powe, Ayinde Ubaka was voted to the all-tournament team after averaging 17.0 ppg in the three games.

Anderson, Ubaka Named NABC All-District
Senior G Ayinde Ubaka and freshman F Ryan Anderson have both been named to the second-team All-District 14 squad by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Ubaka, who was also a second-team choice last year, is averaging 13.6 ppg and a career-best 4.4 rpg. Anderson leads the Bears in both scoring (15.9 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg).

Bears Break Three-Point Record
With 223 three-pointers this season, Cal has soared past the old school record of 198 set during the 2002-03 campaign. Six different players have made at least 20 shots from behind the arc, and for the first time in school history, two Bears have connected on at least 50 treys. Ayinde Ubaka paces the squad with 51 three-pointers, followed closed by Ryan Anderson and his 50 threes. The others with 20 or more are: Omar Wilkes (36), Jerome Randle (24), Theo Robertson (23) and Eric Vierneisel (22).

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