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March Madness Round of 64 | Golden Bears vs Warriors

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March Madness Round of 64 | Golden Bears vs Warriors

By Don Phillips

 

California Golden Bears vs. Hawaii Warriors

 

NCAA Tournament | Round of 64

2:00 PM ET, March 18, 2016

Spokane Arena, Spokane, Washington

 

TV: TBS

TV Talent: Spero Dedes, Doug Gottlieb, Ros Gold-Onwude

Radio: KGO 810 AM

KGO Talent: Todd McKim, Jay John

Radio: Westwood One

Westwood One Talent: Kevin Calabro, Dan Dickau

Live Stats: CalBears.com


Built around a strong defense, Cal leads the Pac-12 in scoring defense (67.0 ppg), field goal percentage defense (39.3%) and fewest 3-pointers allowed (5.5 per game). The Bears also rate first nationally in 2-point field goal percentage defense at 40.9 percent and are 10th in the country for fewest 3-pointers allowed per game (first among Power 5 Conference schools).

Senior Tyrone Wallace paces the offense with 15.3 ppg, while 2016 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Jaylen Brown add 15.0 ppg. Fellow freshman Ivan Rabb is snaring 8.5 rpg, and guards Jabari Bird and Jordan Mathews have combined to make 147 3-pointers this season.

Cal is 11-1 all-time against Hawai’i, last playing the Rainbow Warriors in the 1998-99 season opener in Honolulu – a 71-60 Bear victory. Cal is 0-2 vs. Maryland, which includes an 84-71 loss in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament. Cal and South Dakota State have not met previously.

Cal has developed into one of the top defensive teams in the country and leads the Pac-12 in both field goal percentage defense (39.3 percent) and scoring defense (67.0 ppg). The Bears last paced the Pac-12 in scoring defense during the 1996-97 campaign (67.8 ppg), while the Cal’s most recent time on top of the league in field goal percentage defense was in 2012-13 (39.3%).

Cal is also first nationally in 2-point field goal percentage defense at 40.9 percent, just ahead of Cincinnati and Valparaiso, who are also at 40.9 percent. The figure is down from 45.6 percent last season, which ranked 90th in the country.

Entering the NCAA Tournament, Cal has allowed just 180 3-pointers or 5.5 per game. That average ranks 10th nationally and first among schools from the five power conferences. Within the Pac-12, the Bears have surrendered 16 fewer treys than Washington, which is second with 186 and has played one less game than Cal. In conference games only, Cal gave up 79 3-pointers in 18 games (4.4 per game, Pac-12 low 31.7%) – well ahead of No. 2 Utah and Colorado (110, 6.1 per game).

Two members of the Bears bring past experience to the NCAA Tournament. Senior Tyrone Wallace was a starting guard as a freshman in 2013 when the Bears, as a 12 seed, upended No. 5 UNLV before falling to No. 4 Syracuse. He had three points, four rebounds and four assists against the Rebels, and then totaled 12 points vs. the Orange.

Domingo was part of one NCAA team at Georgetown in 2013 before transferring to Cal in 2014 after his sophomore season. He played one minute vs. Florida Gulf Coast but did not record any stats.

  • Golden Bears are 7-1-1 ATS in their last 9 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
  • Golden Bears are 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
  • Golden Bears are 8-2-1 ATS in their last 11 games overall.

Selection: California