Cal thumps Stanford to advance to Pac-12 quarterfinals

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Matt Bradley and Paris Austin both had 18 points along with six rebounds each to lead California past Stanford 63-51 at the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament on Wednesday night.

Cal (14-18), which entered the tournament as the 10th seed, advanced to play No. 2 UCLA on Thursday. Kareem South added 15 points for the Bears.

The game was played in a cloud of uncertainty due to concerns about Coronavirus as it will mostly likely be the last game for both teams playing in front of fans this season.

Prior to the game, the Pac-12 released a statement saying a decision was made to only have, “Essential staff, TV network partners, credentialed media, and limited family and friends in attendance,” for the rest of the tournament.

Earlier in the day, the NCAA announced that its annual tournament would be played under similar circumstances.

Daejon Davis led seventh-seeded Stanford (20-12) with 16 points and Bryce Wills had 10 as the Cardinals finished 17-of-53 shooting (32%).

The Bears jumped to a 7-0 lead and never trailed. Stanford once tied it at 17. Cal led 30-20 at halftime, capped by a Joel Brown running layup at the buzzer. The Bears built their largest lead at 16 late in the game.

THE RIVALRY

The teams split the regular season with Cal winning the second game at home, 52-50 on Jan. 26. Both teams came into Wednesday having lost two straight at Oregon and at Oregon State.

This was the fourth time the teams have met in the 22-year history of the conference tournament. The series record is 2-2. The last time was in 2012 when the Cardinal won 76-58. The Golden Bears still lead the all-time series 150-125.

TIP-INS

Cal: This the first time Cal came into the tournament as a 10th seed. They had never been lower than ninth. The Bears are now 17-22 in tournament play. They reached the finals in 2006 and 2010.

Stanford: The Cardinal are looking to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014. Coming into Wednesday, Stanford led the Pac-12 in shooting at 47.4% and was 20th nationally. Ironically, the Cardinal shot 27.3% in the first half. Stanford had three players earn All Pac-12 recognition with first-teamer Oscar da Silva, who was averaging 16.1 points per game coming into Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Cal: Will play No. 2 UCLA Thursday in the quarterfinal round.

Stanford: Will await word for a possible postseason tournament berth.