FINAL SCORE: Missouri 92, Cal 53. The Bears (4-1) suffer their worst defeat in 106 games under Mike Montgomery. The lost 109-77 at Washington last season. No. 21 Missouri (5-0) looks like a top-10 team. The No. 20 Bears will fall out of the rankings but have other worries. They must learn from this, figure out a way to repair their psyche, forget it and move forward. This game was 20-16 at one point — and Missouri outscored Cal 72-37 the rest of the way. Six Mizzou players in double digits. Gutierrez and Cobbs, with 11 and 1o points, respectively, were the Bears’ top scorers. They also were the only two players who continued to playy aggressively when the game began to get away, but Gutierrez was gone early after fouling out. Cal shot 30.4 percent, 2 for 9 from 3-point range and had 21 turnovers. The Bears had six assists — fewer than in any game last season. The Bears may not face a team the rest of the season with the quickness of Missouri, but their biggest opponent going forward is themselves.
8:21 2nd H: Missouri’s lead is 69-43.
11:12 2nd H: Gutierrez is gone with his fifth foul — a foolish, frustrated shove that begged the refs to put him out of his misery.
11:54 2nd H: Cal is on a 7-0 run, but still trails 63-39. Gutierrez has 11 points and is perhaps the only Cal player who isn’t on his heels. Crabbe finally has a field goal, but Cal cannot compete with high-level teams if he doesn’t play with more aggressiveness and confidence than we’ve seen tonight. Kamp has struggled, Brandon Smith appears a step slow and a couple inches too small. Kravish, who has been terrific until, seems overmatched. He’s freshman, so that’s understandable.
A LITTLE HISTORY: I was at that game in Columbia, Mo., three years ago, when Cal lost 93-66 and, you say, Roxie Bernstein wanted to file a lawsuit. I love Roxie — but that game was a rout and the Bears wouldn’t have won if Pete Newell’s grandchildren had officiated.
THIS SCORE JUST IN: UCLA, which trailed 12-2 out of the gate against Kansas, is down just 59-54 with 5 1/2 minutes left.
15:10 2nd H: Hard to believe, but it’s 63-32. Missouri is very good. Cal cannot be this bad. But the quickness difference is substantial. Missouri shooting 58 percent with only five turnovers. Cal is at 25.7 percent with 15 turnovers.
16:33 2nd H: Cal began the second half with a turnover and things are only getting worse. Mizzou leads 57-32. Gutierrez leads Cal with nine points. Three Tigers are in double digits, led by 13 from Denmon.
UGLY STAT OF FIRST HALF: Cal 14 turnovers, 2 assists.
MORE HALFTIME: I see many complaints among the posts about the officiating, and a couple of the charge calls against the Bears could have gone either way. But anyone who believes the refs are the reason Cal is down 19 isn’t watching the same game I’m seeing. Missouri is quick, aggressive, confident and controlled. Cal is seriously rattled. Let’s see if they can gather themselves and at least make this a game.
HALFTIME: Mizzou leads 45-26 and this one is probably over. The Tigers have dominated. Cal has a 22-11 rebounding edge, but it hasn’t matter. Missouri’s quickness is too much. Cal is shooting 25.9 percent (7 for 27) and has 14 turnovers. Gutierrez, Kamp and Cobbs have combined for 19 points, but also are shooting 6 for 20. Rest of the team is 1 for 7, including 0 for 4 by Crabbe, who seems tentative and unsure of himself. Looks more like the player we saw early last season than the more confident, aggressive guy who became Pac-10 Freshman of the Year. Missouri is getting contributions from everyone, and is defending the Bears into submission.
1:04 1st H: Missouri leads 43-26. Cal shooting 27 percent with 12 turnovers. Missouri has scored 15 points off the TOs. The Tigers’ bench has provided 17 points.
5:55 1st H: Crabbe just got his second PF, moments after Gutierrez did. Missouri’s quickness is impacting every aspect of this game. Tigers lead 31-16.
7 min, 1st H: A 6-0 Mizzou run and it’s 26-16. Montgomery calls timeout. Tigers able to turn Cal mistakes into quick points. Bears have 10 turnovers.
7:54 1st H: Cal within 20-16 and not even playing very well. Bears now have nine turnovers. This was a problem early against Georgia, too, and once the Bears figured it out they were much better. Another slow start offensively by Crabbe, who has missed his only two shots from the field. But he does have five rebounds and Cal has a 16-4 edge there.
8:52 1st H: Solomon just picked up his third foul. The Bears also have eight turnovers and are shooting 5 for 14. That’s why it’s 20-14 Mizzou.
11:31 st H: Missouri leads 17-11 — was up eight points a minute ago. Bears are playing some zone to deal with Missouri’s quickness. We’ll see if it hurts their defensive rebounding. Cal has six turnovers and four baskets — not a good ratio.
15:34 1st H: Missouri leads 11-7. Cal has 6-1 rebounding edge, but already has four turnovers. Not handling Tigers’ speed at either end. Mizzou senior G Marcus Denmon has four points and two assists. Kravish and Cobbs in now.
VITALE IN THE HOUSE: Yes, we’ve got Dickie V doing the game.
PREGAME: Kansas already up 10-2 on UCLA at Maui (on ESPN). Meanwhile, Miami-Ohio and Ohio playing football on ESPN2. Wonder when Cal-Mizzou will begin airing.
WELCOME: Again, I’m sitting in front of my TV like many of you, but will provide my usual in-game running dialogue. This should be a dynamite game. Both teams are 4-0 and both were very impressive in their CBE Classic semifinal victories on Monday. Both have strong backcourts and neither team’s bench is deep.
