BearTalk

Cal’s NCAA tournament game Saturday against Syracuse will begin at approximately 6:40 p.m. and will be aired on TBS. That should be good news for all of you who don’t get truTV (I don’t either).

Syracuse crushed Montana 81-34 on Thursday night, improving to 27-9.

Pac-12 schools went 3-0 on Thursday, with Oregon and Arizona also winning.

Two more Pac-12 teams play Friday:

   — No. 10 Colorado vs. No. 7 Illinois at 1:40 p.m. on TNT

   — No. 6 UCLA vs. No. 10 Minnesota at 7:57 p.m. on . . . truTV.

Allen Crabbe said he spent the offseason in Berkeley working to improve his game in order to help his team, not to win an award.

But after becoming the seventh Cal player to be named Pac-12 Player of the Year on Monday, Crabbe said, “it’s a wonderful feeling, a blessing.”

“The offseason really is a time for you to improve your game and I wanted to become more of a complete basketball player, somebody who can impact the game on both ends.

“At the beginning of the season you’re not thinking about awards, just what you can do to help your team. With team success comes individual success.”

Crabbe said he called his parents with the news and they were excited, as you’d expect.

His focus this week is on the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas, where the Bears will open Thursday against either USC or Utah.

“We let the regular season kind of slip away from us,” he said. “We can go out here and redeem ourselves. We know what all the teams are capable of doing. We can’t take games lightly.

“We’re all prepared, all focused, all going to play hard to win this Pac-12 tournament champiionship. I feel like we could have won the regular season.”

Crabbe made it clear he’d swap his Player of the Year award for a conference title.

“It’s a good award. I feel like none of this stuff really gets to me,” he said. “I feel like I’m a team player. I want to help my team win. That’s what I’m focused on. We still have business to take care of .

“At the beginning of the season, you’re not talking about, `I’m playing for an award.’  We’re playing for the championship. I’d trade it in. We have an opportunity to put ourselves in a situation to redeem ourselves.”

 The coaches will announce their All-Pac-12 teams on Monday.

Here are my choices:

FIRST TEAM

– Justin Cobbs, Cal: A combo guard playing the point, Cobbs wasn’t afraid to take big shots when the Bears needed them. His game-winner against at Oregon was as big a play as the team had all year.

– Allen Crabbe, Cal: Drew more defensive attention than any single player in the Pac-12 and still led the league in scoring. Improved his ability to get into the lane, his rebounding and his playmaking.

– Jahii Carson, ASU: Devastatingly quick. Dangerous in the open court. Talented enough coach Herb Sendek went up-tempo this season. Single-biggest reason the Sun Devils won 10 more games than a year ago.

– Larry Drew II, UCLA: Senior transfer from North Carolina was exactly what the young Bruins needed most — a rudder. Set a UCLA single-season record with 239 assists, and they’ve had a couple pretty good teams over the years.

– Solomon Hill, Arizona: Understated, but well-rounded and a difficult matchup who can play on the perimeter or in the paint. Strong and experienced. Always productive.

– Mark Lyons, Arizona: Just as Drew gave UCLA direction, Lyons brought experience at the point as a transfer from Xavier. Made big shots in big games. Has played in three Sweet 16 games — would like to make it four.

– Brock Motum, WSU: Among good players on bad teams, Motum was the best with the least around him. The Pac-12′s No. 2 scorer.

– Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA: It took the freshman wing a while to get in shape, but he delivered 13 20-point games for the league champion. A shooter and a scorer, Muhammad will leave for the NBA without an all-around game.

– Dwight Powell, Stanford: The most improved player in the conference, Powell showed what he could do when healthy. After two injury-plagued seasons, he delivered a consistent performance for the Cardinal.

– Andre Roberson, Colorado: The best rebounder and most versatile defender in the league. Roberson is the kind of player every coach loves — productive without needing to shoot the ball a lot.

HONORABLE MENTION

– Kyle Anderson, UCLA: The most versatile of UCLA’s three excellent freshman, Anderson passes like a point guard and rebounds like a power forward. He needs more strength and explosiveness, but he has a chance to be very good.

– Carrick Felix, ASU: Along with Stanford’s Powell, Felix was the league’s most improved player. And he was a factor at both ends of the floor. Led the league in double-doubles.

– Roberto Nelson, Oregon State: Finally, after seemingly years of build-up, Nelson delivered this season. His team underachieved, but not Nelson.

– E.J. Singler, Oregon: The best all-around player on his team, Singler probably will earn first-team honors from the coaches, who like to reward seniors. Fact is, he was better in every statistical category a year ago.

– C.J. Wilcox, Washington: A nagging foot injury prevented Wilcox from practicing much of the season and he shot just 31 percent since Jan. 31. Still, he refused to leave the lineup and led the Huskies in scoring.

COACH OF THE YEAR

ASU’s Herb Sendek probably would have won this in early January (when the Sun Devils were 14-2), and Oregon’s Dana Altman might have taken it six weeks ago (when the Ducks were 17-2). But it’s a full-season deal, and one of the youngest (albeit talented), drama-driven, defection-ridden, ill-fitting teams wound up surviving the craziest Pac-12 race in years. UCLA’s Ben Howland should get some credit for that. The winner: Howland.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

There will be sentiment for a variety of players, but it comes down to Crabbe and Muhammad. Muhammad is very good and helped the Bruins win the Pac-12. But Crabbe had the better season. He scored more, rebounded more, had 80 assists to 24 for Muhammad, and bought in defensively on a team that wouldn’t have won without doing so. The winner: Crabbe.

The big tease ended for Cal basketball fans this afternoon.

UCLA survived a back-and-forth game with host Washington, winning 61-54 to secure the Pac-12 Conference championship and deny the Golden Bears an unlikely piece of the league title.

Cal needed losses by UCLA and Oregon on the final day of the regular season to steal a piece of the crown three days after losing 83-70 at home to Stanford.

Utah, which began the day 4-13 in Pac-12 play, accomodated the Bears by upsetting Oregon 72-62 in Salt Lake City. But UCLA won at Washington for the first time since 2004 to grab the outright championship.

UCLA (22-8, 13-5) will be the No. 1 seed for next week’s Pac-12 tournament at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, matched in a quarterfinal game on Thursday at noon against the winner of Wednesday’s first-round matchup between the Nos. 8 and 9 seeds.

Cal (20-10, 12-6) wins the tiebreaker to earn the No. 2 seed and will play Thursday at 6 p.m. against the winner of the Wednesday matchup of the Nos. 7 and 10 seeds.

The complete schedule for the Pac-12 tournament will be released later Saturday after the day’s final three games are played.

Cal entered the week riding a seven-game win streak and needing a win over Stanford plus one loss each by co-leaders Oregon and UCLA to gain a share of its second Pac-12 title in four years.

The Bears’ loss to Stanford seemed to end the drama, even as UCLA unexpectedly lost on the road to last-place Washington State. Then Oregon fell at Colorado on Thursday, keeping the suspense alive until Saturday’s games.

Follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/CalBearsBANG.

Another domino fell Thursday night in the long-shot scenario that could allow Cal to sneak in the backdoor to get a piece of the Pac-12 title.

One night after the Bears lost 83-70 to Stanford in front of a sold-out Haas Pavilion, everyone else is doing their part on Cal’s behalf.

Oregon lost its grip on sole possession of first place, crushed 76-53 at Colorado to fall into a tie for second with UCLA. Both teams are 12-5 — one-half game ahead of the 12-6 Bears, whose regular season is over.

UCLA, of course, accomodated Cal’s needs by losing at Washington State on Wednesday.

The equation is getting a bit simpler now: If UCLA loses at Washington and Oregon loses at Utah, both on Saturday, Cal would own 33 percent of the title — and the No. 1 seed in next week’s Pac-12 tournament at Las Vegas.

Colorado (20-9, 10-7) dusted the Ducks and buoyed its own NCAA chances, despite playing without Andre Roberson, the nation’s top rebounder, sidelined by illness. Freshman Xavier Johnson responded with 22 points for CU.

Utah (12-17, 4-13), meanwhile, showed signs of life with a 72-61 win over Oregon State (13-17, 3-14). Freshman Jordan Leverage had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Utes.

Media covering Pac-12 women’s basketball honored Cal’s Lindsay Gottlieb this week as the league’s coach of the year, but the coaches themselves gave the award to Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer.

For the 13th time.

Cal and Stanford shared the Pac-12 regular-season title, each at 17-1. It was the first-ever conference crown for the Bears, a distinction the media decided gave an edge to second-year coach Gottlieb.

The coaches, who vote for the traditional all-conference team, gave the John R. Wooden Coach of the Year award to VanDerveer for the third straight season.

Stanford (28-2) earned the No. 1 into the Pac-12 tournament by virtue of its better overall record than Cal (27-2). 

Brittany Boyd, Gennifer Brandon and Layshia Clarenden of Cal were picked to the all-conference first team, as they were in the media vote. Eliza Pierre and Clarendon also were named to the all-defensive team.

Winners of seven in a row and eight of nine, the Golden Bears seemingly have played their way off the NCAA bubble.

ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi has Cal projected as a No. 9 seed in his latest tournament bracket. That’s a far cry for barely a week ago, when the Bears were projected to play in one of the “First Four” games at Dayton, Ohio, with a chance to secure a No. 12 seed.

My read: The Bears probably can afford to lose Wednesday to Stanford and maybe even their quarterfinal Pac-12 tournament game and still get in. They probably wouldn’t feel comfortable waiting for Selection Sunday under those cicumstances, but I think they’re on that much more solid ground now.

Lunardi has Cal facing North Carolina State in Philadelphia, with the winner advancing to a potential matchup with No. 1 seed Georgetown.

Five Pac-12 teams are part of Lunardi’s latest bracket, led by Arizona, which he envisions as a No. 5 seed even though the Wildcats have slipped to fourth place in the conference standings. Lunardi predicts a first-round matchup in San Jose against La Salle.

Oregon is seeded No. 6, UCLA No. 7 and Colorado No. 11. The Bruins would square off against No. 10 Saint Mary’s at Lexington, Ky., according to Lunardi.

The four No. 1 seeds: Georgetown, Gonzaga, Indiana and Kansas.

Here is Lunardi’s latest full bracket.

On the heels of an historic season, Cal women’s basketball coach Lindsay Gottlieb was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year and three Bears players were selected to the all-conference first team.

Brittany Boyd, Gennifer Brandon and Layshia Clarendon all were named to the all-Pac-12 squad while Boyd and Eliza Pierre were voted onto the All-Defensive Team.

Cal’s women earned a share of their first-ever conference title this season, posting a 17-1 league record. The Bears are 27-2 overall headed into the Pac-12 tournament. Both win totals are records in the 39-year history of the sport at Cal.

Brandon and Clarendon were repeat all-conference selections.

Boyd, a sophomore, averaged 12.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.8 steals per game.

Brandon, a Wade Watch Trophy and Ann Meyers Drysdale Award candidate, averages 12.4 points and 11.0 rebounds.

Clarendon, a Wade Watch Trophy candidate, Naismith Award candidate and a Senior CLASS Award finalist, leads California with 15.9 points per game – a mark she has increased to 17.6 in conference play. 

Stanford junior Chiney Ogwumike was named Pac-12 Player of the Week and Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week.

The Pac-12 women’s awards are chosen by the media.

Cal’s seven-game win streak has translated into a No. 42 spot in the latest computer rankings, according to RealTimeRPI.com.

The Bears were sitting at No. 46 headed into Saturday’s game against Colorado. Their 62-46 win dropped the Buffaloes six spots to No. 28.

Arizona remains the highest-rated Pac-12 team at No. 13, despite its loss Saturday at UCLA, which has moved up to No. 31.

Stanford, which plays Utah on Sunday, then visits Cal on Wednesday, is No. 71.

West Coast Conference runnerup Saint Mary’s is No. 38.

Click here for all the rankings.