BearTalk

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.

A humorous moment after Cal’s win over Colorado on Saturday afternoon:

Coach Mike Montgomery was asked if he planned to tune in to the Arizona-UCLA game on TV a bit later.

“There are only two games that mean anything to me right now — our game against Stanford and Oregon’s game at Colorado,” he said.

Oops.

It slipped Monty’s mind that UCLA also sits one game ahead of the Bears in the loss column of the Pac-12 standings, not just Oregon.

Cal got no help Saturday evening from Arizona, which lost 74-69 at UCLA. That pushed the Bruins into a tie for first with the Ducks at 12-4.

Cal now resides alone in third place at 12-5. Arizona has slipped to fourth at 11-6.

The Bears have clinched a top-four finish, which is big because it means they won’t have to begin play in the Pac-12 tournament until the quarterfinal round on Thursday, March 14 in Las Vegas.

Cal still can earn a piece of its second conference crown in four years if the right pieces fall into place. In a nutshell, Cal must win its finale and the other two each need to lose once for the Bears to get a share of the title. 

So which games will Montgomery — and all Cal fans — be watching this week as the regular-season conference schedule ends?

– CAL: It starts — and could finish — with the Bears’ home finale on Wednesday against rival Stanford. Tipoff is 8 p.m. and the game will be aired on ESPN2. Stanford beat the Bears 69-59 back on Jan. 19, before Cal began its torrid streak of nine wins in 10 games. If the Bears can avenge that loss, they’ve done their part.

– OREGON: Has two road games left, and Thursday’s trip to Colorado provides Cal fans with their best hope the Ducks will lose. UO treks to 10th-place Utah on Saturday. CU is 11-2 at its mile-high home, although motivation could be less now that it no longer can climb into a top-4 finish.

– UCLA: Also hits the road, for games Wednesday at Washington State and Saturday morning at Washington. Can’t imagine the Bruins stumbling against the last-place Cougars, but an 11 a.m. tip against the erratic but still-capable Huskies could be a stumbling block. 

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Here’s one we could all see a mile away: UCLA coach Ben Howland said after Saturday night’s win over Arizona that star freshman Shabazz Muhammad will leave school after this season to enter the NBA.

Even Howland says he knew it was coming from the start.

“I’m very much a realist now,” Howland said. “I knew going into this deal that this was a one-year deal, and it should be. He’s a lottery pick. He’s a top-five pick. When you have that going for you, it is absolutely the right thing.”

Question is: Will freshmen Kyle Anderson and/or Jordan Adams decide to follow Muhammad to the pros?

Click here for the full story.

UCLA avenged an earlier loss to its cross-town rival with a 75-59 thumping of USC at the Galen Center to move into third place in the Pac-12 standings with a 10-4 record. Arizona and Oregon share first at 11-4.

Cal remains alone in fourth at 10-5.

Freshman Jordan Adams scored 20 points for the Bruins.

Two weeks ago this morning, as the Bears prepared to play at Arizona, they were sitting at No. 75 in the RPI computer rankings.

This morning, having won five in a row since then, they are No. 40.

Cal has three regular-season games remaining, all at home:

   — Thursday vs. RPI 177 Utah

   — Saturday vs. RPI 29 Colorado

   — Wednesday, March 6 vs. RPI 67 Stanford

Cal could lose any of these, but also could sweep. They probably need two to assure themselves of an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament.

They’d do themselves a big favor by making it the next two — Utah and Colorado.

Not sure which one of these is more surprising/impressive:

– ESPN.com’s Jason King has moved Cal to the top of his weekly Pac-12 power ratings.

– ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi is projecting six (6!) Pac-12 teams into the NCAA tournament field: Cal, Arizona, ASU, Colorado, Oregon and UCLA. He still envisions the Bears playing in the play-in first-round game at Dayton, Ohio, matched against Ole Miss in a battle for the No. 12 seed headed to Kansas City.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who debuted at Cal in 1995-96 by scoring 33, 29 and 32 points in his first three games, has been chosen to the Pac-12 Hall of Honor.

Abdur-Rahim and 11 other former players and coaches from the league’s 12 schools will be honored in ceremonies at halftime of the March 16 championship game of the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas.

I’ve covered a lot of Cal hoops over the years and Abdur-Rahim, without question, was the most ready-made scorer ever to arrive on the Berkeley campus. Better than Lamond Murray, who was very good. Better than Ryan Anderson. Better than anyone.

He led the Pac-12 in scoring at 21.1 points per game and was the first freshman named conference player of the year. After just one season at Cal, he went onto a sucessful career in the NBA, played in the 2000 Olympics and now serves as an excecutive with the Sacramento Kings.

Aside from Jason Kidd, Abdur-Rahim was the best player I’ve ever seen at Cal. Were these the old days and he had to stick around for four years, the guy would have scored 3,000 career points. No doubt.

Previously Cal players and coaches named to the Hall of Honor: Pete Newell (2002), Kevin Johnson (2003), Jason Kidd (2004), Darrall Imhoff (2005), Andy Wolfe (2006), Russ Critchfield (2007), Charles Johnson (2008), Nibs Price (2009), Earl Robinson (2010), Bob McKeen (2011) and Lamond Murray (2012).

Also set to be inducted this year: Jason Gardner (Arizona), Dennis Hamilton (Arizona State),  Cliff Meely (Colorado), Chuck Rask (Oregon), Charlie Sitton (Oregon State), Ron Tomsic (Stanford), Lucius Allen (UCLA), Forrest Twogood (USC), Keith Van Horn (Utah), Nate Robinson (Washington) and James McKean (Washington State).

Click here for the full Pac-12 release.

Maybe a Cal win at Stanford on Saturday will impress ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi, whose latest projected NCAA tournament bracket has the Cardinal as his fifth alternate for the field but leaves the Bears out of the discussion.

Lunardi projects four Pac-12 teams in his latest NCAA field.

Saint Mary’s is listed as the fourth team in the “first four out,” and Stanford is first among the “next four out.”

Arizona is seeded No. 2, UCLA and Oregon both No. 7, and Colorado No. 8.

Click here to see Lunardi’s latest edition of Bracketology.

Former Cal offensive coordinator and O-line coach Jim Michalczik was hired as offensive line coach by Arizona.

Here’s the story, courtesy of the Tucson Citizen.

Oregon State sophomore forward Eric Moreland, the Pac-12′s second-leading rebounder, will be sidelined again Saturday when the Beavers face No. 4 Arizona, suspended for a second straight game for violation of team rules.

Moreland sat out the Beavers’ 72-62 loss to Arizona State on Thursday. He was suspended immediately before the game by coach Craig Robinson, who gave no details on the reason for the punishment.

Moreland averages 10.8 points and 11.1 rebounds.

Also suspended for both games this weekend, for unrelated reasons, was freshman reserve Victor Robbins.

Robinson said he expects both players to eventually rejoin the team.