BearTalk

The Pac-10 announced starting times for basketball games that will be produced by FSN. Cal games involved will be carried by CSNBA or CSNCA.

Here they are:

– Dec. 4: Cal at Iowa State, 11 a.m.

– Dec. 22: Kansas at Cal, 8 p.m.

– Jan. 6: Cal at Arizona, 7:30 p.m.

– Jan. 8: Cal at Arizona State, 11:30 a.m.

– Jan. 16: Washington at Cal, 7 p.m.

– Jan. 27: Oregon State at Cal, 8 p.m.

– Feb. 20: UCLA at Cal, 7 p.m.

I was out of town when the Bears announced their schedule, so I thought I’d take a quick, early look at how the non-conference games shape up.

Here goes:

– Nov. 16 vs. Cal State Northridge: The Matadors were 11-21 last season and return senior forward Lenny Daniel (11.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg) along with McClymonds HS grad Vinnie McGhee, a junior guard and one-time Big Sky Freshman of the Year at Sac State. Should be a painless debut for Cal’s freshmen-laden squad.

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Check out our stories this morning on the Pac-10′s difficult task of determining divisional alignment when expansion arrives. The stakes are high in football, where two divisions are necessary for the league to stage a championship game. Divisions may not be necessary in basketballl and other sports, but scheduling will be just as difficult.

Pac-10 athletic directors and commissioner Larry Scott will gather in Los Angeles on Friday to begin the process.

Cal will visit Iowa State on Saturday, Dec. 4 as part of the fourth Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series. Tipoff times and television information will be announced later.

The Bears Iowa State 82-63 in Berkeley this past season, and are 2-1 in the Hardwood Series.

The Cyclones will be coached next season by first-year coach Fred Hoiberg, an Ames, Iowa native who was so popular during his playing days at ISU that he was known as “The Mayor.”

Iowa State was 15-17 last season and loses its two best players. Junior PF Craig Brackins (16.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg) declared for the NBA draft and SF Marquis Gilstrap (14.9 ppg) had his appeal for an extra year of eligibility denied by the NCAA. Three other players, including starting center Justin Hamilton, have announced plans to transfer. 

The Big 12 fashioned a 9-3 record in the series last year and has a three-year record of 20-16 against the Pac-10.

Here’s the full Big 12/Pac-10 schedule:

Cal’s 2010-11 non-conference home schedule will be highlighted by a Dec. 22 visit from Kansas (33-3 this season), along with games against New Mexico (30-5), San Diego State (25-9) and Southern Miss (20-14).

Kansas, the 2009 (oops, thanks Guavaman!) 2008 national champion, will be without departing senior point guard Sherron Collins, along with star center Cole Aldrich, who announced today he will forgo his senior season to enter the NBA draft. Kansas freshman Xavier Henry also could decide to opt for the NBA.

New Orleans (8-22) is expected to be Cal’s season-opening opponent, although a date has not been set. Other visiting teams will be UC Davis (14-18) and Cal Poly (12-19).

Southern Miss will particiate in the Golden Bear Classic, along with two teams yet to be determined.

The Bears’ only non-conference road trips will be against Iowa State (15-17) in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series, and in the Old Spice Challenge, Nov. 25-26-28 at the Milk House at Disney Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla. Also participating in the event will be Boston College (15-16), Georgia (14-17), Manhattan (11-20), Notre Dame (23-12), Temple (29-6), Texas A&M (24-10) and Wisconsin (24-9). Matchups have not been determined.

Stanford’s opening-round game of the Pac-10 tournament against Arizona State on Thursday has been moved from the late slot to a 6:18 p.m. tipoff at the Staples Center. Click here for the details.

LOCAL HEROES

Sophomore guard Damian Lillard (Oakland HS), named Player of the Year in the Big Sky Conference last week,  had 23 points, five rebounds and four assists, leading Weber State (20-9) to a 69-60 win over Portland State in the semifinals of the league tournament . . . Lillard will face former OAL rival Will Cherry (Oakland-McClymonds HS) and Montana in the final. Cherry contributed 10 points and four assists to the Grizzlies’ 68-63 win over Northern Colorado.

For anyone who hasn’t yet heard — and doesn’t have a ticket for Cal’s March 6 game against Stanford at Maples Pavilion – the contest will tip off at 3 p.m. and will be televised locally on CSN Bay Area. The game will be the Pac-10 regular-season finale for both teams.

Fox Sports Net will broadcast the game nationally.

For those who want a heavy dose of the Cal-Stanford rivalry that day, the women’s game at 12:30 p.m. at Haas Pavilion also will be aired on CSNBA.

That means the rest of Cal’s games this season will be on TV. Thursday’s home game vs. Arizona begins at 6 p.m. on ESPN and Saturday’s regular-season home finale goes at noon on CSNBA.

The Bears have released their TV schedule with game times for Pac-10 play, although not every game time has been determined.

The biggest news is Cal will play a series of midday Pac-10 games on Saturdays, including home games on Jan. 23 against Oregon State (11 a.m.) and Feb. 6 against UCLA (1 p.m.). CBS will televise both of those.

Here is Cal’s official news release on the subject as well as its updated schedule with game times that have been settled.

The Gazelle Group, which sponsors the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament, has announced game times for its early-round schedule. Cal’s home games on Monday, Nov. 9 against Murray State and Wednesday, Nov. 11 against Detroit both will be played at 8 p.m.

Here’s the full schedule (times are EST): 

The Dec. 22 non-conference game between California and Kansas at Allen
Field House in Lawrence, Kan., will be televised on ESPN2 and will tip off a 6 p.m. PST.

Kansas is expected to enter the season ranked No. 1 in the nation, and the Golden Bears haven’t beaten the Jayhawks since a 65-62 victory in Kansas City, Mo., during the 1954-55 season. KU leads the series 14-3.