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Pac-10 Tournament: Cal Knocks Off Washington
Ryan Anderson scored 22 for Cal as they got past Washington in the opening round of Pac-10 Tournament play. (AP Images)
Live to play another day.
Such is the mantra of the Cal Golden Bears as they try to advance as far as possible in the Pac-10 postseason tournament. On Wednesday night, they did just that.
Paced by 25 points from Patrick Christopher and 22 from Pac-10 leading scorer Ryan Anderson, the Golden Bears gained a little momentum for their slim NCAA Tournament hopes with an 84-81 win over Washington.
The win now sets up an intriguing Cal-UCLA matchup, just a few days after the Bruins escaped an upset in a controversy-filled 81-80 win on Josh Shipp's was-it-over-the-backboard rainbow jumper with 1.5 seconds left. You can read more about the recent run of UCLA good luck in Bodog Nation.
The win now moves Cal to 16-14 on the season. If the Golden Bears have any shot at March Madness, they'll need to win out in the Pac-10 tournament and gain an automatic berth. While the task seems tall, they are buoyed on by that narrow loss to UCLA and the confidence gained against Washington tonight. The Bears outrebounded the Huskies 43-34 and held UW to just 45 percent shooting from the field.
Cal game into the contest as -2.5 point favorites and narrowly escaped with a win against the spread. The final combined score went well above the posted total of 153 in the Bodog Sportsbook.