Cal Upset: No. 5 UNLV Falls To No. 12 Golden Bears In NCAA Tournament, 64-61

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Allen Crabbe clapped his hands toward the roaring crowd. Richard Solomon shook his hips and danced. Senior reserve Robert Thurman pumped his fist lightly, just thankful for a chance to play again.

About the only difference between Haas Pavilion and HP Pavilion turned out to be 50 miles, two letters and one monumental stage in the NCAA tournament.

Buoyed by the support of a strong contingent so close to the Berkeley campus, Crabbe had 19 points and nine rebounds, Thurman scored all 12 of his points on dunks and 12th-seeded California held off fifth-seeded UNLV 64-61 in the second round Thursday.

"I don't buy the home-court theory because there are a lot of people there that didn't buy tickets to watch us. They bought tickets to watch basketball," Cal coach Mike Montgomery said. "But I will buy the theory that it was really great to be close to home because we had preparation time."

Sure seemed that way.

The Golden Bears (21-11) held the Runnin' Rebels (25-10) without a basket for more than 11 minutes in the second half. Cal confused UNLV with 40 minutes of zone defense, which Montgomery couldn't recall employing for such a long stretch since he was at Montana from 1977-86.

The dominant defensive stretch turned a tie game into a nine-point lead. Cal withstood a late UNLV push for its first tournament win since 2010.

The Bears will play in San Jose again Saturday against No. 4 seed Syracuse, an 81-34 winner over Montana.

"That's the most we've ever played zone this year," said Crabbe, the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year. "We took them out of their rhythm."

The Rebels rallied to within a point in the final seconds before missed free throws and a costly inbounds pass sealed the loss.

Bryce Dejean-Jones scored 15 points and freshman NBA prospect Anthony Bennett shook off a poor start to finish with 15 points and 10 rebounds for UNLV, which beat Cal 76-75 in Berkeley on Dec. 9. Despite being the higher seed, the selection committee placed the Rebels in the heart of Cal's alumni base in technology-rich Silicon Valley.

Rebels fans filled up about two sections, and the rest of the red-and-black faithful was sprinkled around the blue-and-gold-clad crowd. Cal's contingent let its presence be known, roaring to its feet at every chance.

UNLV coach Dave Rice refused to use the location as an excuse. Instead, another early exit in the tournament provided enough to grumble about.

"We're bitterly disappointed," he said.

Justin Cobbs added 13 points and five rebounds, and Richard Solomon had 11 points and seven rebounds while playing with the kind of heart and hustle Montgomery has long preached. Cal outshot the Rebels 44 to 32 percent.

The Bears started the second half just the way they did the first – pushing the pace, swarming around in that zone defense and swishing shots with ease to go ahead 37-31 on a 3-pointer by Cobbs.

After the Rebels scored six straight, Cobbs and Crabbe carried Cal's 8-0 spurt to go up 45-37, with both guards converting layups through traffic. Bennett made three free throws after getting fouled by Crabbe before Cobbs answered with another 3-pointer, getting a hard pat on his backside by Crabbe from the bench.

The Rebels then missed 16 shots in a row from the field until Mike Moser – who was hurt early in the first matchup – put back a rebound with 5:16 remaining. The tip ended a drought of 11:14 without a basket, and perhaps even more stunning was that Cal only led 52-46.

"I feel terrible," Bennett said. "I wanted to go far into this tournament. Things didn't work out for us."

Thurman alone almost topped UNLV's output after halftime. The senior, who had 12 points over his previous five games, had almost as many field goals (five) in the second half as the entire Rebels team (eight).

The 6-foot-10 forward finished all of his baskets for dunks and bullied Bennett – a projected lottery pick in the NBA draft – on both ends for all but the final few minutes.

"I just got really lucky because Justin and Allen really penetrated well," said Thurman, a perfect 6 for 6 from the floor. "And I did what most big guys are supposed to do."

By the time Thurman's last dunk went through, all UNLV could do was prolong the game with fouls.

The Bears broke down and gave up five straight points, including a three-point play that started when Bennett outmuscled Crabbe for a layup to slice Cal's cushion to 60-58 with 14.4 seconds remaining.

Cobbs and UNLV's Anthony Marshall each went 1 for 2 on free throws before Marshall hit a pair to trim Cal's lead to 62-61. The Rebels missed a chance to foul Cobbs and let precious seconds tick away before wrapping up Crabbe with 1.6 seconds remaining.

Crabbe made both shots, then Solomon intercepted a desperation inbounds pass near midcourt to seal the game for good.

Cal became the second 12th-seeded Pac-12 team to win in San Jose. Earlier in the day, conference tournament champion Oregon beat fifth-seeded Oklahoma State 68-55 in a second-round game in the Midwest Region.

"Shows you that our conference is tough," Cobbs said. "It's tough from top to bottom. Teams are playing well right now. So all the bad press we were getting before maybe wasn't true."

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Marc Trestman, Bears' New Coach, Eager To Work With Jay Cutler

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Marc Trestman had it all mapped out, right up to the Chicago Bears' championship parade. It was there on the calendar.

In his first interview for their head coaching job, he had every day for the next 13 months filled in, detailing step by step how the Bears would get to the Super Bowl.

"He had every day accounted for, every time slot accounted for, every meeting accounted for," general manager Phil Emery said.

"Not only that, but he had included the provisions of our (collective bargaining agreement) in the states, which takes a nuclear scientist to figure out exactly what you can do. He had called so many people, his friends in the league, he knew all the parameters of the CBA."

Now that he's been hired, Trestman can implement his plan.

He said the Bears' job is one of the best in sports and he can't wait to work with quarterback Jay Cutler.

"This is clearly a franchise that has the highest expectations for its team, where winning consistently is a standard," Trestman said Thursday at his introductory news conference.

He wasn't trying to be presumptuous or make any championship guarantees with that calendar. He was simply trying to make a point.

"It's a symbolic word, but the goal is the parade, right?" Trestman said. "How are we going to get there? If you don't know where you're going, how can you plan how to get there? That was my point to Phil. We have to fill in each day because they're all important to getting to that point."

He sees a big opportunity in working with Cutler, a strong-armed and mobile quarterback whose talent has never been in question even as the results haven't always reflected that.

"I can't wait to get my hands on him," he said.

Getting the most out of Cutler would go a long way toward invigorating a stagnant offense and getting the Bears to the playoffs on a consistent basis after they missed the postseason for the fifth time in six years. Those issues led to Lovie Smith's firing, and the Bears turned to Trestman this week after an extensive search.

He spent the past five seasons coaching the CFL's Montreal Alouettes, leading them to two championships, and was a longtime NFL assistant who was known for his work with quarterbacks.

"Marc has a quietness to him, a quiet confidence, high level of intellect, those are attractive qualities," Emery said. "The thing that was most remarkable that came out of his interviews and when discussing to people who Marc is was there is a heck of a football coach under all that quietness and confidence and intellect.

"Do not underestimate Marc Trestman as a competitor. He's as tough-minded and football-oriented than anybody I've been around in 31 years in this game."

Emery confirmed Trestman beat out offensive coordinators Bruce Arians of Indianapolis and Seattle's Darrell Bevell for the job. All three were brought back for second interviews, and Bevell was the first eliminated from that group because he lacked head coaching experience.

Emery cited Trestman's flexibility and success at various stops in the NFL and CFL.

He was an offensive coordinator with Cleveland, San Francisco, Arizona and Oakland. He worked with Bernie Kosar as an assistant at the University of Miami and again when he was on the Browns' staff in the 1980s. Trestman helped the Raiders reach the Super Bowl at the end of the 2002 season with an offense he geared for Rich Gannon, the league's MVP that year.

One of Trestman's most immediate tasks will be to build a connection with Cutler. They actually spent time together for a few days in North Carolina when the quarterback was coming out of Vanderbilt in 2006.

Trestman, who in recent years worked as an NFL consultant and helped QBs entering the league, was asked about that.

"I had the chance to meet with Jay 10 years ago in a hotel room in Raleigh, N.C.," he said. "It was raining. We had no facility, we had no receivers. So we basically sat in a room for two days and stared at each other. It was a difficult environment to try to get the most out of somebody. When I sat with him, I found out he had some very core capabilities. He was tough, he was smart, and he loved football. I had the opportunity to meet with him a couple days ago. He's a different guy. He's in tune to where he is and where he wants to go."

Does he see Cutler as a franchise quarterback? Trestman sidestepped the question.

He said Cutler "loves football" and "wants to do everything he can to help this franchise." He added they'll work with a "sense of urgency to get him to be the guy that he wants to be and we want him to be." But he did not use that term – franchise quarterback.

"He wants Jay to earn that in his eyes," said Emery, who has called Cutler a franchise QB. "That's OK, I'm good with that."

Cutler has one year left on his contract, and the Bears have to decide if he can lead them to the top. Since he arrived in Chicago in 2009, he's taken a beating behind a struggling offensive line and lacked a go-to receiver until Brandon Marshall arrived this season.

He'll also be working in his fourth system with the Bears, with Trestman calling the plays and Aaron Kromer hired from New Orleans to replace Mike Tice as offensive coordinator and serve as line coach.

The Bears also brought in Joe DeCamillis from Dallas to replace Dave Toub as special teams coordinator. Now, they're looking for a new defensive coordinator to replace Rod Marinelli after he decided not to return.

They also announced Thursday night that they were letting Tice, Bob Babich (linebackers), Jeremy Bates (quarterbacks), Mike DeBord (tight ends), Darryl Drake (receivers), Tim Holt (offensive line) and Tim Spencer (running backs) go.

On defense, it's not clear if the Bears will switch from the 4-3 to the 3-4 formation. Trestman is open to change, but he also realizes the Bears' defense ranked among the league's best this past season.

"They have excellent football players and they've been well-coached," Trestman said. "I don't know the personnel on our football team right now. So to answer the question is premature. If you ask me 3-4 months from now, I'll be in a much better position to answer that question."

Another issue on defense: Brian Urlacher's future. The eight-time Pro Bowl linebacker has an expiring contract and missed the last four games with a hamstring injury after being limited by a knee problem.

"This guy's been a great player for this team," Trestman said. "I recognize, certainly, what he's meant to this locker room and to the fan base of Chicago. When we get done here, we'll begin to try to answer some of those questions."

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