The California Golden Bears are in the NCAA Tournament, but on Wednesday they felt right at home at Haas Pavilion as they practiced for their Thursday second round matchup with UNLV, which will go down at 7:27 PM just 50 miles down the interstate from their home arena.
Cal enters the game with just a 20-11 record, but the team gets a chance to play in front of some home supporters in California despite the fact that they are seeded at 12 and the Rebels are seeded fifth. The Bears have used the location to their advantage, keeping their same practice routine as well as sending some players to class while others in the postseason are able to slack off.
"Just in a better mind frame," Montgomery said. "You have more time to kind of sort things out."
The Bears are happy to be on the West coast, as the last time they played in the Pacific time zone was in 1960, according to the AP. The Bears will have a tough test against UNLV, as th3e team is 25-9 and looked strong while closing the season with wins in seven of their final nine games.
"We understand the inherent advantage of playing 45 to 50 miles away from Berkeley's campus, and certainly Cal fans will have access to the arena from the proximity standpoint," UNLV coach Dave Rice said. "One of the great traditions of UNLV Runnin' Rebel basketball is in the NCAA tournament we travel extremely well. So we're excited that our fans have access to the game. And certainly we're excited about the opportunity we have. No doubt there will be a lot of Cal fans, but I think we'll be well represented as well."
Cal looked hot towards the end of the season after winning seven games in a row before dropping the finale to Stanford and the team also had to deal with waiting for a bid to the tournament after dropping out of the Pac-12 tournament. Cal and UNLV last played in December and saw the Bears fall to the Rebels 76-75 after a last second shot.
The Bears will want to play better than they did in the first meeting, as the team gave 13 turnovers and shot just 43 percent. UNLV is in the tournament for the sixth time in the past seven years and the fourth year in a row, while Cal will be looking to rebound from last year's 65-54 loss to South Florida in one of the "First Four" play-in games. Cal also lost in the second round to Duke in 2010 and lost in the first round by Maryland the year before.
The winner of the game will next play Syracuse or Montana on Saturday. Cal is ranked 167th in scoring and 58th in rebounding, while UNLV is ranked sixth in rebounding and ninth in assists while scoring over 70 points per game.
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