Wednesday, March 12th, 9:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Staples Center (18,997) -- Los Angeles, California. Television: FSN. Home Record: Cal 10-8, Washington 12-6. Away Record: Cal 5-6, Washington 4-7. Neutral Record: Cal 0-0, Washington 0-2. Conference Record: Cal 6-12, Washington 7-11. Series Record: Washington leads, 74-72.

GAME NOTES: The Pac-10 Tournament kicks off tonight, as the ninth-seeded California Golden Bears duel with the eighth-seeded Washington Huskies in the opening round at the Staples Center. The winner of this bout will move on to face top-seeded UCLA in the quarterfinals on Thursday. The Bears struggled down the stretch, losing their last five games and seven of eight overall. With the slide, Cal saw its fast start disappear, as it finished with the second worst record in the league at 6-12. As the eighth-seed last season, the Bears made a run to the semifinals of this event, where they have gone 8-10 all-time. On the flip side of things, Washington suffered defeats in three of its last four outings to stumble to 7-11 mark in conference play. The Huskies, though, have had success in this event, reaching the title game three times and winning their lone championship in 2005. Washington and Cal split a pair of meetings during the regular season, leaving the Huskies with a 74-72 edge in the head-to-head series.

At the offensive end of the court is where the Bears have thrived this season, producing a hardy 77.5 ppg on 46.9 percent shooting from the field. Ryan Anderson is a big time talent and the first-team All-Pac-10 selection not only leads Cal in scoring, but the entire league with a 21.5 ppg average. The versatile Anderson is also pulling down 9.9 rpg to pace the Bears and rank third in the conference, and he has shown his range by draining 41.0 percent of his long-distance attempts. Patrick Christopher gives Cal a solid second option at 15.7 ppg and he is converting 79.6 percent of the time at the foul line. Jerome Randle chips in with 11.9 ppg and he has been in charge of running the offense, dishing out a team-high 3.9 apg.

The Huskies have done a respectable job on offense this season, as they are scoring 73.0 ppg on 45.3 percent shooting from the field. At the foul line however, Washington has had some issues, making a dismal 58.8 percent of its opportunities. The team, though, has been able to compensate for some of those free-throw shooting woes by outrebounding its foes by 6.7 rpg. One of the reasons for the success on the boards is Jon Brockman, who leads the league with an average of 11.5 rpg. The second-team all-league selection also tops the squad in scoring at 17.6 ppg, although he is shooting a miserable 52.0 percent at the foul line. Ryan Appleby connects on 39.3 percent of his three- point attempts and he is the only other player on the team averaging in double digits at the moment, with 11.5 ppg.

The Bears possess a few more weapons than Washington and that should help them outlast the Huskies for the victory in this one.

Predicted Outcome

California 82, Washington 76