No. 4 CALIFORNIA VS. No. 5 OREGON

Season results: California 13-14 overall, 9-9 in Pac-10; Oregon 14-11, 9-9 in Pac-10. They split their regular-season meetings: The Ducks won, 68-56, in Eugene, and the Golden Bears won, 85-81, in overtime in Berkeley.

How they match up: Perhaps the most evenly matched game of the tournament, but then again, what do you expect of a 4-5 game between a pair of 9-9 teams? Both can play fastbreak basketball as well as slow-it-down, half-court sets and fire away from beyond the arc. The Ducks, though, are slightly more athletic than the Golden Bears.

*--* STARTERS California Ht Wt Stat Pos Oregon Ht Wt Stat Leon Powe 6-8 245 9.5 RPG F Ian Crosswhite 6-11 250 5.2 RPG Marquise 6-5 220 53.7% FG F Luke Jackson 6-7 215 21.6 PPG Kately Amit Tamir 6-10 260 12.2 PPG C Matt Short 7-0 235 1.5 RPG Ayinde Ubaka 6-2 200 3.9 APG G Aaron Brooks 6-0 160 2.6 APG Richard 6-2 200 36% 3PT G Andre Joseph 6-3 185 42.2% 3PT Midgley KEY RESERVES Dominic 6-7 205 3.4 RPG James Davis, G 5-10 175 42.2% 3PT McGuire, F A. J. Diggs, G 5-10 175 36 Steals Mitch Platt, F 6-10 270 50.9% FG Conor 6-6 230 73.3% FT Brandon 6-4 200 3.6 PPG Famulener, F Lincoln, G

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Keys to the game: In a break from recent tradition, both schools need to win the Pac-10 tournament to get into the NCAA tournament. If Cal’s big men control the boards, the Bears will advance to the semifinals. Oregon’s prospects, meanwhile, rest with the creative Luke Jackson and the Ducks’ flock of three-point shooting specialists.

Paul Gutierrez