SAN FRANCISCO — After powering Cal to an upset of No. 25 USC Sunday evening, sophomore forward Ivan Rabb earned the first Pac-12 Player of the Week honors of his career, the league announced Monday.
With Cal down 73-72 in the waning seconds of the USC game, Rabb hit both of his free throws to give the Bears a 74-73 edge. The Trojans began mounting their comeback with 5.2 seconds on the clock and as Jordan McLaughlin went up for the final shot with one second remaining, Rabb blocked the shot. It was one of two blocks he logged after picking up four fouls, earning his fourth foul at 9:44 of the second half.
Rabb finished the game with 17 points and eight rebounds to go along with two assists, two blocks and three steals in Cal’s first true road win over a Top 25 opponent since Feb. 21, 2013.
In Thursday's matchup with No. 4 UCLA, Rabb helped the Bears pull within five points of the Bruins late in the second half, using a 17-point, 20-rebound outing. Rabb's career-high 20 rebounds made him the first Golden Bear to log 20 rebounds since Leon Powe's 20 vs. USC on March 9, 2006, and is the highest total in Pac-12 action this year.
Rabb led his teammates by averaging a double-double with 17.0 points per game and 14.0 rebounds per game this weekend, and also led the Bears in steals (4).
Cal returns to action at Haas Pavilion this weekend, hosting Washington on Thursday at 6 p.m. and Washington State on Saturday at 1 p.m.
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