Mike Montgomery spent 18 years at Stanford, where “Cal” is a four-letter word. Now look at him. In one year, he has lifted the Golden Bears from the depths of the Pac-10 past his old school and into the No. 7 seed in the West Regional.
Montgomery, 62, came to Berkeley after sitting out two years in which he did television work, including some games on California’s TV package. Now Stanford fans are reminded why they hate him so much for ditching them for the Golden State Warriors’ job in 2004.
California went from 17-16 overall and 6-12 in the Pac-10 under Ben Braun to 22-10 and 11-7. Picked eighth, the Montgomery-coached Bears tied for third.
While he lifted Stanford to new heights with new heights in post players, Cal thrives on the 3-pointer. Cal leads the nation (.434) with Jerome Randle setting a school record with 80 on .468 shooting.
“This is fun,” Montgomery said in January before mockingly adding, “No. All those years when we walked it up and kept the game in the 30s, that was fun.”
Favorite: Memphis
Did you see what Memphis did last year in steamrolling its way to the national title game? This year’s edition is almost as good and in some ways better. It’s not as explosive as a year ago when it had Derrick Rose, Chris Douglas-Roberts and Joey Dorsey, all now in the NBA. However, the Tigers are better defensively. They did a number on Gonzaga’s talented backcourt on the road. And their foul shooting, which killed them in their title game loss to Kansas, has improved from .614 to .696.
Sleeper: Mississippi State
A sleeper is a team that comes out of nowhere to get on a roll based on defense, not by getting hot for a week. Mississippi State fits the bill. It has won six in a row, including the SEC Tournament title, to move off the bubble and into a No. 13 seed against Washington. The Huskies haven’t faced anyone in the Pac-10 like Jarvis Varnado. The 6-foot-9 junior tied Shaquille O’Neal’s 1991-92 SEC record of 157 blocks a year ago and topped it this season with 165. The Bulldogs are second in the SEC in shooting defense at .392 and held Tennessee to 29 percent Sunday.
Upset alert: Utah St. over Marquette
It’s not only because Utah State will be the only one of eight schools in Boise with a home- crowd advantage. Marquette does not have the pedigree for a long run and is ripe for an upset. The Warriors have very little inside scoring presence, and since losing star guard Dominic James on Feb. 25, they’ve lost five of their last six, although all against NCAA Tournament teams. Utah State has twin forces inside in 6-9 Gary Wilkinson (17.1) and 6-7 Tai Wesley (11.4). The Aggies went 30-4 and won their first outright WAC title, and the tournament title.
Bracket breakdown
This shapes up as probably the toughest regional. Not only do you have a Memphis team many feel is the best in the country but also the Pac-10 regular-season champ in Washington playing three hours away in Portland and the Big 12 Tournament champ in Missouri. Oh, yes. When Connecticut won national titles in 1999 and 2004, the Huskies came out of the West.
The Post’s pick: Memphis. The Tigers’ lousy conference didn’t hurt them last year, and they’re healthy, hungry and angry.
