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Montgomery visits old team as California aims to keep rolling

Jan 17, 2009 - 11:18 AM No. 23 California (15-2) at Stanford (11-3), 8:00 p.m. EST

PALO ALTO, California (Ticker) -- The fans at Stanford will see a familiar face on the California sidelines. His impact is also something the school has seen before.

California coach Mike Montgomery will try and guide the 23rd-ranked Golden Bears to their 10th straight win when they visit the Cardinal in a Pac-10 Conference matchup on Saturday.

Montgomery roamed the Stanford sidelines for 18 seasons before taking the head coaching job with the Golden State Warriors in 2004, compiling a 393-167 record and a Final Four appearance in 1998.

After two seasons with the Warriors, Montgomery assisted Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby before taking the California job in April. Montgomery's appearance has coincided with a sudden turnaround by the program.

Despite losing the conference's leading scorer in Ryan Anderson to the New Jersey Nets, the Bears (15-2, 4-0 Pac-10) are off to their best start since the 1959-60 season when they finished 28-2 and were the national runner-up.

Jerome Randle is scoring 19.1 points per game and Patrick Christopher is averaging 16.1 for California, which is coming off a triple-overtime 88-85 triumph at Washington on January 10.

Under first-year coach Johnny Dawkins, Stanford (11-3, 1-3) won its first 10 games but has struggled in Pac-10 play. The team lost at Washington and Washington State by one point in each game last week.

Anthony Goods is averaging 17.1 points per game to lead the Cardinal, who won both meetings with the Bears last season.

It is the first time California has been ranked since the 2002-03 season.