Big win yesterday. But we have an even bigger game tomorrow. Cal is on its Sherman's March To The Sea now. We need to destroy everybody in our sights to ensure a Pac-12 championship. Due to the Pac-12 schedule, we only face UW once. We are currently tied with them for first in the standings with a few other teams on our heels. So, unfortunately, we are not totally in control of our own destiny. Nobody really is in the Pac-12. But if we win and win and win and win, we'll get, at least, a share of the Pac-12 championship. But who wants that when we could have more!

Tomorrow, we have another test on our road to the championship (hopefully??), the UCLA Bruins. UCLA is the MBB blue blood in the Pac, but they have fallen upon hard times. At 7-5, they are currently in the middle of the Pac. However, only a few games separate the top from the middle in this conference, so with just a few wins, UCLA could find itself back on top. They are a dangerous team and I, for one, AM VERY SCARED RIGHT NOW!

To find out more, we spoke with DC Bruins (not to be confused with DC Trojan or DCBlue) from Bruins Nation about the game. Bruins Nation has the info we need to know about UCLA sports. Many thanks to DC Bruins. Check out his answers to our questions after the jump. GO BEARS!

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ESPN's Graham Hays has been counting down the top-20 teams for the 2012 softball season. The Bears came in at #1, just ahead of conference rival and reigning national champion Arizona State. Will Diane Ninemire bring home another national championship this season? The journey to Oklahoma City begins today as the Bears open the season against Tennessee.

Who returns: Everybody returns. Really, everybody. For all reasonable purposes, California returns the roster that made it to the Women's College World Series for the first time since 2005 and finished two games behind Arizona State in the Pac-10, the only team in the conference to finish within six games of the eventual national champion.

Start the list with Jolene Henderson, the ace in the circle who went 40-10 with a 0.99 ERA and 333 strikeouts in 333.1 innings as a sophomore last season. Without Valerie Arioto (that's right, Cal returns its entire roster and welcomes back a player in Arioto who posted All-American numbers as both a pitcher and hitter before injuries wiped out her 2011 season), Henderson took the ball again and again in the nation's toughest conference and never wilted. There's even reason to think Henderson, who finished third on the team with six home runs at the plate but hit just .217 overall, could be even more valuable this season as her bat develops.

While some might wonder if the Bears can replicate last year's remarkable success with the same roster, Valerie Arioto's return should play a crucial role for the Bears' depth and offensive prowess.

Could Henderson really handle such a heavy workload two seasons in a row against the kind of schedule California chooses to play out of conference and has to play in conference? Could the team score enough runs to make a go of it in Oklahoma City, where it simply didn't have the bats to match up with Alabama or Florida?

What makes both questions seem far less pressing is Arioto's return. Her ability to regain the form that helped her post a .590 on-base percentage and .819 slugging percentage in 2010, walking 81 times and hitting 19 home runs in 63 games, isn't in any doubt after watching her play for Team USA this past summer and fall. Arioto went 5-for-13 with 10 walks in eight starts in the Pan-Am Games. She didn't pitch for an American side already loaded with good arms, but she threw more innings than Henderson in 2010 for Cal, finishing 21-9 with a 1.43 ERA and 264 strikeouts in 205.2 innings.

After the jump Tosh bumbles and stumbles in his first meeting with the press while both basketball teams notch a crucial win over their LA opponents.

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It sounded like an ugly start at the Galen Center. Despite having a depleted roster, the USC Trojans have one of the best defensive squads in the conference and like to slow things down to turn games into a grating and grinding affair.

With most of the starters matching the coma ward atmosphere, it was Allen Crabbe who carried the torch. He started 5/5 and kept the Bears in it despite an early 8-6 deficit, and foul trouble for Harper Kamp. Naturally, 'SC's Maurice Jones saved his hot shooting just for us. But, Crabbe continued to match him shot for shot. At the ten minute mark, Cal maintained a slight lead at 17-16.

With Smith, Behrens, and Thurman getting early run, the Trojans came alive offensively and made a run to lead 23-19. But when their do-everything oompa loompa Jones picked up his 2nd foul, Cal responded with a run of its own to retake the lead, 27-23 with three minutes to play. Although the Bears weren't shooting it well, they seized several extra possessions by pounding the offensive glass. Kravish was particularly active in using his length to tip the ball to himself or to his teammates. Bak got in late and made an impact with six quick points.

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It always feels good to beat USC.

For the first time in years, it's a season sweep over the Trojans.

Glorious! Victorious!

Revel now and get ready to beat up on the Bruins.

Go Bears!

Our sturdy Golden Bears have started the invasion of southern California. It's time to make the Galen Center Bear Territory.

Will 'sc's mighty mite, Maurice Jones, go off again?

Will we be able to see extended minutes from Murray, Rossi, and Behrens?

Will any of us be able to actually watch the action unfold?

This is your live thread. Go Bears!

Tip-off: 7:30pm

TV: None

Radio: 910KNEW

Online Streams: Please post below.

When: 7:00 PT
Audio Stream: Cal All-Access
Gametracker

I don’t get UCLA. After all of the roster carnage they have just seven healthy players left, and they didn’t look very good against a tough non-conference schedule. And yet here they are, sitting at 7-4 in conference with a viable shot at 2^nd place. How?! Well, some of it is being a bit lucky, as UCLA has won two overtime games and two other games that were one possession contests within the final minute.

But there’s no denying that the Bruins have improved as the season progressed, led by the contributions of senior Rebekah Gardner and junior Marcel Walker. The emergence of sophomore guard Thea Lemberger has been the other key to UCLA’s upswing in conference play.

Still, this just isn’t the same Nikki-Caldwell-led team that has beaten Cal seven straight times. It’s not Cori Close’s fault that the Bruins lost so many players to graduation or injury, but this is still a team that plays seven deep with four inexperienced underclassmen. They don’t defend like they did under Caldwell, and they aren’t as efficient on offense. Walker and Gardner are good enough to hide many weaknesses, but this is still a team Cal should have beaten in January, and should beat tonight. The UCLA losing streak ends now.

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2011 Cal baseball was the single most incredible team I have ever followed as a Cal fan in any sport. It was a national story that captured the attention of Cal fans just months after the athletic department captured the attention of Cal fans for all the wrong reasons. The run to Omaha would have been a thrilling, underdog story without the program-on-the-brink background. The challenge for the 2012 Bears is to follow that unlikely performance while dealing with the aftermath of near-elimination

Unfortunately, that near-elimination will likely impact the Bears over the next few years. With the program slated to end, the coaching staff was probably more focused on finding homes for current players than recruiting new players for a program that wasn’t going to exist. Cal lost 10 players from last year’s roster to graduation, transfer, or the pros. That David Esquer managed to put together a class of seven freshmen, one JC transfer and one former footballer might be a small miracle, though a new five year contract and a World Series appearance hopefully helped convince a few recruits.

I have no idea what kind of pedigree Cal’s new recruits have. The official website didn’t discuss the freshmen class until an article announcing fall practice came out, presumably because the recruiting class had to be cobbled together at the last minute, much of it after letters of intent could be sent in.

I will say this: To each of the nine players who committed to become Bears, thank you. Committing to a program that went through so much turmoil and uncertainty probably wasn’t the easiest decision to make. But your role in keeping the program not just alive, but competitive in arguably the toughest conference in the country is something Cal fans won’t take for granted.

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