In the aftermath of a historic win, the 27th straight victory in Haas Pavilion, Jabari Bird had a few choice words about his aggressive play against Cal Poly. "I put a lot of work into my game" Bird explained about his career night, "so why not show them out there on the court? I feel like it's a waste of time to do all that work during the summer to get ready for the season, and the lights come on and you don't show out."

Bird showed out, and then some, knocking down threes, driving for layups, making great cuts, and throwing down a couple of thunderous dunks. His best one might have been one that he missed, nearly putting back a miss one handed over a group of Cal Poly defenders.

Bird was the leader of the team tonight, a counterpoint to how he's played in the past. He attacked, he shot with confidence, and he certainly looked like someone without back problems. There was a point where the game wasn't anywhere close to decided in Cal's favor though.

There was a point in the first half where Cal Poly had a six point lead, with Kyle Toth hitting a few threes and giving them momentum and putting Cal on their heels. A Rabb layup cut the lead down, but Cal Poly got a breakaway chance to open things back up. Then Stephen Domingo came flying in, blocking a layup in impressive fashion, hustling back, then draining his first three pointer since the second game of the season. Domingo's play continued what would become a 21-3 run to end the half.

From there the Bears were off, dicing the Cal Poly defense to the tune of 19 assists (Cal Poly had only 3), getting into the lane, drawing double teams, and dishing out, as Charlie Moore and Grant Mullins both had five assists. It was an offense that flowed much more than usual. Passing lanes were open. Shots were falling. Cal shot 60% in the second half. From a shooting perspective, it's absolutely what the doctor ordered before a matchup with an excellent Virginia team.

Other Notes:

- Cal moved to playing one big at a time in the second half, with Jabari Bird playing at the four in the early going. It worked, as Bird scored 17 of his 25 in the second half

- Poly played a zone for much of the second half, and Cal shot right over it. In a curious stat, every Cal player that shot a three made a three. Moute, Mullins, and Moore all made one in the second half, as the Bears went 7-12 from distance

- Cal didn't do too well on the boards, allowing Cal Poly to win the offensive rebounding battle 14-12, due to the play of Aleks Abrams. Those opportunities were not converted, as the Bears held Cal Poly to shooting 32.3%

- Cole Welle was one of the first off the bench, playing for a quick stretch before staying on the bench until garbage time.

- Moute a Bidias showcased a burgeoning mid-range game, hitting a couple of nice jumpers from there.

- Taking Toth out of the equation, Cal held everyone else from Cal Poly to 3-18 from beyond the arc. This was a team that relied on the 3 pointer, and Cal held them off their strength

- Both teams shot 50% from the line, which is not good.

- Moore didn't have his greatest game, scoring 10 points to go along with his five assists, but he didn't have to, which is probably good for his development. His alley-oop pass to Rabb in the first half looked perfect.

- Rabb's 18 and 6 came in a myriad of ways, the most encouraging coming from his left hand on a couple of hooks. Rabb admitted his hand hurt after a couple of dunks, but he also said it felt way better than it had been.

- Rooks and Chauca are set to return at some point in January. No specific game or date yet though.

There has to be a lot of hope that a shooting effort like this can continue into the Virginia game. Cal is going to need it to, because they're going into playing the slowest-paced team in the country, who also happens to be the best defensively. Virginia is going to be a challenge for this team unless shooting performances like this continue.