NO KIDDING: WISCONSIN GREEN BAY SHOCKS CAL 61-57 IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE NCAA TOURNAMENT. By JOHN AKERS Mercury News Staff Writer OGDEN, Utah, The ready for NBA players were bumped from the NCAA tournament by the cast from ''Hoosiers.'' Cal's Jason Kidd and Lamond Murray can take their no look passes and their finger roll lay ins back to Berkeley, and possibly the NBA. The No. 16 ranked Bears, who failed to make a field goal in the first 10 minutes, were beaten 61-57 in the tournament's first round Thursday by a bunch of hard hats from Wisconsin Green Bay. The Phoenix did it with well executed screens and back cuts, low defensive stances and hands in the faces of Cal's tired players. ''This is one that will give me a lot more teamwork seminars,'' said grinning Green Bay Coach Dick Bennett. ''This might keep me up for a couple of weeks,'' Cal's Monty Buckley said. Coach Todd Bozeman can talk all he wants about ''two baskets and a ball.'' The Green Bay players were taught the way the game was played with two peach baskets and a ball. The Phoenix (27-6) confounded the Bears (22-8) for nearly 30 minutes, building leads of 16-2 in the opening minutes of the first half and 47-29 early in the second. ''They slow it down and milk the clock,'' Murray said. Cal went the first five minutes without a point, the first 10 without a basket. The Bears, confused by the Phoenix's sagging, swarming man to man defense, often settled for an outside shot, missing their first 10 shots, eight of them three pointers. Kidd didn't throw his first assist until more than 15 minutes had passed. Murray, averaging 24.5 points per game, missed his first seven shots and had three points by halftime. It could be argued that Murray and Kidd were outplayed by Green Bay's Jeff Nordgaard, who would have rather played quarterback for Division II South Dakota State but was denied the scholarship, and guard John Martinez, who played with a broken nose and two bad knees. Martinez had seven assists and six steals, and only three turnovers. Kidd committed six turnovers, including two down the stretch that led him to accept blame for the loss. ''I'm taking the blame for this,'' said Kidd, who had 12 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. ''It's really my fault.'' Nordgaard had 24 points, to Murray's 18 on 6 for 21 shooting. ''They had their hand up in my face on every shot,'' Murray said. ''They continue to stay in their defensive stance and prevent players from penetrating. That's pretty much the difference from what we've seen from other teams this season.'' The Bears didn't begin to figure out the Phoenix until midway through the second half, trailing 47-35. Cal's comeback began when Buckley stole the ball from Logan Vander Velden at midcourt for a breakaway layup. Five minutes later, with three steals and a four point play during the stretch, the Bears led for the first time, 51-50 with 6 minutes, 40 seconds remaining. At that point, Bennett said, ''I was angry, depressed, frustrated, confused. I didn't know which way to go. It's a common confliction among coaches.'' The Bears let go of the momentum on their next two possessions, one when an overhead Kidd pass was stolen and another when the Bears took three shots, each a three pointer, and missed all three. Cal led again at 55-53, but Green Bay tied the score when Nordgaard broke free for a layup off a screen. Nordgaard scored twice more in the final minutes, the last shot giving Green Bay a 59-57 lead with 35 seconds left. After a timeout, the Bears set up the next play for Kidd or Murray. ''It was Jason's decision to read it,'' Bozeman said. ''I put Lamond on the same side, because those are the two guys who got us here.'' Green Bay guard Gary Grzesk, whose defensive effort led to 4 for 17 shooting by Kidd, said the Phoenix was prepared for Kidd's game winning magic. ''There was the thought of a great player making a great shot,'' he said. ''If they make a great shot with the hand in the face, I can accept that.'' Instead, Kidd took the ball on the left perimeter, dribbled right and missed a three point shot with 17 seconds left. The ball went out of bounds and was awarded to Green Bay. Martinez was fouled by Akili Jones on the inbounds pass. He made both free throws, for a 61-57 lead with 15 seconds left. ''There was so much at stake,'' Martinez said. ''They have two great players. . . . I knew they'd come back on us if I make one. But if I make two, it doesn't matter how great they are.'' He was right. The great ones sprinted off the court seconds later, possibly for the last time in Cal uniforms. NO DEPTH, BOZEMAN EXPLAINS HE ADMITS ALTITUDE, INJURIES TOOK TOLL By JOHN AKERS Mercury News Staff Writer OGDEN, Utah, The season was over, so Cal Coach Todd Bozeman broke a few of his self imposed gag orders. Until Thursday, he had refused to address his team's lack of depth, saying there was no use worrying about what he couldn't control. The same for playing in high altitude. But they were problems, he conceded after the Bears' 61-57 loss to Wisconsin Green Bay in the first round of the NCAA tournament. ''You're talking about a team that had a deep bench and one that didn't,'' Bozeman said. ''We had oxygen on the bench, and the guys were sucking it down like it was nothing.'' The Bears were reduced to a seven man team because of injuries to forward Alfred Grigsby and guards K.J. Roberts and Randy Duck. ''I came into the season wanting to press a lot,'' Bozeman said. ''Dreaming in the summer, I'm thinking about lineups I could use . . . when the injuries hit, that went down the drain.'' Bozeman said Green Bay's labyrinth of screens forced him to go with a small lineup for much of the second half. The Bears finally found some defensive success by switching on the Green Bay screens, but 6 foot 10 Michael Stewart and 6 foot 11 Ryan Jamison weren't equipped to keep up with the switches. ''I couldn't use Yogi (Stewart) or Jamo (Jamison) on one of their guards,'' Bozeman said. SEEING IS BELIEVING: To a man, the Cal players insisted they did not overlook the 12th seeded Phoenix. Green Bay guard Greg Grzesk said he believes that because the Bears showed them respect. ''You could see on tape that they set good screens and that they're patient on offense,'' Cal's Monty Buckley said. But are they better in person than on tape? ''Yes, they are,'' Buckley said, without hesitation. GREAT GRZESK: Grzesk put together the best defensive job of the season against Jason Kidd, forcing six turnovers and limiting him to 4 for 17 shooting. ''He's a great player in the open court,'' Grzesk said. ''In the half court, his crossover . . . you have to watch that. You have to stay low. If you're high, he'll blow by you.'' SNEAKERS TO SPIKES: Kidd said he has talked to Coach Bob Milano and definitely plans to join the Bears' baseball team this spring. ''I plan on it,'' he said. ''I'll play wherever.'' DRY EYES: Bozeman wept openly after losing to Kansas in last season's NCAA tournament, but he fought off his emotions Thursday. ''You're not going to see what you saw last year,'' he said in the postgame news conference, ''so don't even pause for that.'' DEFYING ODDS: Green Bay's victory over Cal marked the seventh time in the past 10 years that a No. 12 seed had upset the fifth seed at the West Regional.