Don’t look now, but the Bears are currently the second team out of the NCAA Tournament field behind Wichita State if you believe Bracket Matrix. Right behind them are Illinois, Rhode Island, and Michigan.
The good news: Cal’s narrow win over USC kept them within striking distance of the Trojans, who are projected as a 7 seed. The Bears lost all three games to the conference elite thus far (UCLA, Oregon, Arizona) but otherwise have taken care of business in Pac-12 play including Saturday night’s win over Oregon State. All but one of their non-conference losses have come to teams currently in the projected bracket: Virginia is currently a 4 seed while Seton Hall ranks among the 10 seeds.