The NCAA tournament begins today and the world has gone bracket-crazy. Here's a consensus on how Cal will fare in the tourney.
ESPN has a full suite of predictors
- Decision Tree: Cal 43%, UNLV 57%
- Power Ratings: Cal 37%, UNLV 63%
- Similar Games Model: Cal 44%, UNLV 56%
- Simulation Model: Cal 31%, UNLV 69%
- ESPN's East Region upset alert gives the Bears a 22.3% chance at the upset.
- Twelve CBS writers revealed their complete brackets. 9 picked UNLV to defeat Cal, two picked Cal to advance to the round of 32 where they lose to Syracuse, and one picked Cal to advance to the sweet 16 before losing to IU.
- Four Sports Illustrated writers post their brackets. Two pick UNLV to win. Two pick Cal to beat UNLV and Syracuse.
- BleacherReport picks Cal to upset UNLV. Bleacher Report also says to "avoid [Cal] at all costs" when making your bracket.
- SBNation picks UNLV to win.
- FanSided picks Cal to win before being "outmatched in every way imaginable" against Syracuse.
- WhatIfSports predicts a 62-69 Cal loss to UNLV.
The women's team isn't left out of the loop. ESPN has some thoughts on the Bears' chances:
- ESPN's writers get together to offer their thoughts on the women's tournament. Three out of five expect Cal to advance past Stanford and land in the Final Four. None expect Cal to topple Brittney Griner and the Bears, however.
- The second round matchup between Cal and Texas Tech is mentioned as one of five potential first-week upsets. The Red Raiders' strong performances at home could continue with the support of the hometown Lubbock crowd.
This should be an eventful weekend.
Football
- Uncle Ted was in town to watch Monday's practice. He interviewed Nick Forbes.
- Uncle Ted talks to Cal fans, watches practice, and uploads video (don't tell Tony Franklin!) during his live chat Monday afternoon.
- Dykes says Kline has made some improvements over the past week. Whether he has become the top candidate for the starting job remains unclear.
- Bill Tyndall broke his ankle and will undergo surgery. He will be out four months and should return in time for fall camp.
- SBN's Indianapolis Colts site has a draft profile and assessment of fit for Brian Schwenke. It sounds like they would be interested in picking him in the third round of next month's draft.
Basketball
- The women's team earned a 2-seed and will open against Fresno State in Lubbock, Texas. Cal could face Stanford in the Elite Eight to battle for a chance to go to New Orleans.
- The men's team avoided a play-in game with a 12 seed in the East region. The Bears play UNLV in San Jose on Thursday. The game tips off at 4:27 PDT on TruTV.
- UNLV is treating the NCAA Tournament opener as a road game. Fortunately for us, UNLV was 6-6 in road games this year (although that includes a one-point win over Cal).
- Tempiting the juju, Faraudo takes us through a history lesson of 12-seeds upsetting 5-seeds.
- Monty says he and the team were nervous after Oregon was handed a 12-seed. They're looking forward to playing in San Jose with the added bonus of avenging their December loss to UNLV.
- It sounds like Monte Poole got ahold of Jason Kidd as the Knicks stumbled into town last week. Kidd talks about Cal's basketball history and the 20-year anniversary of Cal's win over defending NCAA Champion Duke.
Softball
- Cal's 22-game winning streak came to an end against Syracuse. The Orange managed to score 8 runs against the Bears, the largest score allowed by Cal this season.
Swimming and Diving
- Kahley Rowell finished second on the platform at the NCAA Zone E Meet. This earned her a trip to the NCAA Championships.
- Collin Pollard finished sixth on the platform, which qualifies him as an alternate for the NCAA Championships.
Lacrosse
Tennis
Gymnastics
- Despite losing to Nebraska, the Bears set a school record for points scored. Cal narrowly lost 197.525-196.525.
- The men's team finished the regular season with a win over defending NCAA Champion Illinois.