Cal basketball #7 seed in latest Bracketology rankings

Cal worked their way out of a projected eleven seed which is arguably one of the worst seeds in the tournament into a seven spot this past week. The Bears topped RPI mammoth Oregon and followed that up by beating Oregon State to finish a nice home stand. As a seven seed, the Bears would avoid facing a potential one seed in the round of 32 and instead be tasked with beating a two seed. To give you an idea of what a two seed could look like, Joe Lunardi currently has Virginia projected in the two position. We all know how close the Bears came to winning on the road against the Cavaliers, if the two faced off on a neutral court you would have to like our odds.

The Bracket Project has Cal making the biggest jump, out of an eleven seed and into a much more comfortable seven position. Meanwhile, the aforementioned Lunardi has the Bears currently projected as an eight seed squaring off against Gonzaga in the first round. Jerry Palm of CBS sports has Cal in the seven position with a first round matchup against Alabama and a second round matchup against previously mentioned Virginia Cavaliers.

Most projections have seven to eight Pac-12 teams in the tournament with Washington as the final team to make the cut. Oregon State is currently in good position to end their NCAA appearance drought, however they need to close Pac-12 play strong.

In other news, Cuonzo Martin held his weekly press conference and touched on the upcoming road trip against the young Huskies.

On Jabari:

• "I think he was playing well in practice, I think it was a matter of when it carries over to a game"
• "It's happened for him the last two games, he hasn't changed how he practices or how he performs. He does it at a high level consistently"