After the Cal men’s basketball team lost to Colorado last Sunday, the Bears’ Pac-12 title hopes seemed over — until now.
First-place Washington lost to UCLA Saturday afternoon, meaning if Cal defeats Stanford on Sunday, the Bears will share the conference title with the Huskies.
After the Bears’ blunder in Boulder, all Washington had to do was complete a sweep in Los Angeles, and the inaugural Pacific-12 championship would be the Huskies. Beating last-place USC was no problem for Washington. But UCLA, especially after a Sports Illustrated piece came out this past week detailing the decline of the program, did not give in. The Bruins came back from a three-point deficit to upset the Huskies, 75-69, in Los Angeles.
Senior Lazeric Jones led the Bruins with 20 points, Tyler Lamb had 14 and Travis Wear had a double-double with 16 and 10. UCLA shot 21 free throws, compared to Washington’s 11, and the Bruins outrebounded the Huskies, 37-32.
So the Bears have a second chance. Not only will a win give them a share of the championship but also the No. 1 seed in this week’s Pac-12 tournament, since Cal beat Washington in the teams’ only matchup.
All the Bears need to do is beat their rival on the road in the final game of the regular season.
One thing is for sure. When the Bay Area teams tip off at 2:30 on Sunday, more than bragging rights are at stake.
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