All that worry was apparently for nothing — the Bears are going dancing.
The Cal men’s basketball was awarded a 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament, announced during the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday afternoon.
The Bears will face fellow 12 seed South Florida in the play-in game on Wednesday in the Midwest regional. The winner will take on Temple on Friday.
Cal (24-9) was in first place in the Pac-12 for most of the season, and as of two weeks ago looked to be a safe bet to make the tournament. But the Bears lost their final two games of the regular season, failing to clinch the Pac-12 title.
After beating Stanford in Thursday’s quarterfinal, eventual Pac-12 Tournament champion Colorado knocked Cal out in the semifinal on Friday night. Following the loss, the Bears were firmly on the bubble, with some projections placing them as an 11 or 12 seed and others shutting them out of March Madness all together.
Despite a lack of signature wins, Cal’s RPI was still a solid 36.
Colorado, which earned the Pac-12 automatic bid, was awarded an 11 seed and will take on UNLV on Thursday.
No other Pac-12 teams made the tournament.
Comment Policy
Comments should remain on topic, concerning the article or blog post to which they are connected. Brevity is encouraged. Posting under a pseudonym is discouraged, but permitted. The Daily Cal encourages readers to voice their opinions respectfully in regard to the readers, writers and contributors of The Daily Californian. Comments are not pre-moderated, but may be removed if deemed to be in violation of this policy. Click here to read the full comment policy.

How do you have a play-in game for 12th seed? Why aren’t they aren’t they 12 and 13 with each other team moving down one in the list? I’m serious, I don’t understand. Thanks.
not really in the tournament. they’ll lose to the dons.
South Florida Bulls.