USC Trojans

The loss was an upset on the part of USC, as the Bears were seeded higher going into the tournament and were last year’s regular season champions.

If the opponents that Cal has faced have been above its paygrade, the Trojans are on a different level entirely.

A trip to Indiana, 12 interviews and four hours of sleep later, Sports Editor Ryan Chien and football beat reporter Kabir Rao are here to break it all down.

Cal men's basketball is less likely to outscore foes in halfcourt settings or transitions, so capitalizing off of quick second chance points is critical.

There is pride associated with playing another California team. It might not be the rivalry it is with UCLA, but playing Cal is still a big deal.

The Bears will need to have more ball control than they did against UCLA if they hope to stand a chance against a team that is more talented on paper.

Pressure from the Bruins made the Bears’ offense look like a shell of the one that lit up Stanford’s defense for 41 points just one week ago.

Cal has one final game: USC at home, where it will honor the seniors that have played such a pivotal role in the program over the last four (or five, or six or even seven years). While there may not be real stakes to play for, the Bears will certainly want to win for the seniors.

The Bears are currently the top ranked team in the nation, but there are a number of worthy opponents waiting for them.