The St. Mary's, Calif. Gaels and the California Golden Bears continue to stay on the bubble for the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Cal fans are watching each game with growing anticipation of whether their school will make the final cut at the end of the month.
Chris Dobbertean ran down the latest bracketology for SB Nation on Friday. He suggests that Cal is nearly there as an 8 seed, currently standing at No. 32 nationally and leading their division. He groups the Golden Bears in with the Iowa St. Cyclones and the Memphis Tigers. Here is his take on that group:
Once again, this group continues to see a considerable amount of movement, as teams either march toward a bid or slip down toward the NIT. Out of this trio, Iowa State has the best chance to move up to Lock status, thanks to its remaining trips to Kansas State and Missouri and a home game with Baylor. The schedules for California and Memphis aren't nearly as favorable, as the Golden Bears are on the road for their final two (Colorado, Stanford), while the Tigers have trips to Marshall and Tulsa on either side of a visit from UCF.
He also looks ahead to Sunday's matchup between Cal and the Colorado Buffaloes:
The Golden Bears can clinch at least a tie for the Pac-12 regular season title with a victory in Boulder. Meanwhile, the Buffaloes' thin hopes are all but gone after Stanford blew them out on Thursday.
With just another win or two, the Golden Bears can punch their own ticket to the tournament.
To talk about Cal basketball, head on over to the California Golden Blogs.