The California Golden Bears are a No. 12 seed in the Midwest Region, and will be part of the First Four in Dayton, Ohio. The opponent for the Bears will be the South Florida Bulls, and the two teams will tangle on Wednesday, March 14th at 6 PM PT on TruTV in the First Four for the right to face Temple in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Here is a quick look at South Florida and what type of team Cal has to deal with.
Team: South Florida
Record: 20-13, 12-6 in conference
Conference: Big East conference
RPI: 53rd, 2-9 in the RPI Top 50, 6-10 against the RPI Top 100
Ken Pomeroy Rank: 66th
Jeff Sagarin Computer Rating: 70th
Cal was probably very close to earning the tournament bye, but St. Bonaventure taking one of the final bids by winning the Atlantic 10 tournament dashed their hopes. Cal has struggled in beating the best teams they've played, and will now have to prove whether they're worthy of being in the Tournament of 64 field by playing a team with an equally spotty resume.
To discuss Cal basketball in the NCAA Tournament, head on over to the California Golden Blogs. For more coverage of Cal in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, visit SB Nation Bay Area's storystream. Click here for a link to our NCAA bracket 2012.
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