Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Preview: California Golden Bears

The California Golden Bears did very well last season, but they did not finish quite how they would have liked to. The Golden Bears finished the regular season with an overall record of 23-8 and a Pac-12 conference record of 13-5. Cal won their first game of the conference tournament against Stanford to advance to the semifinals, but lost to Colorado 70-59 in their semifinals game.

Despite not making it to the conference tournament finals after finishing third in the Pac-12, the Golden Bears still were selected into the NCAA Tournament as a #12 seed. However, they had to play #12 seed South Florida in the first round of a tournament. California lost to South Florida 65-54.

Two players that will not be playing with Cal this season are Jose Gutierrez and Harper Kamp. Gutierrez averaged 13.0 points per game, 5.3 rebounds per game, and 4.1 assists per game while Harper averaged 11.6 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game last season.

Nov 6, 2012; Berkeley, CA, USA; California Golden Bears guard Allen Crabbe (23) pushes the ball up the floor during the second half against the San Francisco State Gators at Haas Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-US PRESSWIRE

However, two returning players that will be key this season are Allen Crabbe and Justin Cobbs. Crabbe was selected to the first team All-Pac-12 and the second team NABC All-District IX. Last season, he averaged 15.2 points per game (led team), 5.7 rebounds per game, and 2.1 assists per game.

Cobbs was a Pac-12 honorable mention selection last year. He earned starting role in eighth game of season. He also led the team in assists and was ranked third in the Pac-12 in assists with 5.0 assists per game. He also averaged 12.6 points per game.

This season the California Golden Bears were selected third in the Pac-12 Preseason Polls. Technically, they finished third last year even though they had the same record as second place Oregon( Ducks held the tie breaker). Cal has advanced to the postseason all four seasons under head coach Mike Montgomery and reached the NCAA Tournament last season for the third time in the past four years.

This should be another successful season for the California Golden Bears. The main reason for this is going to be because of the attitude in which the team is going to possess this season. This year the team unveiled its slogan for the season which is “Berkeley.Represent.”

The slogan reaches back into the team’s history and culture, but also shows a sense of unity. This Cal team is going to be playing with an entire city on their back. Because of that, the team will show a little more pride in their games. They will finish in the Top 3 at the end of the regular season and should make the NCAA Tournament again.

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