Cal and Stanford with pivotal matchups in women's and men's basketball today

Can the California Golden Bears do what they do best and beat Stanford?

Credit: Cal Women’s Basketball

It’s a full Battle of the Bay slate in the hardcourts this week.

Women’s basketball

TV: Pac-12 Network
Time: 2:30 pm Pacific, 5:30 PM Eastern

The Cal women are still fighting hard to get into the NCAA Tournament, and stand on the bubble today. Charlie Creme of ESPN’s women’s bracketology had Cal listed as their 76th team in the Next Four out slot on Monday. Cal made a great case for inclusion by dismantling Washington State (one of the last four teams in) for the third time this season.

Leilani McIntosh shone with 19 points and five 3-pointers, tying her career-high. Ioanna Krimili contributed 14 points, Michelle Onyiah added 11 with nine rebounds, and Marta Suarez grabbed 10 rebounds. The Bears sit at 18-13 now, and their three wins over Washington State are their best resume setters for tournament inclusion.

The win that will likely put them over the top is this afternoon against second-ranked Stanford. The Bears were rocked in the previous two matchups, so it’s definitely a tall task. Stanford has already locked up a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament, and has shown some general vulnerability in Pac-12 play. But it’s a difficult matchup for Cal. The Bears have not beaten the Cardinal in five years, and have not been able to get the better of two-time Pac-12 Player of the Year Cameron Brink.

Use this as your Cal-Stanford women’s basketball thread!

Men’s basketball

TV: Pac-12 Network ESPN2
Radio: 810 AM & The Varsity Network App
Time: 8 PM Pacific, 11 pm Eastern

Cal men’s basketball struggled with the difficult mountain road trip, falling into holes with Colorado and Utah they could not overcome. But the Bears can still complete an impressive turnaround from last season by beating and sweeping Stanford. A win would situate the Bears at 10-10 in conference play, and a +8 Pac-12 improvement from last season.

Stanford is in freefall, dropping to tenth in the Pac-12. The Cardinal have lost six in a row, all double-digit losses by 20, 13, 13, 12, 22, and 10. But the Golden Bears have had to scrap all season, including their comeback win against the Trees at home in Berkeley, so you’d expect this game to go down to the wire yet again. There is a lot of speculation that Jerod Haase could be in trouble, and yes, we know what the next things Cal fans will be thinking about regarding the Stanford head coaching job, but we’ll think about it when the season ends.

In most scenarios, Cal will likely end up in 6th or 7th place in the Pac-12, and thus the sixth or seventh-seed in the Pac-12 Tournament. There are some extreme scenarios that could have Cal finishing as high as 5th and low as 9th. And there are a few scenarios which could have Cal meeting Stanford in the first round of the Pac-12 next week.

ACC rivalries never die.

We will have an open thread for the Cal and Stanford men’s game later tonight!