March Madness Cal basketball coaching watch

Many Cal basketball coaching candidates are in action in the Big Dance

Usually March Madness has been a bit dull for Cal basketball fans the past few years, but with a coaching search underway we could be seeing our future coach in action in some capacity.

Taking a look at our big board, there are some names in action. Here’s heir schedule this coming week.

Thursday:

9:40 am PT, 12:40 pm ET: #13 Furman vs. #4 Virginia (Orlando, TruTV). Bob Richey has done amazing offensive work at Furman, and this is a prime upset contender against the slow paced Cavaliers.

10:40 am PT, 1:40 pm ET: #10 Utah State vs. #7 Missouri (Sacramento, TNT). This will be a bitter pill to swallow too see Cal alum Dennis Gates thriving with the Tigers, but Utah State men’s coach Ryan Odom is a hot target and definitely worth watching.

12:10 pm PT, 3:10 pm ET: #12 Charleston vs. #5 San Diego State (Orlando, TruTV). Pat Kelsey and Brian Dutcher are both peaking and Chris Acker is a top assistant who could be worthy of making the leap to the head job.

1:10 pm PT, 4:10 pm ET: #2 Arizona vs. #15 Princeton (Sacramento, TNT). Cal could take a page from Arizona and go after their associate coach Jack Murphy, as Arizona did with Gonzaga and Tommy Lloyd.

4:35 pm PT, 7:35 pm ET: #10 Boise State vs. #7 Northwestern (Sacramento, TruTV). Leon Rice has had plenty of success at Boise, is he willing to cash in for a few years at Berkeley and replicate the same success?

7:05 pm PT, 10:05 pm ET: #2 UCLA vs. #15 UNC Asheville (Sacramento, TruTV). Is this the big moment for Bruins associate coach Darren Savino to make the jump into the big chair?

Friday:

9:40 am PT, 12:40 pm ET: #14 Kennesaw State vs. #3 Xavier (Greensboro, TruTV). Amir Abdur-Rahim has fashioned a spectacular turnaround at Kennesaw State and has clear ties through his brother to Berkeley. Adam Cohen is a hot young associate coaching talent who might want his own seat and has West Coast ties.

Ryan Silver @RyanSilver1

Congrats to my good friend Coach Joe Pasternack UCSB on another incredible season winning 24 games at UCSB. 24 wins most in school history at UCSB. Coach Pasternack one of best in college basketball business. Relentless, great recruiter, great Coach, great human being.

10:30 am PT, 1:30 pm ET: #14 UC Santa Barbara vs. #3 Baylor (Denver, TNT). Gauchos coach Joe Pasternack is one of the presumed favorites to get the Cal job. Basically a must-watch for Bears fans against a national title contender if you want to get a sense as to what Pasternack is like as a coach in tourney action. Also worth looking at Baylor associate Alvin Brooks

11 am PT, 2 pm ET: #5 St. Mary’s vs. #12 VCU (Albany, TBS). Randy Bennett dreams die hard don’t they? Let’s check out the Gaels and agonize over the recruitment of Aidan Mahaney again.

4:25 pm PT, 7:25 pm ET: #3 Gonzaga vs. #14 Grand Canyon (Denver, TruTV). Could Brian Michaelson be Tommy Lloyd 2.0 out of Gonzaga?

4:35 pm PT, 7:35 pm ET: #12 Drake vs. #5 Miami (Albany, TBS). Could this be the year Darian DeVries makes the move?

6:20 pm PT, 9:20 pm ET: #9 Florida Atlantic vs. #8 Memphis (Columbus, TNT). The odds for Dusty May are low given his meteoric rise (and they figure to leap further with a win here), but at least the Owls are a fun team to watch.

6:40 pm PT, 9:40 pm ET: #14 Montana State vs. #3 Kansas State (Greensboro, CBS). Is this a moment for Danny Sprinkle to jump?

Remaining game schedule is available here. Discuss the games, your brackets, the Cal coaching search and more.