Stanford Cardinal Earns At-Large Bid To NCAA Tournament; Cal Golden Bears NIT Bound

Feb 20, 2014; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Johnny Dawkins and Stanford Cardinal guard Chasson Randle (5) during the second half against the USC Trojans at Maples Pavilion. Stanford won 80-59. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports

The Stanford Cardinal did enough down the stretch, following up a three-game losing streak with three straight wins, including a run to the Pac-12 Conference tournament semifinals, to earn an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament.

The Cardinal (21-12) are the 10th seed in the South Region and will play seventh-seeded New Mexico (27-6), which won the Mountain West Conference tournament title on Saturday. The game is Friday in St. Louis. It is their first NCAA bid since 2008 and their first under coach Johnny Dawkins.

The Golden Bears (19-13), on the other hand, played their way out of the tournament by losing six of their last 10 games after upsetting then-No. 1 Arizona on Feb. 1. Cal lost four of its last five games, including being bounced from the Pac-12 tournament by Colorado in the quarterfinals after earning a first-round bye. Cal had made the NCAA tournament each of the last two seasons.

Regionally, the Pac-12 placed six teams in the tournament field. The Mountain West and the West Coast Conference got two bids apiece. For the Big Sky and Big West conferences, their tournament champions are the lone representatives.

For a copy of a printable bracket, click here:

Pac-12
Arizona (30-4) is the top seed in the West Region as an at-large. The Wildcats lost to UCLA in the Pac-12 tourney final on Saturday. It will be a battle of Wildcats in the second round, as Arizona will play Big Sky regular-season and tournament champion Weber State (19-11) Friday in San Diego.

UCLA (26-8) got the No. 4 seed in the South Region after winning the Pac-12 tourney title. The Bruins play Tulsa (21-12), the Conference USA tournament champion, on Friday in San Diego.

Oregon (23-9) is seeded seventh in the West region as an at-large and will play BYU (23-11), an at-large team out of the WCC, on Thursday in Milwaukee. The Cougars and Ducks played during the regular season, with the Ducks pulling out a 100-96 overtime win in Eugene on Dec. 21.

Colorado (23-11) received the No. 8 seed in the South Region after making a run to the Pac-12 tournament semifinals. The Buffaloes will play Pittsburgh (25-9) out of the Atlantic Coast Conference on Thursday in Orlando, Fla.

Arizona State (21-11) was the final Pac-12 team to earn a bid, getting the 10th seed in the Midwest Regional. The Sun Devils will play Texas (23-10) from the Big 12 conference on Thursday in Milwaukee.

West Coast Conference
Besides BYU earning an at-large bid, WCC regular-season and tournament champion Gonzaga (28-6) is seeded eighth in the West Regional and will open with Oklahoma State (21-12) out of the Big 12 on Friday in San Diego.

Mountain West Conference
New Mexico drew Stanford in the second round, while regular-season champion San Diego State (29-4) is the No. 4 seed in the West Region. The Aztecs meet WAC tournament champion New Mexico State (26-9) in Spokane, Wash., on Thursday.

Big West, Big Sky
Big Sky champion Weber State is a No. 16 seed and will play Arizona.

Out of the Big West, Cal Poly (13-19) is in one of the first-round matchups in Dayton on Wednesday against Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament champion Texas Southern (19-14). The winner of that game advances to meet the top seed in the Midwest Region, Wichita State (34-0), in St. Louis on Friday.

Overall
The four No. 1 seeds were Florida, Arizona, Wichita State and Virginia, with 10 conferences earning multiple bids.

The multi-bid leagues are:

• Big 12 (7)
• ACC (6)
• Atlantic-10 (6)
• Big Ten (6)
• Pac-12 (6)
• American Athletic Conference (4)
• Big East (4)
• SEC (3)
• Mountain West (2)
• West Coast (2)