California - over Maryland

Maryland came away with a big win over Wake Forest in the ACC tournament and nearly knocked off Duke but conference games are much different than tournament games and Terps will have trouble matching up as well against an unfamiliar foe. Maryland was crushed against Gonzaga, a team that compares favorably with many Pac-10 teams and the Terps closed the season going 7-10 but managed to win just enough of the key games to get into the dance. Maryland is grossly over-seeded at #10 as they were likely one of the last teams in the tournament field and Cal is the better scoring team and the better defensive team statistically despite playing in a more defense oriented conference. Both teams lost to Florida State by three-points in a common opponent game but Maryland also had several awful performances this season, and went 6-9 S/U in games away from home. California did not end the season ideally with a quick exit from the Pac-10 tournament to USC, but keep in mind that the tournament that the Trojans won was basically at home and Cal played them as tough as anyone on that run. Cal won at Washington, at Arizona, at Washington State, at UNLV, and at Utah this season so there has been several quality wins away from home. Maryland has not had much postseason success since the title run in 2002 and the Pac-10 is generally undervalued in the postseason based on the national fanfare for the ACC and the Big East. Cal's starting lineup is all upperclassmen and this Bears team is ready to make a dent in the tournament.