Busting Brackets
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ACC Basketball: Ranking all 18 programs after additions of Stanford, Cal, and SMU

By Tristan Freeman

Feb 5, 2023; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Jerod Haase during the second half against the Colorado Buffaloes at the CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 5, 2023; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Jerod Haase during the second half against the Colorado Buffaloes at the CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /
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NCAA Basketball Marsalis Roberson #0 of the California Golden Bears (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
NCAA Basketball Marsalis Roberson #0 of the California Golden Bears (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images) /

16. Cal Bears

With the news of Cal joining the ACC, Louisville is technically off the hook as the worst ACC Basketball team from last season. The Bears were somehow worse, going 3-28 and having the literal worst scoring offense in the country at 58.3 ppg. Changes were made, as Mark Fox was let go, with Mark Madsen being hired over from Utah Valley.

So that’s hope for a program that hasn’t won over 14 games in each of the last six years. Coach Madsen has done a very good job this offseason building up the roster, landing transfers such as Jalen Cone, Fardaws Aimaq, Jaylon Tyson, and Keonte Kennedy. So the Bears will certainly be better compared to last year, but will it be good enough to make the NCAA Tournament?

The big reality with the former Pac-12 schools coming is how will the travel work out. Assuming the games on the weekends are played at 4:00 pm ET., that’s still 1:00 pm out on the west coast. These programs are used to playing around 7:00 pm in the evening.

There’s going to be a large adjustment period for both Cal and Stanford when it comes to the travel alone. But at least the Cardinal has a competitive program to go against the new foes. Cal has to be prove they can compete itself first.