On Monday, the Pac-12 schedule windows for the 2015-16 California Golden Bears men's basketball team were released.
Via CalBears.com:
As part of the conference’s 18-game schedule, each school will face seven league opponents twice and four opponents once throughout the regular season. Cal will not play UCLA and USC on the road and will not host Washington and Washington State at home during the 2015-16 league slate.
Home/Away Designations and Date WindowsDec. 30-Jan. 3: Colorado and Utah
Jan. 6-10: at Oregon and Oregon State
Jan. 13-17: at Stanford
Jan. 20-24: Arizona State and Arizona
Jan. 27-31: at Colorado and Utah
Feb. 3-7: Stanford
Feb. 10-14: Oregon and Oregon State
Feb. 17-21: at Washington and Washington State
Feb. 24-28: UCLA and USC
March 2-6: at Arizona and Arizona State
What has not yet been decided is when exactly Cal will play each of these games, but we do know the order, the locations, and the amount of times they will play each team. At first glance, the first thing that jumps out at me are the dates with Arizona. Cal has developed a rivalry with Arizona as of late, ending their perfect season during the 2013-14 season and stealing Ivan Rabb away from them a couple of months ago. It is good to know that the Wildcats will be making a trip to Berkeley this upcoming season so that we can have another "Gold Out Haas".
Secondly, it's nice to know that there won't be an L.A. road trip. Cal really got waxed in Southern California last season for reasons that I still don't understand. It was bizarre to see them struggle the way that they did, so I for one am happy that we will only be playing UCLA and USC at home.
Third, I think it's very interesting that Cal will face Utah right out of the gate. Utah came out of nowhere to become a top 10 team last season and Cal is now trying to do the same thing this upcoming season. I think it'll be fascinating to see how Utah handles Cal surpassing them in terms of hype and expectations. Utah will want to send a message and Cal at the same time will want to prove that they belong and avenge the loss they had to Utah last season. In addition, while it'll be fun to also get a second crack at Utah on the road, the Colorado-Utah road trip will be a real test for Cal, especially after having just played Arizona at home.
Lastly, what stands out to me is the fact that none of these games stand out to me! What I mean by that is that there is no Pac-12 opponent who Cal should fear. The Arizona games will be fun because of the recent history that Cal has with them and the fact that Cal should be able to go toe-to-toe with them all season. But as far as there begin an opponent who Cal should feel inferior to, there is none and that is amazing considering where this team was just 12 months ago.
---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord for NBA and Cal basketball news
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