BERKELEY - Just hours after a heart-stopping overtime win over Stanford helped clinch an at-large bid to the National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Championship, the Cal men's water polo team learned that it will carry the No. 2 seed to Los Angeles when the Bears open tournament play on Dec. 2 at USC.

The defending national champion Golden Bears will travel to Uytengsu Aquatics Center to play either the host Trojans, Harvard or George Washington at 5:15 p.m. in the second of two national semifinals. Harvard and George Washington will meet on Nov. 25 at Harvard to determine which team moves forward to take on USC on Nov. 30. The winner of that match will advance to play the Bears.

On the other side of the bracket, UCLA will enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed after placing second at the MPSF Championships. The Bruins went 2-1 against USC this season so, although the Trojans earned the MPSF's automatic bid to the national tournament, the Bruins were placed on the top line. Pacific and Pomona-Pitzer will open the top half of the bracket on Nov. 25 in Stockton with the winner advancing to play UC Davis on Nov. 30 at USC. UCLA will take on the winner of that match on Dec. 2 at 3 p.m.

After winning the 14th national title in program history in 2016, Cal kept itself at or near the top of the national rankings throughout a 2017 campaign in which the Bears compiled a 20-3 overall record. A 6-3 victory over USC on Nov. 4 loomed large as the postseason got underway and Sunday's win over Stanford gave Cal a 2-1 record against the rival Cardinal and made a big difference when it came to seeding the bracket. This wil be the third straight season in which Cal will compete at the national championships after the Bears placed third in 2015 at UCLA.

Cal's defense of its national title has featured many of the same key components as last year's run to the championship. Senior Luca Cupido has been arguably the most important player in the country and he leads the Bears offensively with 57 goals as well as defensively with 46 steals. Junior Johnny Hooper ranks near the top of the conference in scoring with 47 goals and leads the Bears with 49 assists. In goal, senior Kevin Le Vine has stepped into the starting role and is averaging over 11 saves per game.

For ticket information, updated brackets and additional championship information, visit NCAA.com.