Many coaches of teams in a similar position to Stanford — in the mix for one of the final few at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament — will spout the perfunctory words about ignoring talk of the bubble, Bracketology and the like, and focusing solely on what their teams can control.

However, Cardinal head coach Jerod Haase realizes it’s human nature for his players and staff to want to absorb as much of the news and speculation they can before Selection Sunday.

“We’re going to zero in and focus on what we can control,” Haase said, “but I think it’d be a problem if we tried to completely ignore (NCAA Tournament talk) and act like it wasn’t there — because it is there, and it’s a great spot we’ve put ourselves in.”

The Cardinal (20-11, 9-9 Pac-12) can ill afford a loss to Cal (13-18, 7-11) in Las Vegas on Wednesday night in a first-round game of the Pac-12 tournament. Stanford, the seventh seed, owned a NET ranking of 31 as of Tuesday morning. Cal, the 10th seed, was at 148.

The Bears and Cardinal split their two regular-season meetings, with Stanford prevailing 68-52 at Maples Pavilion on Jan. 2 and Cal pulling out a 52-50 decision at Haas Pavilion on Jan. 26.

“I think the key for us,” Cal head coach Mark Fox said, “is how good are we going to be defensively? … Because we’re not a great offensive team, we have to get stops and we have to get stops consistently.”

Haase said the Cardinal’s priority defensively is to contain sophomore guard Matt Bradley, a second-team All-Pac-12 selection who averages 17.5 points per game. He’s the lone Cal player averaging in double figures.

“He’s been very consistent without a lot of consistent help around him,” Fox said of Bradley, who averaged 10.8 points per game as a freshman. “He has shown a lot of improvement, and I think he’s only scratched the surface. I think the kid’s dynamite.”

Cal and Stanford each got swept on the road by the Oregon schools last week. The Bears lost by a combined 52 points. The Cardinal lost by a combined 16.

Said Haase: “I didn’t leave that trip thinking, ‘Woe is us and we’re really playing poorly.’”

Cal endured two really poor seasons (8-24, 2-16 Pac-12 in 2017-18 and 8-23, 3-15 in 2018-19) before Fox took over the program this season.

“I think we’ve begun to turn the ship in the right direction,” Fox said. “That’s a big endeavor.”

On Wednesday night, the Bears will endeavor to put a big dent in the Cardinal’s NCAA Tournament hopes. The winner advances to face second-seeded UCLA on Thursday night.

Briefly: The Cal-Stanford matchup features three of the Pac-12’s top five players in free-throw percentage. Stanford guard Tyrell Terry leads at 89.6, Bradley is second at 86.6 and Cal guard Paris Austin is fifth at 83.8. Austin hit two foul shots with 3.2 seconds left for the winning margin in the Bears’ victory over the Cardinal on Jan. 26. … Stanford junior forward Oscar da Silva, an All-Pac-12 selection, is two points shy of 1,000 for his career.

More Information Wednesday’s game Who: Cal (13-18, 7-11) vs. Stanford (20-11, 9-9) What: Pac-12 tournament, first round When: 6 p.m.Where: Las Vegas TV/Radio: Pac-12 Network/810

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Steve Kroner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: skroner@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SteveKronerSF