Possibly, something I wonder is:
** if Cal loses to UCLA in the semis, then the 3rd place game would be Cal vs. loser of USC/Stan.
Whoever Cal plays already has an at-large bid locked up - what incentive do they have to “show their cards” and really try to win - end result could be a Cal victory over an uninspired / unmotivated SC/Stan - would that kind of victory in the 3rd place game be enough to vault Cal over Hawaii? I don’t know
ex: UOP men in 2019 had the #1 or #2 NCAA seed locked up, at the GCC tournament after losing in the semis, UOP mailed it in in the GCC 3rd place game vs UCSB - looks like the last at-large spot that year was between UCSB / USC and it went to USC.