The Bears host Stanford to start ACC play

CK Hicks/Cal Athletics

Andrej Stojakovic is averaging 18.8 points per game for Cal this season.

MBBDec 6, 2024 11:17 am | From: Cal Athletics

Cal has won 7 home games in a row

BERKELEY – The California men’s basketball team will play its first Atlantic Coast Conference game when it hosts rival Stanford on Saturday afternoon at Haas Pavilion. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. PT on the ACC Network.

The Golden Bears (6-2) are off to their best start since the 2016-17 season, posting a 5-0 record at home, while Stanford enters the contest with a 7-2 overall record. Saturday’s meeting between Cal and Stanford is the first pre-Christmas matchup between the two programs in an extensive series that dates back more than 100 years.

GAME INFORMATION

• Date and time: Saturday, December 7th | 1:00 p.m. PT
• Location: Berkeley, California | Haas Pavilion
• Watch: ACC Network | Dave Feldman (PxP) and Corey Williams (Analyst)
• Listen: 810 AM & Varsity Network App | Justin Allegri (PxP) and Theo Robertson (Analyst)
• Live statistics: Statbroadcast

IN THE GAME – CAL vs. STANFORD

• Series record: Cal leads, 154-131
• Saturday’s meeting between Cal and Stanford will be the first pre-Christmas matchup between the two programs in history.
• Cal has won three straight home games against Stanford, most recently a 73-71 thriller on Jan. 26, 2024 in front of a near-capacity crowd of 8,710. The last two home wins were a 92-70 contest – Cal set a school record with 16 3-pointers made – on January 6, 2023 and a 53-39 contest on Senior Day, February 26, 2022.
• The Cardinal won the last two meetings in seven days at the end of last season, including an 86-76 overtime contest in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas.
• Mark Madsen will face his alma mater for the fourth time since taking over the Cal program in 2023-24. Madsen — a Stanford graduate and 2019 inductee into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame — earned All-America honors twice and led the Cardinal to four NCAA Tournaments between 1996 and 2000.
• Cal’s standout sophomore guard Andrej Stojakovic played his freshman year at Stanford.

FAN HIGHLIGHTS

• The first 3,000 fans in attendance will receive a Cal/ACC commemorative coin.
• It is a Rave in Haas. Glow sticks will be distributed to the first 2,000 fans in attendance to take part in a halftime light show.
• Fans can enjoy a beer garden sponsored by The Bear’s Lair Tavern at Spieker Plaza before the game.
• Bay Area rapper P-Lo will perform during halftime.

START FIVE
1. Strength in numbers

Cal has expanded its roster in a variety of ways early this season, getting off to a 6-2 start overall and a 5-0 record on its home court. After using a 10-man rotation for the first four games of the season, Cal was able to weather injuries to regular players Jovan Blacksher Jr.DJ Campbell and BJ Omot — the latter two have not played at USC since Nov. 17 — in the last four games, with different Bears available for key minutes.

The Ten Bears are averaging more than 15 minutes per game this season and eight players have scored at least two double-figure goals in the first quarter of the season. Freshmen Jeremiah Wilkinson has been a standout with 20.8 points per game in the last four games Rytis Petraitis (11.0 PPG, 3.8 rebounds per game, 3.5 assists per game, 2.8 steals per game) and Joshua Ola Joseph (9.25 PPG, 52.0 FG% & 5.3 RPG) have emerged as part of the starting rotation in place of Campbell and Omot.

2. Hello, ACC

Cal and Stanford will bring their illustrious rivalry to the Atlantic Coast Conference on Saturday when the two Bay Area opponents play their first game as new members of the league. The Golden Bears and Cardinal have faced off more than 280 times on the hardwood and will look to get off on the right foot in Saturday’s ACC game. The Bears will play three more non-conference games over the next two weeks before finally returning to their ACC roster, starting Jan. 1 at Pitt.

3. Right side of the bay

Sophomore guard Andrej Stojakovic thrived in his first season as a Golden Bear after an offseason transfer from rival Stanford. He will take a team-leading 18.8 points per game into Saturday’s game against his former school. Stojakovic, a former McDonald’s All-American and five-star Stanford recruit from Carmichael, has been an offensive focal point for the Bears, scoring more than 15 points in all eight games and scoring more than 20 in four contests, most recently including one scored on Tuesday He scored a career-high 26 points at Missouri.

Stojakovic elevated his game in Berkeley with 5.1 rebounds per game and a team-high 1.1 blocks per game. With increased aggressiveness in the game, Stojakovic was able to make money at the free throw line, shooting 80.4% (45 of 56). As a freshman at Stanford this season, he shot just 52.8% in free throws, making 19 of 36 attempts.

4. Agent Zero

Freshman guard Jeremiah Wilkinson has made the most of his increased role in Cal’s rotation over the last four games, averaging 20.8 points per game on shooting spreads of .608/.545/.714. His 25-point performance against Mercyhurst on Nov. 27 earned him ACC Co-Rookie of the Week honors and made him the first Cal freshman to score 25 or more points in a game since Justice Sueing on Feb. 22 Scored 25 points against Washington State in 2018.

5. Jovan returns

Cal’s floor general Jovan Blacksher Jr. returned Tuesday from a three-game injury absence at Missouri and made an immediate impact with 13 points and a season-high eight assists and five steals despite shooting the ball on the night (3-of-12 from the floor). Blacksher leads Cal in minutes played (32.0 MPG), assists (4.0 APG) and has scored double-digit points in all five games played, including a season-high 19 at USC.

NEXT

The Bears host Cornell on Tuesday in their first of three remaining non-conference games. Tipoff will take place at 7:00 p.m. PT in the Haas Pavilion.

SUPPORT THE BEARS

Tickets for the 2024-25 campaign can be purchased at CalBears.com/Tickets, by calling 800-GO-BEARS (462-3277) or emailing [email protected]. Fans can support the Golden Bears through the Cal Men’s Basketball Excellence Initiative or the California Legends Collective.

Stay up to date

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