California Golden Bears men’s basketball is set to begin its Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) schedule, concluding an eight-game home stand at Haas Pavilion. The team, currently 12-1, will host No. 16/14 Louisville on December 30 and Notre Dame on January 2.
Cal’s start to the season marks its best since the 1959-60 campaign, when the Bears finished 28-1 before a loss in the national championship game. The current nine-game win streak matches Cal’s longest since the 2008-09 season. At Haas Pavilion, Cal remains undefeated this year with an 11-0 record.
The upcoming matchup against Louisville will be broadcast on ACC Network with Ben Braun and Chris Sylvester providing commentary. The contest against Notre Dame will air on ESPN2 with Roxy Bernstein and Austin Croshere calling the game. Radio coverage for all Cal men’s basketball games is available through Justin Allegri and Theo Robertson on the Cal Bears Sports Network via 810 AM and The Varsity App.
In their most recent outing, Cal secured a ninth consecutive victory by defeating Columbia 74-56 at home. “It was slow going on both ends of the floor offensively for both teams in the first half. Cal led things 28-16 at halftime — a low for the Bears and for any opponent this season in the opening half — but Columbia led on the boards 25-19. Cal was shooting 25 percent overall, and the Lions were at 25.9 percent through the first 20 minutes of play, while Dai Dai Ames was the only player in double figures with 12 at the break. The pace picked back up in the second half, with Cal shooting 64 percent in the half to end the game at 42.1 percent overall. Columbia also heated up, and finished out at 41.8 percent. The teams were even on the rebounding front 34-34.”
Key performances included Dai Dai Ames scoring 21 points—his sixth game this season with over twenty points—and John Camden adding fifteen points; both have scored double digits eleven times this year. Lee Dort recorded career highs with four blocks and fourteen rebounds.
Earlier this season, California defeated No.18 UCLA by a score of 80-72 during the Empire Classic finale held at Chase Center—the program’s first win over a ranked opponent since February 2020 against Colorado at Haas Pavilion.
“With a game-high 22 points, Chris Bell scored in double digits for the sixth straight game and registered his third 20-point game as a Bear,” according to team sources.
Bell surpassed one thousand career collegiate points during that contest; Milos Ilic reached five hundred career rebounds; DeJuan Campbell returned from injury to contribute four points; Rytis Petraitis tallied his first double-digit scoring effort of this season.
Cal has posted five games exceeding ninety points so far—the most since recording six such games during the 2009–10 campaign—and achieved back-to-back ninety-plus point outings versus Cal State Fullerton and Kansas State for the first time since 2014.
Defensively, California is undefeated (12–0) when holding opponents under seventy-three points or below forty percent shooting from field goal range.
Four starters are averaging double-digit scoring: Dai Dai Ames (17.7 ppg), John Camden (15.5), Chris Bell (14.4), and Justin Pippen (14.6). Ames leads with six twenty-one point games so far while maintaining strong three-point accuracy; Camden ranks among national leaders in three-point percentage; Bell is shooting nearly forty-eight percent from field goals and over ninety percent from free throws.
Justin Pippen leads distribution efforts averaging over four assists per game while TT Carr briefly topped national rankings for assist-to-turnover ratio after a nine-assist performance against Morgan State.
This season features significant roster changes: thirteen newcomers joined—nine transfers including several post players expanding frontcourt size—and four true freshmen made their debuts alongside returning starters Rytis Petraitis, DeJuan Campbell, and Lee Dort.
Head coach Mark Madsen recently celebrated his one-hundredth career coaching victory following California’s win over Cal State Fullerton in November; he remains one of only four NCAA Division I head coaches who won NBA titles as players—and uniquely holds two championships earned with Los Angeles Lakers in consecutive years (2001–02).
“California Through and Through” continues as both slogan and identity statement for California Golden Bears men’s basketball: “Just like our state, our program is engaging, diverse and inspiring… Being California Through and Through means we celebrate our community and our place within it.”
Season tickets are available through https://calbears.com/tickets or by contacting goldstandard@berkeley.edu or calling 800-GO-BEARS (462-3277). Fans can support via https://give.berkeley.edu/campaign/?id=264e39b5-fc44-43ae-a40d-b8e09eecde26&source=goldenbearfund_mbb_website_banner&_gl=1*uswojz*_ga*MTM3Njk3NDkzOS4xNzEwNDAyNTUy*_ga_FJYMKQ6FZV*MTcxMDQwMjU1Mi4xLjAuMTcxMDQwMjU1Mi42MC4wLjA.&_ga=2.187829991 .1704078997 .1710402553 -1376974939 .1710402552 .
Further updates can be found by following @CalMBBall on X/Twitter or visiting official team social media pages.
