The California men's basketball team will play its first road game of the season when it takes on Vanderbilt in Nashville on Wednesday night. Tipoff from Memorial Gymnasium is set for 5 p.m. PT/7 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.
 
Cal is off to its first 2-0 start since the 2019-20 season, having bested CSU Bakersfield and Cal Poly by a combined 31 points during the opening week of the season. Wednesday's power-conference matchup between the Golden Bears (2-0) and the Commodores (2-0) is the first between the two schools.
 
GAME INFORMATION

• Date & Time: Wednesday, Nov. 13 | 5 p.m. PT
• Location: Nashville, Tennessee | Memorial Gymnasium
• Watch: SEC Network+ | Andrew Allegretta (PxP) & Shan Foster (Analyst)
• Listen: 810 AM & The Varsity Network App | Justin Allegri (PxP)
• Live Stats: Statbroadcast

 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP – CAL VS. VANDERBILT

• Series record: First meeting
• Cal and Vanderbilt will meet for the first time on the hardwood. Vanderbilt is one of just two current SEC teams that Cal hasn't faced (Auburn).
• The Bears have multiple ties to the Vanderbilt program.
  • Lee Dort (Junior forward; member of Vanderbilt team from 2022-24)
  • Adam Mazarei (Associate Head Coach; four seasons on Vanderbilt staff, 2019-23)
  • Shasha Brown (Director of Operations & Player Development; three seasons on Vanderbilt staff, 2019-22)
• A win by Cal on Wednesday in Nashville would mark its first nonconference road win since Dec. 19, 2017, at Seattle U (81-59). The Bears have lost 10 consecutive nonconference road games since.
• Vanderbilt is 2-0 after a rout of Maryland Eastern Shore (102-63) on the opening day of the season and an 85-76 win against Southeast Missouri on Nov. 10. The 'Dores shot just 18.6% from 3-point range through its first two games, but have averaged 50.5 rebounds per game (sixth nationally) and a 2.8 assist-to-turnover ratio (third nationally).

 
STARTING FIVE
1. It Takes Everyone
Cal has flexed its new-look depth with a 10-man rotation in each of its first two games this season. All 10 players who have so far seen the court are first-year Golden Bears – nine transfers and one freshman – and each has scored in both wins against CSU Bakersfield and Cal Poly. Six of the 10 Bears already have at least one double-figure scoring effort, highlighted by two apiece from Jovan Blacksher Jr. (17.5 points per game), Andrej Stojakovic (15.5 PPG) and BJ Omot (11.5 PPG). Cal's retooled roster features 11 scholarship newcomers and 15 total players wearing Blue & Gold for the first time.
 
2. Building Blocks
Though a modest feat, Cal is 2-0 for the first time in five seasons, since starting the 2019-20 season at 4-0. The two wins against CSU Bakersfield and Cal Poly last week were by a combined 31 points. Cal trailed just once for 17 seconds in the first half and led by as many as 18 against CSU Bakersfield on Nov. 4, and then showed resilience in overcoming an early 12-point deficit (17-5) in an eventual 18-point victory against Cal Poly on Nov. 7.
 
3. Golden Bears vs. the SEC
Cal seeks its first road win against an SEC team when it faces Vanderbilt on Wednesday. The Golden Bears are 0-7 all-time on the road against SEC teams – including an 0-2 mark at newcomers Oklahoma and Texas – and 16-23 overall against the current members of the SEC. Cal's last win against an SEC team was on March 24, 2014, vs. Arkansas (75-64) in the second round of the NIT. Since then, the Bears have lost three straight to SEC teams, most recently an 88-78 defeat to Ole Miss in the Hall of Fame Series in San Antonio last December.
 
4. Madsen Era, Year 2
It's year two in Berkeley for head coach Mark Madsen, who reinvigorated the Cal program and its fan base with a 10-win improvement in 2023-24. The Bears placed sixth in the Pac-12 last season, marking their best conference finish since 2016-17, and earned marquee wins at UCLA and against NCAA Tournament squads Washington State, Oregon and Colorado. Mad Dog – who was awarded a two-year contract extension in March 2024 that'll keep him at Cal until 2030 – now leads the Bears into a new era in the ACC.
 
5. Experienced Group
Cal's locker room may be filled with new faces, but its collective experience has shined through two games played. The Golden Bears ranked sixth among ACC teams in career Division I minutes played (14,876) entering the season. The veteran bunch is headlined by graduate transfers Mady Sissoko and Jovan Blacksher Jr., who have played a combined 248 career games at Michigan State and Grand Canyon, respectively. Both players reached the NCAA Round of 32 last year with their former squads. Eight transfers – Sissoko and Blacksher, included – are at least a junior in eligibility: DJ Campbell (junior, Western Carolina), Lee Dort (junior, Vanderbilt), Joshua Ola-Joseph (junior, Minnesota), BJ Omot (junior, North Dakota), Rytis Petraitis (junior, Air Force) and Christian Tucker (senior, UTSA).
 
Those eight Bears have accounted for 89.2% of Cal's scoring, 70.2% of its rebounds and 87.5% of its assists across its two wins over the opening week of the season.
 
SUPPORT THE BEARS
Tickets for the 2024-25 campaign can be purchased by visiting CalBears.com/Tickets, calling 800-GO-BEARS (462-3277) or emailing goldstandard@berkeley.edu. Fans can support the Golden Bears through the Cal Men's Basketball Excellence Initiative or the California Legends Collective.
 
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