Sunday, November 24
Berkeley, CA
1:00 PM
California
vs
Sacramento State
Rytis Petraitis (left) and Andrej Stojakovic combined for 33 points in Cal's win vs. Air Force on Thursday.
Photo by: Jaden Yenjai/Cal Athletics
11/23/2024 11:51 AM | Men's Basketball
Cal Has Won 3 Straight At Home To Start Season
BERKELEY – The California men's basketball team will look to continue its best start since the 2019-20 season when it hosts Sacramento State on Sunday afternoon at Haas Pavilion. The nonconference contest tips off at 1 p.m. PT on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX) and is the second of three games the Golden Bears (4-1) will play in the Cal Classic.
Cal remained undefeated at home (3-0) on the season with a 78-69 win over Air Force on Thursday despite being without three starters due to injuries. The Bears are 7-2 in nonconference home games under second-year head coach Mark Madsen and have won five straight home games overall – including a pair of Pac-12 Conference contests – dating back to Feb. 22, 2024, of last season.
Sacramento State (1-3) has lost three in a row and its lone win came against NAIA member Cal Maritime on Nov. 5.
GAME INFORMATION
INSIDE THE MATCHUP – CAL vs. SACRAMENTO STATE
STARTING FIVE
1. Next Man Up
Cal flexed its roster depth in a 78-69 victory against Air Force on Thursday despite being without three starters – Jovan Blacksher Jr., DJ Campbell and BJ Omot – due to injuries. The Bears, who have deployed a 10-man rotation throughout the early stages of the season, still played nine players in the win over Air Force and saw Jeremiah Wilkinson (23 points), Andrej Stojakovic (21) and Rytis Petraitis (12) score a combined 56 points on 20-of-37 shooting. Ten Bears are averaging 12-plus minutes per game so far this season and the Cal bench is contributing 27 points per game.
2. Show 'Em What You Got
Freshman guard Jeremiah Wilkinson stole the show in Cal's win against Air Force on Thursday, scoring a career-best 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers and four rebounds. Wilkinson entered the game with 11 points scored through the first four games of the season but rose to the occasion with three Cal starters missing due to injuries. The rookie is averaging 6.8 points per game on 48% shooting for the season following the 23-point effort.
3. The Big Fellas
Cal has found success defending the rim and cleaning up on the glass with its big-man duo of Mady Sissoko and Lee Dort. Sissoko, a graduate transfer from Michigan State with 129 career games under his belt, has started all five games and has averaged 5.8 points and 5.2 rebounds, along with a team-best 1.2 blocks per game. Dort is 12th among ACC players with 7.6 RPG to go along with 5.4 PPG on a 78.6% clip (11 of 14) in just 16 minutes per game off the bench. Dort is third among ACC players with 3.2 offensive rebounds per game; he's grabbed at least two in each game.
4. Roadkill
The Bears rebounded from a disappointing first loss of the season at Vanderbilt by notching a 71-66 win at USC last Sunday in Los Angeles. It was Cal's first road win at USC since Jan. 8, 2017, and its first nonconference road win against any foe since Dec. 19, 2017, at Seattle U. Andrej Stojakovic tied a then-career high with 20 points while Jovan Blacksher Jr. scored 18 of his season-high 19 in the first half as the duo shot a combined 14 of 22 from the field. Joshua Ola-Joseph made several key plays down the stretch, logging six points seven rebounds and a steal in 10 second-half minutes played.
5. 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.
HOW TO WATCH
Access to ACC Network and ACC Network Extra (ACCNX) is determined by your pay TV provider (cable, satellite, telco or streaming service). Viewers can still access games via a subscription to ESPN+, even without access to ACC Network. Viewers with access to ACCNX can view the streaming channel on the same device (smart TV's, smartphones, tablets, connected streaming devices or espn.com/watch) where they view ACC Network. ESPN+ is a subscription-based streaming channel that can also be viewed on any streaming device.
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.
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal men's basketball, follow the Bears on X (@CalMBBall), Instagram (@CalMBBball) and Facebook (/CalMBBall/).
Cal remained undefeated at home (3-0) on the season with a 78-69 win over Air Force on Thursday despite being without three starters due to injuries. The Bears are 7-2 in nonconference home games under second-year head coach Mark Madsen and have won five straight home games overall – including a pair of Pac-12 Conference contests – dating back to Feb. 22, 2024, of last season.
Sacramento State (1-3) has lost three in a row and its lone win came against NAIA member Cal Maritime on Nov. 5.
GAME INFORMATION
- Date & Time: Sunday, Nov. 24 | 1 p.m. PT
- Location: Berkeley, California | Haas Pavilion
- Watch: ACC Network Extra | Roxy Bernstein (PxP) & Ben Braun (Analyst)
- Listen: 810 AM & Varsity Network App | Justin Allegri (PxP)
- Live Stats: Statbroadcast
INSIDE THE MATCHUP – CAL vs. SACRAMENTO STATE
- Series record: Cal leads, 2-0
- Cal and Sacramento State have faced one another on the hardwood just twice previously despite being separated by roughly 80 miles. Cal won both games in 1950 and 1992.
- The Dec. 1, 1992, contest – an 89-65 romp for the Bears at the Oakland Coliseum – was the collegiate debut of Hall-of-Famer Jason Kidd. The freshman phenom dazzled with 11 points, 10 assists and six steals.
- Sunday's contest is the second of three games the Bears will play in the Cal Classic, a round-robin multi-team event held between Nov. 21-30. Cal bested Air Force in its first game of the MTE and will also host Mercyhurst on Nov. 27.
STARTING FIVE
1. Next Man Up
Cal flexed its roster depth in a 78-69 victory against Air Force on Thursday despite being without three starters – Jovan Blacksher Jr., DJ Campbell and BJ Omot – due to injuries. The Bears, who have deployed a 10-man rotation throughout the early stages of the season, still played nine players in the win over Air Force and saw Jeremiah Wilkinson (23 points), Andrej Stojakovic (21) and Rytis Petraitis (12) score a combined 56 points on 20-of-37 shooting. Ten Bears are averaging 12-plus minutes per game so far this season and the Cal bench is contributing 27 points per game.
2. Show 'Em What You Got
Freshman guard Jeremiah Wilkinson stole the show in Cal's win against Air Force on Thursday, scoring a career-best 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers and four rebounds. Wilkinson entered the game with 11 points scored through the first four games of the season but rose to the occasion with three Cal starters missing due to injuries. The rookie is averaging 6.8 points per game on 48% shooting for the season following the 23-point effort.
3. The Big Fellas
Cal has found success defending the rim and cleaning up on the glass with its big-man duo of Mady Sissoko and Lee Dort. Sissoko, a graduate transfer from Michigan State with 129 career games under his belt, has started all five games and has averaged 5.8 points and 5.2 rebounds, along with a team-best 1.2 blocks per game. Dort is 12th among ACC players with 7.6 RPG to go along with 5.4 PPG on a 78.6% clip (11 of 14) in just 16 minutes per game off the bench. Dort is third among ACC players with 3.2 offensive rebounds per game; he's grabbed at least two in each game.
4. Roadkill
The Bears rebounded from a disappointing first loss of the season at Vanderbilt by notching a 71-66 win at USC last Sunday in Los Angeles. It was Cal's first road win at USC since Jan. 8, 2017, and its first nonconference road win against any foe since Dec. 19, 2017, at Seattle U. Andrej Stojakovic tied a then-career high with 20 points while Jovan Blacksher Jr. scored 18 of his season-high 19 in the first half as the duo shot a combined 14 of 22 from the field. Joshua Ola-Joseph made several key plays down the stretch, logging six points seven rebounds and a steal in 10 second-half minutes played.
5. 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.
HOW TO WATCH
Access to ACC Network and ACC Network Extra (ACCNX) is determined by your pay TV provider (cable, satellite, telco or streaming service). Viewers can still access games via a subscription to ESPN+, even without access to ACC Network. Viewers with access to ACCNX can view the streaming channel on the same device (smart TV's, smartphones, tablets, connected streaming devices or espn.com/watch) where they view ACC Network. ESPN+ is a subscription-based streaming channel that can also be viewed on any streaming device.
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.
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal men's basketball, follow the Bears on X (@CalMBBall), Instagram (@CalMBBball) and Facebook (/CalMBBall/).
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