BERKELEY – The California men's basketball team will go for a second straight win to open the 2024-25 season when it hosts Cal Poly on Thursday night at Haas Pavilion. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. PT on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).
 
The Golden Bears (1-0) started the season with a decisive 86-73 victory against CSU Bakersfield on Monday. They led by as many as 18 points in the contest and trailed for just 17 seconds early in the first half.
 
Cal Poly (0-1) narrowly dropped its season opener at San Francisco 86-78 on Tuesday.
 
GAME INFORMATION

• Date & Time: Thursday, Nov. 7 | 7 p.m. PT
• Location: Berkeley, California | Haas Pavilion
• Watch: ACCNX | Roxy Bernstein (PxP) & Ben Braun (Analyst)
• Listen: 810 AM & The Varsity Network App | Kevin Danna (PxP)
• Live Stats: Statbroadcast

 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP – CAL VS. CAL POLY

• Series record: Cal leads, 6-1
• The Bears and Mustangs will meet on the hardwood for the first time since 2018 when Cal won a 67-66 contest in Berkeley.
• Cal has won the past five head-to-head meetings with Cal Poly dating back to December 2010.
• The Mustangs will be led by graduate guard Jarred Hyder, who played three seasons for the Bears from 2020-23. Hyder – who scored a team-leading 19 points for Cal Poly on Tuesday at San Francisco – earned his undergraduate degree in legal studies from Cal in May 2023 and played in 46 career games for the Bears.

 
STARTING FIVE
1. New Conference, New Bears
Cal enters the 2024-25 season – its inaugural campaign as a member of the ACC – with a retooled roster, featuring 11 scholarship newcomers and 15 total student-athletes wearing Blue & Gold for the first time. The Bears flexed their new-look depth in the season-opening win as 10 players – nine transfers and one freshman, all of whom made their Cal debuts – saw the court within the first eight minutes. Five Bears finished with double-figure points, led by Jovan Blacksher Jr. (17), Andrej Stojakovic (16) and BJ Omot (13).
 
2. 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.
 
3. Own The Paint
Cal's big-man duo of Mady Sissoko and Lee Dort did a bit of everything against CSU Bakersfield, combining for 14 points on 4-of-4 shooting and 12 rebounds, as well as one assist and block apiece. Sissoko, a graduate transfer from Michigan State, was one of five Bears in double figures with 10 points while Dort, a junior transfer from Vanderbilt, grabbed five of his six rebounds in the second half to help Cal put the Roadrunners away.
 
4. Knock 'Em Down
The Bears made CSU Bakersfield pay at the free-throw line on Monday, making 31 of 40 free-throw attempts in the win. Both marks were Cal's most in a single game since going 31 of 43 against Portland State on Dec. 21, 2017. Four Bears were perfect individually at the charity stripe, led by Andrej Stojakovic, who made 9 of 9.
 
5. Experienced Group
Though Cal's 2024-25 roster is a nearly brand-new cast from a season ago, the locker room is filled with experienced collegiate players. Cal ranks sixth among ACC teams in career Division I minutes played (14,876) entering the season. Including Sissoko and Blacksher – who have played in a combined 246 games – the Bears added seven transfers who have at least two seasons of experience, including Joshua Ola-Joseph (junior, Minnesota), DeJuan (DJ) Campbell (junior, Western Carolina), BJ Omot (junior, North Dakota), Christian Tucker (senior, UTSA) and Rytis Petraitis (junior, Air Force).
 
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/).