BERKELEY – The California men's basketball team makes its first of two trips to Tobacco Road this week and will face North Carolina on Wednesday in Chapel Hill. Tipoff is at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET at the Dean E. Smith Center, and ACC Network will televise the contest.
 
Cal (8-8, 1-4 ACC) split a pair of home games last week, defeating Virginia 75-61 – the Golden Bears' first-ever ACC victory – Wednesday before falling short against Virginia Tech, 71-68, Saturday. The Tar Heels (11-6, 4-1) have won three in a row in conference play since Jan. 4, most recently including a 63-61 win at NC State on Saturday.
 
GAME INFORMATION

• Date & Time: Wednesday, Jan. 15 | 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET
• Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina | Dean E. Smith Center
• Watch: ACC Network | Wes Durham (PxP), Cory Alexander (Analyst) & Jim Boeheim (Analyst)
• Listen: 810 AM & Varsity Network App | Justin Allegri (PxP)
• Live Stats: Statbroadcast

INSIDE THE MATCHUP – CAL vs. NORTH CAROLINA

• Series record: UNC leads, 4-1
• Cal and UNC meet on the hardwood Wednesday for the first time since 1998.
• The programs have clashed five times dating back to 1972, including twice in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels won both of those home games; 74-70 on Dec. 5, 1973, and 71-47 on Nov. 22, 1997.
• Cal's lone win against UNC came in the programs' most recent meeting, a 78-71 contest in the Pete Newell Challenge on Dec. 29, 1998. Geno Carlisle scored 29 points, including 12 in the final seven minutes, and Cal rallied to upset the No. 9 Tar Heels at Oakland Arena. The Bears, who played their home games at Oakland Arena during the 1998-99 season, went on to win the 1999 NIT title.

STARTING FIVE
1. Dre Day
Andrej Stojakovic continues to prove why he's one of the top offensive threats in the ACC in his first season as a Golden Bear, ranking 12th nationally and second in the conference with 20.3 points per game. The sophomore guard is also averaging a league-leading 24.2 PPG against ACC competition, scoring 19-plus in all five of Cal's conference contests, including 30 at Clemson on Jan. 4.
 
Stojakovic has made dramatic improvements since transferring to Cal from rival Stanford, namely in scoring; his +12.5 PPG increase from 2023-24 to 2024-25 (7.8 to 20.3 PPG) is the second-best improvement among all major conference players this season. He's also made jumps in rebounding (3.4 to 4.3 RPG), blocks (0.1 to 1.1 BPG) and his shooting splits (.409/.327/.528 to .462/.351/.841).
 
2. Road Battles
The Bears have been competitive on the road against stiff competition this season but are just 1-4 in such games. Cal defeated USC 71-66 on Nov. 17 for its lone road victory of the season, but has dropped games at Vanderbilt (Nov. 13), Missouri (Dec. 3), Pitt (Jan. 1) and Clemson (Jan. 4). The Bears held double-figure leads in two of those losses – 18 points at Missouri & 16 points at Pitt – and will look to have better success on Tobacco Road this week.
 
3. Spark Plug
Freshman Jeremiah Wilkinson has been dynamite coming off the bench for Cal, with his 12.5 PPG leading the nation among freshmen who have not started a game this season. The rookie has scored double figures 11 times in the past 12 games (15.8 PPG in that span) and ranks fifth among ACC freshmen in scoring. Wilkinson has played the fewest minutes per game (21.1 MPG) of the five ACC freshmen who are averaging double-figure points. Wilkinson is a driving force behind Cal's 25.4 bench points per game, which rank fifth in the ACC.
 
4. Aye Aye, Captains
Cal's team-elected captains Jovan Blacksher Jr. and Mady Sissoko have leaned on their wealth of collegiate experience to lead the Bears through 16 games this season. Blacksher and Sissoko have played in 136 and 140 career games, respectively, and lead Cal in assists per game (Blacksher, 2.9 APG) and rebounds (Sissoko, 6.9 RPG). Blacksher needs just five points to reach 1,500 for his career – he'd be just the seventh active ACC player to reach the milestone – while Sissoko posted a monster stat line with nine points, 11 rebounds and a career-high four blocks against Virginia last Wednesday to help Cal earn its first-ever ACC win.
 
5. Mo' Buckets
Cal can generate points in a hurry and can do it in a variety of ways, averaging 77.0 points per game. The Bears average 33.0 PPG in the paint, 22.8 PPG from 3-point range and 18.1 PPG at the free throw line. Cal's emphasis on attacking the rim was evident last Wednesday against Virginia, with 30 points in the paint and 27 points at the free throw line (27 of 33). Cal scores more than 66% of its points in the paint or at the free throw line but is dangerous from deep, too, ranking eighth in the ACC with a 35.0% 3-point clip.
 
UP NEXT
The Bears conclude their road swing at NC State on Saturday. Tipoff at Lenovo Center in Raleigh is at 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET and the contest will be televised on ACC Network.
 
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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