Cal starts up an eight-game home stretch with two tests this week. Coming to Haas Pavilion to kick off December action is Utah (6-2) for a 7 p.m. meeting with the Bears (6-1) on Tuesday (Dec. 2). After that, Cal has a weekend clash with Pacific (6-2) at 2 p.m. on Saturday (Dec. 6).

FOLLOW ALONG
Cal's two games this week will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX) with Roxy Bernstein and Ben Braun on the call. Fans can also catch Justin Allegri on the Cal Bears Sports Network radio broadcast on 810 AM and The Varsity App.

FOR FANS
Tuesday night's test vs. Utah will be a "Haas of Pain" game featuring a t-shirt giveaway for Cal students in attendance.

BEATING THE BRUINS

Cal stepped onto a big stage and scored a big win, beating No. 18 UCLA 80-72 at Chase Center in the finale of the Empire Classic on November 25. It was the Bears' first win over a ranked opponent since 2020.

• The lead changed hands six times in the first half as the teams were largely in stride on the scoring front, with Cal shooting 41.9 percent overall to UCLA's 41.2 percent. Thanks to a 25-15 rebounding advantage, the Bruins had punched up nine second-chance points while also going 9-of-13 from the free-throw line to help lead things 41-36 at halftime.
• UCLA took a six-point lead early in the second half before the Bears unleashed a 13-2 rally that took them into the lead to stay. The Bruins got within four in the final five minutes, only to see Cal's Dai Dai Ames tally nine clutch points in that last stretch to help anchor the Bears' win. Cal finished out the game shooting 44.8 percent, thanks in part to a 6-of-11 effort from 3-point range in the second half. UCLA finished at 40.6 percent overall and was ahead on the boards 41-35, although Cal outrebounded the Bruins 20-16 in those final 20 minutes.
• The Bears were led in scoring by Chris Bell's 22 points on 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Ames added 14 points -- all in the second half -- while Justin Pippen scored 13 and Rytis Petraitis tallied 12 along with a team-high seven rebounds. UCLA received 19 points from Trent Perry and 17 from Eric Dailey Jr.
• 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.
• Bell also crossed the 1,000-point margin in his collegiate career with his effort tonight, now with 1,007 career points.
• Bell was named MVP of the Empire Classic game between Cal and UCLA.
• DeJuan Campbell returned from injury for his first appearance of the season and scored four points.
• With four rebounds tonight, Milos Ilic recorded his 500th career rebound.
• With 12 points, Rytis Petraitis tallied his first double-digit game of the season.
• All nine Bears who played in the game scored.
• This was Cal's first win over an AP ranked opponent since a 76-62 victory over No. 21 Colorado on Feb. 27, 2020 at Haas Pavilion.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
Cal is 6-0 when holding opponents to 72 points or less and 5-0 when holding opponents to under 40 percent shooting.

BALANCED BEARS

Four Cal starters are averaging in double figures through the first seven games of the year.
- Dai Dai Ames (18.1 ppg), Chris Bell (16.6) and Justin Pippen (12.9) have hit double digits in six of Cal's seven games this season, with John Camden (13.4) doing so in five games to date.

ALL DAY DAI DAI
Dai Dai Ames leads Cal in scoring with 18.1 points per game thanks in part to an 11-of-13 effort from 3-point range in a two-game span vs. Cal State Fullerton and Kansas State. 

- He and Chris Bell lead the team with 18 threes made apiece.
- Ames ranks No. 11 in the nation with his 3-point percentage of 52.8.

BELL RINGER
Chris Bell hit five 3-pointers in four minutes of play at Kansas State to help turn a 17-point deficit into a six-point margin with 37 seconds left. The Bears came up short in a 99-96 loss, although Bell finished with a season-high 27 points on 7-of-9 shooting from 3-point range.
- Bell has now turned out three 20-point outings as a Bear and has pinned up double digits in Cal's last six games.
- Bell drained five 3-pointers in Cal's upset of No. 18 UCLA.
- He's shooting 45.2 percent from 3-point range and is a steamy 96.2 percent from the free-throw line (No. 13 in the nation).

MOVING THE BALL
Cal has dished out 20+ assists in three different games this season and currently ranks 91st in the nation with 16.4 assists per game.
- Justin Pippen is the Bears' top distributor and 77th in the nation with his 5.0 assists per game, including a career-high  seven served up vs. CSUB in Cal's season opener.

 
FIRST TIME OUT
In Cal's season opener, seven newcomers scored their first points as Bears: Dai Dai Ames (18 points), Chris Bell (5), John Camden (22), Nolan Dorsey (2), Milos Ilic (4), Mantas Kocanas (2) and Justin Pippen (15).
- In their second season at Cal, sophomores BJ Fisher and Stephon Marbury II both checked in for their first official court time as Bears vs. CSUB.
- Also making their Cal debuts on Nov. 3 were transfer Dhiaukuei Manyiel Dut and true freshmen Luke Butler and TT Carr.
- Cal's season-opening win marked the 300th victory recorded by the Bears at Haas Pavilion.

HOT START
Cal's 3-0 start to 2025-26 was its first since the 2019-20 season when the Bears opened at 4-0.
- The Bears recorded 90+ points in back-to-back games —­ the first time Cal has done so since 2014 — vs. Cal State Fullerton and Kansas State.
- Cal scored a season-high 96 points at Kansas State on a season-best 56.5% shooting along with 53.6% from 3-point range.
- Cal has shot over 50 percent in four games this season, going 3-1 in those games.
- After a 91-point effort vs. Sacramento State, Cal has three 90+ games this season.

CENTURY CLUB
Cal's 93-65 win over Cal State Fullerton on November 10 marked Mark Madsen's 100th career victory as a head coach.

 
ACC EXPERIENCE
As Cal enters its second season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Bears boast a couple players who have already logged hours as members of the ACC prior to arriving in Berkeley. Dai Dai Ames comes to Cal after one season at Virginia, and Chris Bell joins the Bears after three seasons at Syracuse.

CAREER CLIMBERS
In addition to Mark Madsen's 100th career head-coaching win, several other Bears have hit career milestones this season and are looking for more.
SR F Rytis Petraitis — 1,000th career point scored Nov. 21 vs. Sacramento State
SR F Chris Bell — 1,000th career point scored Nov. 25 vs. UCLA
GS C Milos Ilic — 500th career rebound recorded Nov. 25 vs. UCLA | 843 career points (entering December)

NEW CREW
HC Mark Madsen has a haul of new talent on board for his third season at the helm of the Cal program. Of the 13 newcomers to the roster, nine are transfers and four are true freshmen.

LONG GAME
Of Cal's nine transfer additions, six are post players who stretch the Bears' size in the frontcourt. Spanning from 6-foot-7 Chris Bell to 7-footer Dhiaukuei Manyiel Dut, the group checks in at an average of 6-foot-9.

BACK FOR MORE
Cal returns three Bears who saw time in the starting lineup last season — F Rytis Petraitis (29 starts), G DeJuan Campbell (16) and F Lee Dort (1).

TV TIME
Cal is locked in with 19 televised tests in its second season in the Atlantic Coast Conference. All 18 of the Golden Bears' ACC regular-season games will be televised, along with a nonconference clash against UCLA at Chase Center as part of the Empire Classic.
In all, Cal will play four times on ESPN's family of networks – ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU – along with 15 games on the ACC Network. Cal's 11 nonconference home games will stream on ACCNX.

CHAMPIONSHIP RINGS
Mark Madsen is one of four NCAA Division I head coaches that won an NBA title during their playing careers. Madsen is the only one of those four coaches to have won two NBA titles, both coming with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2001 and 2002.
Name (School) -- NBA Title(s)
Speedy Claxton (Hofstra) -- 2003, San Antonio
Mark Madsen (Cal) -- 2001 & 2002, Los Angeles
Darrell Walker (Little Rock) -- 1993, Chicago
Mo Williams (Jackson State) -- 2016, Cleveland