THIS WEEK
Cal is in the midst of an eight-game home stand and holds its best record since 2014 with its 10-1 mark.
- The Bears carry a seven-game win streak — the longest since 2014 — into their next test at Haas Pavilion, where Cal is currently undefeated at 9-0.
- This week's competition in Berkeley brings Montana State (2-8) to town on Friday (Dec. 19) for a 7 p.m. meeting between the two Bears squads.
- From there, it's a tight turnaround to a Sunday (Dec. 21) matchup at 2 p.m. between Cal and Columbia (9-2).
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Cal's games this week are broadcast on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX). Friday's Cal-Montana State matchup will have Roxy Bernstein and Ben Braun on the call. Sunday, it will be Greg Mescall and Braun calling the Cal-Columbia clash. Fans can also catch Justin Allegri on the Cal Bears Sports Network radio broadcast on 810 AM and The Varsity App for all Cal men's basketball games.
 
ACC AROUND THE CORNER
Atlantic Coast Conference action is on tap next as the Bears finish up nonconference play this week. Cal's opening weekend of ACC competition brings a nationally ranked Louisville team to Berkeley on December 30 before ringing in the New Year against Notre Dame on January 2 at Haas Pavilion.

SUNDAY TOY DRIVE
The Bears have partnered with nonprofit StudioFive10 for this year's toy drive! Fans are encouraged to bring brand new toys to donate. Toy donations will be accepted during this Sunday's game vs. Columbia at the Alumni House located across from Haas Pavilion. You can also donate here!
 
LAST ACTION
Cal collected its 10th win of the season and stayed perfect at Haas Pavilion with a 79-70 victory over visiting Northwestern State today. The lead changed hands 14 times in the game before Cal unfurled a 12-0 run to take control of things late in order to tack up the Golden Bears' seventh straight win and improve to 10-1 overall.
    Both teams enjoyed six-points leads during the first half, and it took a buzzer-beating layup from Dai Dai Ames to snarl the game up for the fourth time at halftime, even at 37-37. Cal had shot 42.9 percent from the floor in those first 20 minutes, while Northwestern State was hitting at a 54.5 percent clip and was ahead on the boards 14-13 by the break. Cal stepped things up on both ends of the floor in the second half, holding the Demons to 37.9 percent from the floor in those 20 minutes while upping its offensive effort to 48.1 percent. That left Cal at 45.5 percent overall, aiding by a 12-of-26 effort from 3-point range. Northwestern State finished up at 45.1 percent overall, with 11-of-24 landed from beyond the arc. The Bears outrebounded the Demons 34-27 and dished out 17 assists with eight steals.
     For the third time this season, Cal had two 20-point scorers, led by John Camden's season-high 25 points and 20 from Dai Dai Ames. In his first career start, TT Carr set his new career high with 14 points and seven assists. Lee Dort also weighed in with a career-high, hauling in 13 rebounds for the Bears. Northwestern State was led in scoring by Izzy Miles' 22 points along with 13 from Micah Thomas.
NOTABLE:
- TT Carr made his first career start today and set a new career high with 14 points -- his second straight double-digit outing.
- Carr also delivered a new career high in assists with seven.
- Dai Dai Ames (20 points) recorded his fifth 20-point game of the season and scored in double digits for the 10th time this year.
- John Camden (season-high 25 points) scored in double figures for the ninth time this season.
- Camden hit a season-high six 3-pointers.
- With 13 rebounds and three blocks, Lee Dort set new career highs.
- Nolan Dorsey scored a season-high seven points
- Now with seven straight wins, Cal has its longest win streak since 2016 (also seven in a row)
- Cal's 10-1 overall record matches its best since 2014, when the Bears opened up 10-1.
- Cal is now 10-0 when holding teams to 72 or fewer points.
 
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, now with 1,007 career points.
- DeJuan Campbell returned from injury for his first appearance of the season and scored four points.
- With four rebounds, 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.
 
HOT START
- At 10-1, Cal has its best start to a season since also going 10-1 to open 2014-15.
- If the Bears reach 11-1, it would be the best start since the 1959-60 season when Cal went 28-1 before falling in the national championship game.
- 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 93-point effort vs. Dominican, Cal has four 90+ games this season.
 
GETTING DEFENSIVE
Cal is 10-0 when holding opponents to 72 points or less and 6-0 when holding opponents to under 40 percent shooting.
 
BALANCED BEARS
Four Cal starters are averaging in double figures through the first 11 games of the year.
Dai Dai Ames (18.3 ppg) has hit double digits in 10 of Cal's 11 games this season, with Justin Pippen (15.3) and John Camden (14.8) doing so in nine games to date. Chris Bell (13.4) has scored in double digits eight times.
 
ALL DAY DAI DAI
Dai Dai Ames leads Cal in scoring with 18.3 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 leads the team with a 49 percent effort from beyond the arc so far and has recorded five 20-point games this season.
 
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 -- all recorded during a six-game run of double-digit outings.
- Bell drained five 3-pointers in Cal's upset of No. 18 UCLA.
- He's shooting 45 percent from the floor and is a steamy 90.2 percent from the free-throw line (No. 44 in the nation).
 
CAMDEN CASHES IN
After a 6-of-9 effort from 3-point range vs. Northwestern State, John Camden ranks No. 53 in the nation in 3-point percentage at 42.5 percent so far this season.
Camden produced a season-high 25 points in that game vs. the Demons on Dec. 13.
 
MOVING THE BALL
- Cal has dished out 20+ assists in three different games this season.
- Justin Pippen is the Bears' top distributor with his 4.2 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.
 
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
Now in its second season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Cal boasts a couple players who have already logged hours as ACC members 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 point scored Nov. 21 vs. Sacramento State
SR F Chris Bell — 1,000th point scored Nov. 25 vs. UCLA
GS C Milos Ilic — 500th rebound recorded Nov. 25 vs. UCLA | 845 career points (as of Dec. 16)
 
NEW CREW
Head coach 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 plays 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 are streaming 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
 
CALIFORNIA THROUGH AND THROUGH
"California Through and Through" is more than a slogan – it's a statement of identity, pride and our trajectory as Cal Men's Basketball. Just like our state, our program is engaging, diverse and inspiring. We have a rich history and legacy, and we have a bright future. Being California Through and Through means we celebrate our community and our place within it.
 
GET TICKETS
Season tickets for 2025-26 can be purchased by visiting CalBears.com/Tickets, calling 800-GO-BEARS (462-3277) or emailing goldstandard@berkeley.edu.
 
SUPPORT THE BEARS
Fans can support the Golden Bears through the Cal Men's Basketball Excellence Initiative.
 
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