BEAR BITES
• California stays home this week for two more ACC games at Haas Pavilion.
• The Golden Bears (19-8, 7-7 ACC) host SMU (19-8, 8-6) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday before setting up for their final regular-season home game next Saturday (Feb. 28) at 1 p.m. against Pitt (10-17, 3-11).
• Cal will celebrate a group of seven graduating Bears before that game in a Senior Day ceremony.
• Cal is looking to reach 20 wins in a season for the first time since winning 21 games in 2016-17.
• The last time the Bears recorded 20 wins during the regular season was 2015-16, when Cal won 22 games entering the postseason. That was also the last time the Bears earned an NCAA Tournament berth (Cal finished 23-6 overall).

FOLLOW ALONG
• Wednesday's clash between Cal and SMU will be broadcast on ACC Network with Roxy Bernstein and Austin Croshere on the call.
• Chris Sylvester and Jerod Haase will call Saturday's game vs. Pitt on ACC Network.
• 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. For both games this week, Allegri will have Cal alum Theo Robertson on the calls with him as analyst.
• Live stats for both games will be available at cal.statbroadcast.com.

LAST ACTION
Cal never trailed en route to a 72-66 win over visiting rival Stanford at Haas Pavilion. The win topped off the Golden Bears' first regular-season sweep of the Cardinal since 2009-10 and improved Cal to 19-8 overall and 7-7 in ACC play.
Cal maneuvered out to a 39-25 halftime lead on 42.4 percent shooting -- ahead of Stanford's 38.5 percent effort. The Bears forced nine turnovers out of the Cardinal and were ahead on the boards 21-15 while two Cal players were in double digits by the break in Dai Dai Ames and Chris Bell. Cal's shooting cooled in the second half, but the Bears remained in control to finish out the win. Cal wrapped at 34.9 percent shooting overall with nine 3-pointers made and a 46-40 rebounding advantage. Stanford finished up shooting 33.3 percent overall, making eight 3-pointers but going 18-of-29 from the free-throw line.
Cal was paced by Chris Bell's game-high 20 points, with John Camden adding 18 and Dai Dai Ames at 17 on the day. Stanford received 19 points from Aidan Cammann along with 17 points and 13 rebounds from Ebuka Okorie. Benny Gealer added 15 points for the Cardinal, and AJ Rohosy had 10.
NOTABLE:
• With a game-high 20 points, Chris Bell hit double digits for the 21st time this season.
• It was Bell's seventh 20-point outing of the season.
• He has now scored in double figures in Cal's last eight games.
• With 22 points at Boston College, Bell has recorded back-to-back 20-point games for the second time this season.
• With 18 points, John Camden scored in double digits for the 20th time this season.
• With 17 points, Dai Dai Ames scored in double figures for a team-best 24th time this season.
• Ames also recorded a career-high seven rebounds.
• Cal is now 11-1 this season when Ames, Bell and Camden score in double figures.
• Cal's 46 rebounds was a season high.
• This was Cal's first win of the season when shooting under 40 percent overall.
• With this win and victory at Stanford last month, Cal has recorded a regular-season sweep of the Cardinal for the first time since 2009-10.

RANKED WINS
Cal has beaten two ranked opponents this season — then-No. 18 UCLA (Nov. 24 in San Francisco) and then-No. 14 North Carolina (Jan. 17 in Berkeley) — to mark the first time since 2016 that the Bears have beaten two ranked teams.
• The win over the Bruins 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.
• In a 22-point performance vs. UCLA, Chris Bell crossed the 1,000-point margin in his collegiate career.
• With four rebounds vs. UCLA, Milos Ilic recorded his 500th career rebound.
• The win over North Carolina was Cal's first win over a top-15 AP opponent since 2016, when the Bears beat No. 11 Oregon at Haas Pavilion.
• Milos Ilic and Mantas Kocanas both hit their first 3-pointers as Bears vs. UNC.
• Cal's 54 points at halftime vs. UNC was the most scored in the first half by the Bears this season.

HOT START
• Cal's 12-1 start to this season marked its best since the 1959-60 season, when the Bears went 28-1 before falling in the 1960 national championship game.
• Cal's nine-game win streak from Nov. 18-Dec. 21 matched its longest win streak since recording nine consecutive in 2008-09
• 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 97 points vs. Morgan State on a season-best 59.3% shooting along with 55.0% from 3-point range and a 95.7% effort from the free-throw line.
• Cal has shot 50 percent or better in seven games this season, going 6-1 in those games.
• After its 100-point effort vs. Syracuse, Cal has seven 90+ games this season — the most in a season since a program-record 10 were recorded in 1970-71.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
• Cal is 15-2 when holding opponents to 72 points or less
• Cal is 9-1 when holding teams to under 40 percent shooting.
• The Bears are also holding opponents to just 30.5 percent from 3-point range, ranking No. 32 in the nation in 3-point percentage defense as of Feb. 23.
• As of Feb. 23, Justin Pippen is averaging 1.84 steals per game, ranking him No. 74 in the nation.

BALANCED BEARS
• Four Cal starters are averaging in double figures.
• Dai Dai Ames (17.1 ppg) has scored in double digits in a team-best 24 games this season, including 10 20-point outings.
• Justin Pippen (14.6) has hit double figures 22 times in his 25 appearances this season.
• John Camden (14.4 ppg) has scored in double figures 20 times.
• Chris Bell (13.7) has done so in 21 games.

CAREER CLIMBERS
In addition to Mark Madsen's 100th career head-coaching win, several other Bears have hit career milestones this season.
• 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 on Nov. 25 vs. UCLA|886 career points (as of Feb. 2)
• GS F John Camden — 1,000th point scored Feb. 11 at Syracuse

ALL DAY DAI DAI
• Dai Dai Ames leads Cal in scoring with 17.1 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.
• Ames scored seven points in under seven seconds to win the game for Cal in a heated clash with Notre Dame on Jan. 2.  After hitting a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left to make it a one-point game, he followed two Fighting Irish free throws with a game-winning four-point play converted with 5.5 seconds to go for a 72-71 Cal win.
• Ames has been Cal's top scorer in a team-best nine games.

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 27 points on 7-of-9 shooting from 3-point range.
• Bell drained five 3-pointers in Cal's upset of No. 18 UCLA.
• After 20 points scored vs. Stanford, Bell has now turned out seven 20-point outings as a Bear.
• He's shooting 44.5 percent from the floor and 85.7 percent from the free-throw line.

CAMDEN CASHES IN
• John Camden leads the team with his 75 total threes made (No. 67 in the nation), and he's shooting a team-best 42.4 percent from beyond the arc, ranking him 23rd in the nation as of Feb. 23.
• In Cal's first road win of the season, Camden hit five 3-pointers and scored a season-high 25 points at Stanford.
• In a road win at Miami, Camden upped his season high to 26 points.
• Camden made a run of 16 straight games with at least one 3-pointer made until Cal's Jan. 10 loss at Virginia Tech.
• Camden has made 33 threes in Cal's last 10 games.

MOVING THE BALL
• Cal has dished out 20+ assists in three games this season.
• Justin Pippen is the Bears' top distributor with his 4.4 assists per game, including a career-high eight served up in Cal's recent win at Miami.
• After serving up nine assists with just one turnover vs. Morgan State, TT Carr ranked No. 1 in the nation with his assist/turnover ratio of 6.20 in the Dec. 20 national rankings.
• In all, seven different Bears average at least one assist per game.
• Cal is also taking care of the ball nicely, averaging just 10.3 turnovers per game to rank No. 54 in the nation as of Feb. 23.

DORT ON DUTY
• Until being sidelined by injury recently, Lee Dort proved himself as a force on the boards, with four double-digit rebounding games this season. He ranked No. 65 in the nation in defensive rebounds per game as of Feb. 16 (5.7 drpg).
• Dort also has almost doubled his offensive output from last season at Cal, averaging 8.3 ppg after 4.6 ppg as a junior.
• His rebounding marks are also markedly improved from last season, up to 7.7 rpg from 4.6.


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 three players who have already logged hours as ACC members prior to arriving in Berkeley. Dai Dai Ames came to Cal after one season at Virginia, Chris Bell joined the Bears after three seasons at Syracuse, and John Camden played his sophomore and junior seasons at Virginia Tech.
TOP-40 HITS
In the Dec. 30 national rankings, Cal was the only team in the nation with three different players ranked in the nation's top-40 in these three different statistical categories:
• Field Goals Made — No. 40: Dai Dai Ames (88)
• Free-throw Percentage ­— No. 39: Chris Bell (90.3)
• 3-Pointers Made — No. 40 John Camden (40)
 
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.
LONG GAME
Of Cal's nine transfer additions, six are post players who stretch the Bears' size in the front court. 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).
NEW CREW
Of the 13 newcomers to the roster, nine are transfers and four are true freshmen.
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

GET TICKETS
Tickets for 2025-26 Cal home games can be purchased by visiting CalBears.com/Tickets or calling 800-GO-BEARS (462-3277). 

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