Cal Begins ACC Men's Basketball Schedule Against North Carolina, Duke

Cal’s 18-game, 2026-27 ACC men’s basketball schedule begins with a challenging trip to the state of North Carolina to face Duke and North Carolina.

It gets only slightly easier after that.

Two days after officially announcing its nonconference men’s basketball schedule for 2026-27, Cal announced the dates for its ACC games this coming season on Wednesday.

The Bears will play nonconference games against Houston, Vanderbilt and USC, but its first conference game will be against North Carolina on Wednesday, December 30, at the Dean E. Smith Center, commonly known as the Dean Dome. The Tar Heels are expected to be on the fringe of a top-25 ranking in the preseason polls.

Three days later, on Saturday, January 2, Cal will play Duke in noisy Cameron Indoor Stadium, considered one of the toughest places for visiting teams. Duke is likely to be ranked among the top five in the preseason polls and might be No. 1.

Cal’s first conference home game will be against Florida State on Wednesday January 6, followed by a home game against Virginia on Saturday, January 9.

Cal will face Stanford and Noth Carolina State twice each this season, but won’t play Georgia Tech at all. The Bears will play each of the other ACC teams once.

Cal’s first game against Stanford will be a Saturday, January 23 game at Haas Pavilion, and the Bay Area rivals will meet again in both teams’ final regular-season game, on Saturday, March 6, at Stanford’s Maples Pavilion.

Cal is coming off a 22-12 season, including 9-9 in the ACC, and is embarking on in its third season in the ACC and its fourth season under coach Mark Madsen. Cal lost four starters from last season’s team and will have a rebuilt roster that includes five transfers and several freshmen expected to make an impact.

Eight ACC teams qualified for the NCAA tournament last season, while Cal reached the second round of the National Invitation Tournament. The NCAA tournament field has been expanded from 68 teams to 76 for 2027, giving the Bears a better chance of getting in.

Here is Cal’s entire 2026-27 season, with ACC games marked with an asterisk (*). Exhibition games against Loyola Marymount (October 16) and Oregon State (October 24), both on the road, are not included.

Monday, November 2 – Adams State at Cal

Wednesday, November 4 – Radford at Cal

Sunday, November 8 – Houston vs. Cal at Lake Tahoe, Nevada

Wednesday, November 11 – USC at Cal

Saturday, November 14 – Utah Tech at Cal

Thursday, November 19 – East Texas A&M at Cal

Monday, November 23 – Alabama State at Cal

Saturday, November 28 – Minnesota vs. Cal at Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Wednesday, December 2 – Cal at Utah

Sunday, December 6 – Vanderbilt at Cal

Thursday, December 10 – Southeastern Louisiana at Cal

Saturday, December 12 – UC Riverside at Cal

Sunday, December 20 – Southern at Cal

Tuesday, December 22 – Northeastern at Cal

*Wednesday, December 30 – Cal at North Carolina

*Saturday, January 2 – Cal at Duke

*Wednesday, January 6 – Florida State at Cal

*Saturday, January 9 – Virginia at Cal

*Wednesday, January 13 – Cal at Louisville

*Saturday, January 16 – Cal at Notre Dame

*Saturday, January 23 – Stanford at Cal

*Wednesday, January 27 – North Carolina State at Cal

*Saturday, January 30 – Syracuse at Cal

*Wednesday, February 3 -- Cal at SMU

*Saturday, February 6 – Cal at Clemson

*Wednesday, February 10 – Virginia Tech at Cal

*Saturday, February 13 – Miami at Cal

*Wednesday, February 17 – Cal at Pitt

*Saturday, February 20 – Cal at North Carolina State

*Wednesday, February 24 – Boston College at Cal

*Saturday, February 27 – Wake Forest at Cal

*Saturday, March 6 – Cal at Stanford

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