Cal Basketball: It's Been 47 Years Since the Bears Faced a Week Like This One

Cal hasn't played two Top-10 teams in the same week since John Wooden's finale in 1975.

The Cal basketball team’s nine-game win streak at Haas Pavilion is about to face the ultimate test: The Bears’ first assignment of back-to-back games in the same week against AP Top-10 opponents in nearly a half century.

No. 7 USC (12-0, 2-0 Pac-12) visits Berkeley on Thursday and No. 5 UCLA (8-1, 1-0) arrives two nights later.

The Bears have not played two Top-10 teams in the same week since 1975, when No. 6 USC with future NBA standout Gus Williams beat them 85-65 at Harmon Gym on Friday, Jan. 17, then No. 2 UCLA, directed by legendary coach John Wooden, rolled up a 102-72 victory the next day.

The Bruins went on that year to win their 10th NCAA championship in Wooden’s final season.

This Cal team (9-5, 2-1) has won five in a row after a 74-50 win over visiting Arizona State on Sunday, but coach Mark Fox knows what’s coming.

Asked if these games can be measuring sticks for the progress the Bears have made, Fox said, “Oh, I don’t know if we need a measuring stick. We’ve got two great opponents coming in, just outstanding.”

While the Bears have struggled through four straight losing seasons, Fox said both USC and UCLA are programs accustomed to success.

“The bridge we have to cross is everyone in their programs knows how to win and they’re used to winning,” he said. “I’m not going to say it’s easier for them, but that’s really important once your team knows how to win. That’s what USC and UCLA both have.”

They have more than that, Fox concedes. “They have elite talent.”

USC forward Isaiah Mobley, a 6-foot-10 junior, is averaging 15.0 points and 9.6 rebounds. Many believe the Trojans’ higher-rated NBA prospect is junior point guard Boogie Ellis.

UCLA’s backcourt tandem of Johnny Juzang and Jaime Jaquez Jr., combine to average 31 points and both are projected as 2022 NBA draft picks. Regarded as a better prospect than either is 6-8 freshman wing Peyton Watson, who has shown only flashes of his potential so far.

The closest Cal has come in recent years to a double-barrel assignment similar to this one was during the 2007-08 season when they lost to USC 92-82 at home, then fell 70-58 to UCLA two days later. But while the Bruins were No. 5 at the time, USC was ranked 22nd.

The Bears have played 41 games against AP Top-10 opponents since the start of 2000, winning just five times.

Here are those victories:

Justin Cobbs releases his game-winning shot vs. No. 1 Arizona

Photo by Kelley L. Cox, USA Today

— Feb. 1, 2014: Cal 60, No. 1 Arizona 58. The Bears’ most recent win over a Top-10 foe was also their first victory over a No. 1 team since 20 years before against UCLA. Justin Cobbs won it by hitting a step-back jumper with 0.9 seconds left, handing the Wildcats their first loss of the season after a 21-0 start. Cobbs scored Cal’s final 12 points to finish with 19. David Kravish had 14 points and 11 rebounds.

— Feb. 10, 2013: Cal 77, No. 7 Arizona 69. The Bears scored a rare win at McKale Center, thanks to 31 points from Allen Crabbe, who made 12 of 15 shots, and Justin Cobbs, who scored 21. "I really can't think of any other moment in college where I felt this great," Crabbe said.

— Jan. 31, 2008: Cal 69, No. 9 Washington State 64. Ryan Anderson scored 27 points, including five 3-point baskets, and Patrick Christopher added 16 points as the Bears won in Pullman after losing their three previous games by margins of five points, four points and nine points in double-overtime. "We have been so close in so many games, our guys deserve to win," Cal coach Ben Braun said. "I've seen the pain in their eyes. No one knows what they've gone through."

— March 8, 2007: Cal 76, No. 4 UCLA 69 OT. The Bears entered their quarterfinal Pac-12 tournament game with just a 15-16 record, but rode a career-high 29 points from senior guard Ayinde Ubaka and 18 from freshman Ryan Anderson to an upset of a UCLA team featuring four future NBA players. Ubaka forced overtime by dropping in a floater with 15 seconds left in the second half then scored eight points in overtime.

— Jan. 26, 2006: Cal 71, No. 10 Washington 69. Leon Powe had 18 points and 13 rebounds as the Bears snapped a 13-game losing streak against Top-10 opponents and avenged a 33-point loss to the Huskies a year earlier. Omar Wilkes and Ayinde Ubaka each scored 15 points off the bench for Cal.

Cover photo of USC's Isaiah Mobley by Gary A. Vazquez, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo