Cal Basketball: Bears to Face 2023 Final Four Participant San Diego St. on Nov. 25

Cal will face 2023 Final Four participant San Diego State in men’s basketball for the first time since 2018 when the two clash at the SoCal Showcase on Saturday, Nov. 25 in San Juan Capistrano.

The Aztecs hold a 7-6 series edge over the previous 13 meetings vs. Cal, although the Bears won the two most recent matchups, during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons. SDSU has a 2-0 edge vs. Cal in neutral-site games.

Game time and TV information for this matchup have yet to be announced.

The game will be played in the same venue — JSerra High School’s Pavilion arena — as the Bears’ games earlier in during Thanksgiving week at the SoCal Challenge, a two-game event featuring Bradley, UTEP and Tulane. Those games will be played on Monday, Nov. 20 and Wednesday, Nov. 22.

Under new coach Mark Madsen the Bears have revamped their roster with eight new players, a transfer class ranked No. 10 nationally on on3.com. Most recently Cal got a commitment on Monday from Serbian point guard Vladimir Pavlovic.

Cal was 3-29 last season and had suffered five consecutive losing seasons, unprecedented in program history. Madsen has expressed confidence in what this team can achieve, even suggesting the Bears will pursue the record for the most dramatic win-loss turnaround in Division I history.

The Aztecs of the Mountain West Conference were 32-7 last season, winning nine straight games to advance to the national semifinals before losing to Florida Atlantic.

Former Cal star Matt Bradley, SDSU’s leading scorer last season, is gone from the team. But Lamont Butler and Darrion Trammell, two other standout players, return for coach Brian Dutcher.

Cover photo of new Cal guard Keonte Kennedy by Petre Thomas, USA Today

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