Five Cal Basketball Matchups That Have My Attention

The Bears' season begins Nov. 3 and they will face many of the naton's top teams and elite young players

Duke freshman Cameron Boozer is introduced for Countdown to Craziness at the Cameron Indoor Stadium. | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

Cal will open its men’s basketball season two weeks from tonight, Nov. 3, against Cal State Bakersfield as Haas Pavilion. So yes, hoops season is virtually upon us.

The opener vs. the Roadrunners will be revealing with our first glimpse at a Cal team featuring 11 new players. What will the Bears look like? We’re all intrigued to get that first impressions of coach Mark Madsen’s third team.

Cal beat Bakersfield 86-73 in its opener a year ago, but there are more attractive games on the Bears’ schedule this season. Certainly fans will be excited for the two meetings vs. rival Stanford: Jan. 24 on the road, Feb. 21 at home.

Those aside, here are five of my favorite matchups on Cal’s schedule this season: 

P.J. Haggerty, right, while at Memphis last season | Photo courtesy of Memphis Athletics

— At Kansas State, Thursday, Nov. 13

The Wildcats were just 16-17 a year ago, but this is a Big 12 team in a tough environment, an opponent wth a 7-1 all-time record aganst the Bears. So this represents Cal's first real test.

Beyond that, Cal faces one of the best players it will see this season. Guard P.J. Haggerty, a 6-foot-3 redshirt junior, has landed at his fourth school in as many years, after one-year stints at TCU, Tulsa and Memphis.

Haggerty earned second-team AP All-America honors last season, averaging 21.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists after scoring 21.2 points per game the year before. He put up 42 points in a win over Wichita State last year.

New Mexico transfer Donovan Dent will give UCLA a backcourt boost | Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

— UCLA, Tuesday, Nov. 25 at Chase Center

After a one-year hiatus following the breakup of the Pac-12, the Bears and Bruins will renew their long-time series, this time in San Francisco.

Cal beat the Bruins 66-57 on the road two seasons ago, their first victory at Pauley Pavilion since 2010. UCLA squared things with a 61-60 win at Haas a month later.

The Bruins, ranked No. 12 in the preseason AP Top-25 and picked third in the Big Ten, will get a boost from New Mexico transfer guard Donovan Dent, who averaged 20.4 points last season. Dent was rated the No. 5 newcomer to any program this season, according to ESPN.

Mikel Brown Jr. during the Sprite Jam Fest at Barclay's Center. | Pamela Smith-Imagn Images

— Louisville, Dec. 30 at Haas Pavilion

The Bears’ ACC opener is a challenging one, against a Cardinals’ team tabbed No. 11 in the preseason AP rankings and picked No. 2 in the ACC poll.

Louisville went from eight victories in 2023-24 to 27 wins and an NCAA bid last season. 

The Cardinals feature one of the nation’s top freshmen in point guard Mikel Brown Jr., rated by ESPN as the seventh-best newcomer (transfer or freshman) on any team this season. Brown is projected to be the No. 3 pick in the 2026 draft by NBADraft.net.

— Duke, Wednesday, Jan. 14 at Haas Pavilion

Preseason ACC favorites and No. 6 in the AP Top-25, the Blue Devils will play at Haas (or old Harmon Gym) for the first time ever.

Cal actually owns two victories in five tries against Duke, including the victory powered by Jason Kidd at the 1993 Sweet 16 in Chicago. The Bears also beat the Blue Devils 76-71 early in the 1982-83 season at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

The other meetings took place in Jacksonville, Florida, at the 2010 NCAA tournament, in New York City in 2019, and at Cameron Indoor at Durham last season. Duke won all three.

Cal will get a look at freshman power forward Cameron Boozer, the son of former NBA standout Carlos Boozer, and one of the nation’s elite freshmen. ESPN pegs him No. 2 in its aforementioned list of top newcomers and projects him as the No 4 pick in the NBA draft. Duke’s Isaiah Evans and Dame Sarr also are considered possible first-round draft picks.

Freshman Caleb Wilson dribbles up court during Carolina's Blue-White scrimmage. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

— North Carolina, Saturday, Jan. 17 at Haas Pavilion

The Tar Heels beat Cal at the Dean Dome last season, hiking their edge to 5-1 in the all-time series. The Bears’ lone victory came at the 1998 Pete Newell Challenge at the Oakland Coliseum, a year after a Carolina team featuring Antawn Jamison and Vince Carter topped Cal in the Sweet 16.

UNC is No. 25 in the preseason AP rankings and checked in at No. 3 in the ACC media poll. Carolina is four years removed from a run to the NCAA title game.

Freshman forward Caleb Wilson is projected as the No. 5 pick in the 2026 NBA draft — a third player Cal will see who is among the top 5. ESPN ranks him as the No. 19 newcomer in the country. The 6-10 Wilson had 14 points, seven rebounds and showed defensive toughness in the Heels’ Blue-White scrimmage on Saturday. 

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