When Duke and UNC Make Their First Visits to Cal's Haas Pavilion

The Bears' second ACC men's basketball schedule features the league's four returning NCAA Tournament teams

Chris Bell, Rytis Petraitis and Justin Pippen | Cal Athletics

Cal will host Duke and North Carolina in men’s basketball games at Haas Pavilion for the first time when the traditional ACC powerhouses visit in January.

The ACC released its schedule of conference men’s games on Tuesday and the Bears will play home games against the league’s four teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season.

Cal will face the Blue Devils on either Tuesday, Jan. 13 or Wednesday, Jan. 14. The Tar Heels will visit Haas on Saturday, Jan. 17.

Times and TV information will be determined at a later date.

Fans didn’t get the chance to see either of the blue blood programs in the Bay Area in Cal’s inaugural ACC season. Carolina beat the Bears 79-53 at Chapel Hill and Duke defeated them 78-57 at Durham, NC.

The Bears won’t face either school on the road as part of the 18-game conference schedule this season. 

Cal has played both schools in the Bay Area once before — both games at the Oakland Arena — facing Duke in 1982 and UNC in 1998.

The Bears are 2-3 all-time vs. Duke and 1-5 vs. North Carolina.

The two long-time powerhouse programs have made more Final Four appearances than any school in the country, Carolina having made it 21 times and Duke 18 times.

The Bears will play their annual home-and-home set against Stanford, with the rivals meeting on Saturday, Jan. 24 at Maples Pavilion and Saturday, Feb. 21 at Haas.

Cal opens its second ACC schedule on either Dec. 30 or 31 vs. Louisville, also a 2025 NCAA participant. Notre Dame visits on Friday, Jan. 2 in a rematch of the 112-110 four-overtime marathon won by the Irish in the regular-season finale at South Bend, Ind.

The Bears play Feb. 7 at Haas against Clemson, an NCAA entry the past two seasons, including a trip to the Elite 8 in 2024.

ACC schedule | Cal Athletics

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