Bears Face Hokies In ACC Tournament First Round

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – California will play against 10th-seeded Virginia Tech in the first round of the 2025 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament on Tuesday afternoon at the Spectrum Center. The ACC Network will televise the contest, which tips off at 1:30 p.m. PT/4:30 p.m. ET.

The Golden Bears (13-18, 6-14 ACC) will try to become just the second No. 15 seed to win a game in the ACC Tournament; 15th-seeded Notre Dame defeated Georgia Tech 78-71 in the first round of the 2019 tournament before falling to Louisville in the second round.

GAME INFORMATION – ACC TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND

Date & Time: Tuesday, March 1 | 1:30 p.m. PT/4:30 p.m. ET

Location: Charlotte, North Carolina | Spectrum Center

Watch: ACC Network | Wes Durham (PxP), Cory Alexander (Analyst) & Jim Boeheim (Analyst)

Listen: 810 AM & Varsity Network App | Justin Allegri (PxP)

Live Stats: Statbroadcast

INSIDE THE MATCHUP – CAL vs. VIRGINIA TECH

Series record: Series tied, 1-1

Cal and Virginia Tech (13-18, 8-12) met on the hardwood for the first time in more than 30 years back in January, when the Hokies earned a 71-68 road win in Berkeley. The Bears climbed out of a 22-point second-half deficit but could not complete the comeback. Andrej Stojakovic scored 22 of his game-high 24 points after halftime.

Virginia Tech has lost five of its past seven games.

The Hokies have one double-figure scorer in Tobi Lawal (12.2 points per game).

Virginia Tech sophomore guard Rodney Brown Jr. played his freshman season at Cal. He saw time in all 32 games, averaging 3.5 points and 1.1 rebounds per game.

STARTING FIVE

1. Jeremiah’s Ascent

Jeremiah Wilkinson has established himself as one of the most dynamic freshman scorers to put on a Cal uniform. The left-hander’s skill was on full display last Saturday at Notre Dame as he scored a career-high 36 points on 11-of-18 shooting (5 of 8 from 3), including 17 points across four overtime periods played. Wilkinson is second among ACC freshmen in scoring (15.4 PPG) and has averaged 20.4 PPG since cracking the starting lineup 13 games ago on Jan. 22. The three-time ACC Rookie of the Week has scored 20-plus points 10 times and needs 23 points to surpass fellow Georgia native Jaylen Brown (498 points) for No. 3 on Cal’s freshman scoring list.

2. The Big Fella

Mady Sissoko has played the best basketball of his career down the stretch this season, highlighted by a monster performance in Cal’s 82-71 win over Boston College on March 1. Sissoko – who has averaged 9.6 PPG on 63.5% shooting and 9.4 RPG in his past 16 games since Jan. 8 – had career highs of 21 points (9 of 10 shooting) and 15 rebounds to lead the Bears past the Eagles. Cal’s big man is fourth among ACC players with 8.9 RPG in conference play and has pulled down 10-plus rebounds in eight of the past 11 games, including 13 in back-to-back games last week at No. 14 Louisville and Notre Dame. Sissoko has scored double figures 12 times in 30 games played this season after doing so just seven times in the first 124 games of his career at Michigan State (2020-24).

3. Lead Role

Cal will need Andrej Stojakovic to find his offensive rhythm to make a run through the ACC Tournament, and the sophomore guard is plenty capable. Stojakovic – one of two ACC players averaging at least 16.8 PPG (ninth in ACC), 4.6 RPG, 1.8 APG and 1.3 BPG along with Duke’s Cooper Flagg – is one of the conference’s most well-rounded players. In addition to scoring 21 points, Stojakovic added a career-high six blocks, three assists and five rebounds in Cal’s regular-season finale at Notre Dame. He has 11 20-point games this season, including 24 against Virginia Tech on Jan. 11, but has only averaged 11.7 PPG on 32.8% shooting in 11 games since Jan. 15. He also missed four consecutive games (Jan. 22-Feb. 1) due to illness and injury.

4. Road Trippin’

The Bears have been away from home since last Monday, March 3, when they left the Bay Area for a regular-season-ending trip to Louisville and Notre Dame. A run through the ACC Tournament this week could keep Cal on the road for 13 consecutive days. Cal has flown more than 16,000 miles during ACC play (return flights included) with road games played at Pitt, Clemson, North Carolina, NC State, SMU, Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville and Notre Dame.

5. Instant Classic

Cal ended the regular season in dramatic fashion last Saturday in South Bend, Indiana, playing four overtimes in an eventual 112-110 loss to Notre Dame. There were 14 lead changes in the contest and three Bears – Jovan Blacksher Jr. (54 minutes), Jeremiah Wilkinson (52) and Andrej Stojakovic (50) – played 50-plus minutes while Mady Sissoko logged 44. It was just the second quadruple-overtime game in program history following an 83-80 loss to Iowa on Dec. 28, 1960, and only the seventh such game in ACC history.

UP NEXT

With a win against Virginia Tech on Tuesday, Cal would advance to the second round and face seventh-seeded Stanford at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

SUPPORT THE BEARS

Fans can support the Golden Bears through the Cal Men's Basketball Excellence Initiative or the California Legends Collective.