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Cal’s 2025-26 ACC Men’s Basketball Opponents Unveiled

May 28, 2025
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CHARLOTTE – Home games against four 2025 NCAA Tournament teams, including Duke and North Carolina, highlight California’s conference opponents for the 2025-26 Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball season.

The Golden Bears’ 2025-26 conference foes were announced during the ACC Network’s ACCPM Program on Wednesday.

Cal will play home and away games against rival Stanford as well as Georgia Tech during the 2025-26 season. In addition to the Blue Devils and Tar Heels, the Bears will host Clemson, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and SMU in Haas Pavilion. Road games will be played at Boston College, Florida State, Miami, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.

Specific dates, times and television designations will be announced by the ACC in September.

The ACC announced earlier this month that its men’s basketball teams would play an 18-game conference schedule beginning with the 2025-26 season. Teams will start league play in late December and end on the first Saturday of March. Following the regular season, the 2026 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament will be held March 10-14, at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

2025-26 ACC OPPONENTS

Home & Away: Stanford, Georgia Tech

Home: Clemson, Duke, Louisville, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, SMU

Away: Boston College, Florida State, Miami, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest

SUPPORT THE BEARS

Fans can support the Golden Bears through the Cal Men's Basketball Excellence Initiative or the California Legends Collective. To make a season ticket deposit for the 2025-26 campaign, visit CalBears.com/Tickets.

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Cal’s 2025-26 ACC Men’s Basketball Opponents Unveiled

2,331 Views | 20 Replies | Last: 23 days ago by HKBear97!
Eastern Oregon Bear
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1:54p, 5/28/25
OK, for all of you that wanted Cal to play Notre Dame, we got it! A home game too!
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75bear
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2:05p, 5/28/25
Pretty sweet home slate with some marquee matchups.
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Golden One
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In reply to 75bear • 6:40a, 5/29/25
That's a brutal conference schedule. lt's possible that we go winless in conference play.
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bearsandgiants
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6:51a, 5/29/25
As excited as I am for football season, I'm equally depressed about basketball. Great matchups, but we're cheering for the Washington Generals at this point.
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BeachedBear
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In reply to bearsandgiants • 8:36a, 5/29/25
bearsandgiants said:
As excited as I am for football season, I'm equally depressed about basketball. Great matchups, but we're cheering for the Washington Generals at this point.
Its the California Golden Generals. Thank you very much.
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LOUMFSG2
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10:30a, 5/29/25
So we miss NC State next year?
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socaltownie
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5:22p, 5/29/25
I predict 2 ACC wins.

Flip side I absolutely will be arranging for a fly up to watch Duke and/or Tarheels play at Haas with SCT Jr. and then a quick trip up to Ski tahoe. Think snow my fellow Bears. Think Snow.
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Basketball Bear
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6:52p, 5/29/25
I think they will again make the ACC tournament.
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Bobodeluxe
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In reply to Basketball Bear • 8:31p, 5/29/25
Basketball Bear said:
I think they will again make the ACC tournament.
Duke?
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barsad
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In reply to socaltownie • 12:19p, 5/31/25
socaltownie said:
I predict 2 ACC wins.

Flip side I absolutely will be arranging for a fly up to watch Duke and/or Tarheels play at Haas with SCT Jr. and then a quick trip up to Ski tahoe. Think snow my fellow Bears. Think Snow.

Why so pessimistic? We had 6 conference wins last year, we should improve on that this year. I don't see this roster as any more or less effective than last year's, so we might as well start with expecting 6 wins, hoping for more.
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HKBear97!
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In reply to barsad • 2:32p, 5/31/25
barsad said:
socaltownie said:
I predict 2 ACC wins.

Flip side I absolutely will be arranging for a fly up to watch Duke and/or Tarheels play at Haas with SCT Jr. and then a quick trip up to Ski tahoe. Think snow my fellow Bears. Think Snow.

Why so pessimistic? We had 6 conference wins last year, we should improve on that this year. I don't see this roster as any more or less effective than last year's, so we might as well start with expecting 6 wins, hoping for more.
I agree two wins is probably too pessimistic, but six is too optimistic. My guess is somewhere in between. This roster is a downgrade from last years' 6 conference win team. Of course, the spin will be "addition by subtraction", more team ball, less iso ball, etc. etc.. However, in two seasons this coaching staff has not demonstrated an ability to create a coherent offensive and defensive system, nor an ability to get so many new pieces to play together as a team. Thankfully the ACC is still pretty weak, but even if the coaches somehow figure out how to make this work, they still have a roster of decidedly non-power conference talent.
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HoopDreams
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2:45p, 5/31/25
what I don't see is a player who is capable of going off and score an unstoppable 20 or 25 points (or 30 which Andrej did twice)

we shall see
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Basketball Bear
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3:02p, 5/31/25
Chris Bell did scored 20+ points six times in 2023-24 season. Once for 30. Four of those in ACC conference play.
Last year only 3 times when he lost his starting job.
John Camden scored 20+ points 10 times last season and four of those were 30+. Yes in a lower division but he did score 35 against St. Johns.

They both give me hope as possible scorers and maybe Ruff can make the jump like our freshman last year.
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ac_green33
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In reply to HoopDreams • 8:58a, 6/1/25
HoopDreams said:
what I don't see is a player who is capable of going off and score an unstoppable 20 or 25 points (or 30 which Andrej did twice)

we shall see
People significantly overrate the impact of high volume, inefficient production.

I sincerely believe the offense will be better this year. Competent outside shooting makes everything so much easier.

Just as a small example, when they ran that stupid little 3 man weave at the top of the key into the high ball screenif anyone last season ( Petriatis, Campbell, Sissoko) was even the smallest threat from outside the defense would have to hedge or play over the screens which probably gets Mady 30 more dunks or Andrej/Wilk some easy layups. But defenses were just able to go under everything without worry and it just led to turnovers, missed 3, and some of the most embarrassing offensive basketball I've ever seen.

I'd rather have Pippen/Ames(or less talented but competent player) with clear driving lanes and spacing than Andrej//Wilk (or any "talented" offensive player) having to barrel into 3 defenders and hope for a foul. Obviously, I'd rather have better players with shooting around, but given the choicespacing wins
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HoopDreams
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In reply to ac_green33 • 11:15a, 6/1/25
I don't know how many complaints we've had here about our weave but I'm remember our last 4 coaches (which includes Monty) using it and I've seen many opponents using it

There are a lot of options out of that set, and it's not just to drive

One thing I like about it is it gets the defense to move and much better than a player dribbling ten times and driving vs a set defense

ac_green33 said:
HoopDreams said:
what I don't see is a player who is capable of going off and score an unstoppable 20 or 25 points (or 30 which Andrej did twice)

we shall see
People significantly overrate the impact of high volume, inefficient production.

I sincerely believe the offense will be better this year. Competent outside shooting makes everything so much easier.

Just as a small example, when they ran that stupid little 3 man weave at the top of the key into the high ball screenif anyone last season ( Petriatis, Campbell, Sissoko) was even the smallest threat from outside the defense would have to hedge or play over the screens which probably gets Mady 30 more dunks or Andrej/Wilk some easy layups. But defenses were just able to go under everything without worry and it just led to turnovers, missed 3, and some of the most embarrassing offensive basketball I've ever seen.

I'd rather have Pippen/Ames(or less talented but competent player) with clear driving lanes and spacing than Andrej//Wilk (or any "talented" offensive player) having to barrel into 3 defenders and hope for a foul. Obviously, I'd rather have better players with shooting around, but given the choicespacing wins
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ac_green33
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In reply to HoopDreams • 12:31p, 6/1/25
That's my point though! The defense doesnt move when the other players aren't a threat. So last year it was mostly people weaving around for no reason

HoopDreams said:
I don't know how many complaints we've had here about our weave but I'm remember our last 4 coaches (which includes Monty) using it and I've seen many opponents using it

There are a lot of options out of that set, and it's not just to drive

One thing I like about it is it gets the defense to move and much better than a player dribbling ten times and driving vs a set defense

ac_green33 said:
HoopDreams said:
what I don't see is a player who is capable of going off and score an unstoppable 20 or 25 points (or 30 which Andrej did twice)

we shall see
People significantly overrate the impact of high volume, inefficient production.

I sincerely believe the offense will be better this year. Competent outside shooting makes everything so much easier.

Just as a small example, when they ran that stupid little 3 man weave at the top of the key into the high ball screenif anyone last season ( Petriatis, Campbell, Sissoko) was even the smallest threat from outside the defense would have to hedge or play over the screens which probably gets Mady 30 more dunks or Andrej/Wilk some easy layups. But defenses were just able to go under everything without worry and it just led to turnovers, missed 3, and some of the most embarrassing offensive basketball I've ever seen.

I'd rather have Pippen/Ames(or less talented but competent player) with clear driving lanes and spacing than Andrej//Wilk (or any "talented" offensive player) having to barrel into 3 defenders and hope for a foul. Obviously, I'd rather have better players with shooting around, but given the choicespacing wins
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BeachedBear
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In reply to HoopDreams • 7:46a, 6/2/25
HoopDreams said:
I don't know how many complaints we've had here about our weave but I'm remember our last 4 coaches (which includes Monty) using it and I've seen many opponents using it

There are a lot of options out of that set, and it's not just to drive

One thing I like about it is it gets the defense to move and much better than a player dribbling ten times and driving vs a set defense

ac_green33 said:
HoopDreams said:
what I don't see is a player who is capable of going off and score an unstoppable 20 or 25 points (or 30 which Andrej did twice)

we shall see
People significantly overrate the impact of high volume, inefficient production.

I sincerely believe the offense will be better this year. Competent outside shooting makes everything so much easier.

Just as a small example, when they ran that stupid little 3 man weave at the top of the key into the high ball screenif anyone last season ( Petriatis, Campbell, Sissoko) was even the smallest threat from outside the defense would have to hedge or play over the screens which probably gets Mady 30 more dunks or Andrej/Wilk some easy layups. But defenses were just able to go under everything without worry and it just led to turnovers, missed 3, and some of the most embarrassing offensive basketball I've ever seen.

I'd rather have Pippen/Ames(or less talented but competent player) with clear driving lanes and spacing than Andrej//Wilk (or any "talented" offensive player) having to barrel into 3 defenders and hope for a foul. Obviously, I'd rather have better players with shooting around, but given the choicespacing wins
Our biggest issues (both offensively and defensively) are much more about execution than scheme, IMHO. For example, after 'weaving' for 10 seconds, the player with the ball almost ALWAYS stopped and picked up his dribble for a second allowing the defense to adjust. Basically just running down the clock.

Probably would have been better to hold the ball near mid-court and let the defense stand around and get complacent. Instead, our weave actually helped the defense stay active and in better position. LOL
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RedlessWardrobe
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9:48a, 6/2/25
Two things to consider- upcoming season to past season:

Will the defense improve?
While we may in deed have a more "balanced" offense, are we really capable of being more productive without AS and JW?

I'd love to throw out an opinion on these but with the recurring turnover of players I have no clue.
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HoopDreams
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In reply to RedlessWardrobe • 3:43p, 6/2/25
Well we will have more continuity this year than last 3 seasons (3 of our top 7 rotation players)

That's a plus

RedlessWardrobe said:
Two things to consider- upcoming season to past season:

Will the defense improve?
While we may in deed have a more "balanced" offense, are we really capable of being more productive without AS and JW?

I'd love to throw out an opinion on these but with the recurring turnover of players I have no clue.
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HKBear97!
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In reply to ac_green33 • 5:34p, 6/2/25
ac_green33 said:
HoopDreams said:
what I don't see is a player who is capable of going off and score an unstoppable 20 or 25 points (or 30 which Andrej did twice)

we shall see
People significantly overrate the impact of high volume, inefficient production.

I sincerely believe the offense will be better this year. Competent outside shooting makes everything so much easier.

Just as a small example, when they ran that stupid little 3 man weave at the top of the key into the high ball screenif anyone last season ( Petriatis, Campbell, Sissoko) was even the smallest threat from outside the defense would have to hedge or play over the screens which probably gets Mady 30 more dunks or Andrej/Wilk some easy layups. But defenses were just able to go under everything without worry and it just led to turnovers, missed 3, and some of the most embarrassing offensive basketball I've ever seen.

I'd rather have Pippen/Ames(or less talented but competent player) with clear driving lanes and spacing than Andrej//Wilk (or any "talented" offensive player) having to barrel into 3 defenders and hope for a foul. Obviously, I'd rather have better players with shooting around, but given the choicespacing wins
Problem with this theory is will those previously competent shooters translate to this team and "system" because that didn't really happen last year. Prior to last season I was optimistic about the offense because the new players all came in with pretty strong shooting stats and that didn't seem to carry over. Here are the field goal percentages from 2023-24 to 2024-25:

Jovan Blacksher went from a 41.6% to 34.9%
DJ Campbell went from 52.9% to 34.3%
Ryan Petraitis went from 48.5% to 42.4%
Joshua Ola-Joseph went from 60.9% to 45.2%
Christian Tucker went from 41.0% to 30.9%

Stojakovic and Dort were the only two who were consistent from the prior season(s). Just a reminder, Cal finished with the lowest FG% in the ACC (41.9%) and 16th lowest in 3-Point FG% (31.5%). That was not expected with the players that were coming in and it is certainly not a sure thing with this new roster.
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