California (13-19, 9-11 Pac-12)
The Golden Bears improved by 10 wins in their first season under coach Mark Madsen with nine conference wins, which was their most since the 2016-17 season. Now Madsen will hope to build on that improvement in Cal’s first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference with almost an entirely new roster. Only three players, who combined for 66 points last season, are returning.
Players to watch
Andrej Stojakovic (sophomore SG, 6-7, 7.8 ppg at Stanford). The former heralded recruit transferred from rival Stanford this past season. The son of former NBA star Peja Stojakovic showed flashes as a freshman last season and should play a big role for Cal.
Christian Tucker (senior PG, 6-3, 11.3 ppg at UTSA). The transfer from UTSA should run the show for the Bears this season. After spending most of his first two seasons as a reserve, he averaged 5.6 assists per game last season.
Rytis Petraitis (junior F, 6-7, 15.7 ppg at Air Force). The transfer from Air Force is a do-everything forward who led the Falcons in points (15.7 per game), rebounds (6.3), assists (3.7) and steals (1.6) last season.
Departures and arrivals
The Bears lost leading scorer Jaylon Tyson to the NBA draft after he averaged 20 points per game last season with most of the other key contributors like Fardaws Aimaq and Jalen Cone either graduating or transferring. Madsen hit the the transfer portal heavily with Stojakovic, Tucker and Petraitis and North Dakota transfer BJ Omot the main additions. The one high school recruit was guard Jeremiah Wilkinson, who could compete for playing time as a freshman.
Top games
The Bears open the season at home on Nov. 4 against Cal-State Bakersfield. The nonconference schedule includes trips to Vanderbilt, USC and Missouri with neutral-site game against San Diego State. The first season in the ACC for Cal features trips to North Carolina, Duke and Notre Dame, with home games against Virginia and Syracuse.
Facts and figures
The Bears have not made the NCAA Tournament since 2016 and haven’t won a tournament game since 2013. … Cal improved 149 spots in KenPom rankings from 270th to 121st in Madsen’s first season.
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