Cal and UCLA will renew a more than century-old basketball rivalry on Tuesday night at the Chase Center in San Francisco after a break in the series last season.
Tipoff in the finale of the Empire Classic is set for 7 p.m.
The Bears and Bruins met for the first time way back during the 1920-21 season, with Cal posting a 36-28 victory. Cal, in fact, won the first six matchups.
It’s been mostly UCLA dominating the rivalry for the past 65 years, since the retirement after the 1960 season of Cal coaching legend Pete Newell. UCLA once won 52 consecutive times vs. Cal. The Bruins have won 12 of the past 13 meetings, most recently on Feb. 10, 2024.
But fans on both sides embraced the games, with the sister schools typically squaring off twice a year.
The continuity of that tradition ended when UCLA joined USC in a defection from the Pac-12 Conference, triggering the league’s collapse. Cal now plays in the ACC, UCLA in the Big Ten.
If you’re still smarting about seismic changes in college sports, get in line behind Cal coach Mark Madsen.
“It’s very unfortunate that the Pac-12 imploded,” he said last week. “I still have feelings about that because for me it was the Pac-10. There’s so many different friendships, relationships, proximity across these schools.
“You know people through sports, you know people outside of sports through all these great institutions on the West Coast. It’s frustrating that we’re not in the same conference.”
Madsen was a player at Stanford, which is part of the ACC with Cal. He thrived in games against the Bruins and is 1-1 as a coach vs. UCLA from their two meetings in 2023-24, the final season of the Pac-12 as we know it.
The 18th-ranked Bruins and the Bears are both 5-1 so far this season. The Bears lost 99-96 at Kansas State on Nov. 13. UCLA lost 69-65 to now-No. 2 Arizona at Inglewood a day later.
“Obviously, we’ve studied them,” Madsen said of the Bruins. “They’re playing at a high level.”
Each team beat Presbyterian and Sacramento State in early-round games of the Empire Classic. The Bruins played their most recent game without star senior forward Tyler Bilodeau (14.8 points per game), out with a sprained knee that coach Mick Cronin said could sideline him for a couple weeks, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Cal players expressed excitement about the chance to take on the Bruins and to play at Chase, home of the Golden State Warriors.
“It’s a big opportunity. We’re all excited for it,” senior forward Rytis Petraitis said in the video above. “As a kid sometimes you dream about playing in the NBA arena and playing a top-25 ranked opponent in that arena. The opportunity take one is big-time.”
“I think it’s a great opportunity to go out there and show the basketball world what we’re capable of,” added teammate Chris Bell.
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