Cal Basketball: Bears to Face San Diego State in San Jose Tip-Off

The teams will duel for the second straight season, on Dec. 21 at the SAP Center

Cal coach Mark Madsen / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Cal basketball team will face San Diego State for the second straight season when they square off Dec. 21 at the San Jose Tip-Off at the SAP Center.

Stanford and Oregon will meet in the other game in the doubleheader.

The Bears, beginning their second season under coach Mark Madsen, lost 76-67 in overtime to the Aztecs a year ago at the SoCal Showcase at San Juan Capistrano. 

Cal won the two previous meetings vs. SDSU, which owns an 8-6 overall series lead.

Cal will have a largely new team this season after the departure of their top eight scorers from last year’s squad that went 13-19, including 9-11 in the final season of the Pac-12.

Madsen recruited nine scholarship transfers along with freshman guard Jeremiah Wilkinson.

San Diego State was 26-11 a year ago, finishing fifth in the Mountain West Conference. The Aztecs advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament, where they lost to eventual national champion UConn for the second year in a row. 

In 2023, the Aztecs made a historic run into the Final Four and the national championship game before losing to the Huskies.

The Bears have announced five of the non-conference games on their schedule for this season: 

-- Nov. 21 vs. Air Force in the Cal Classic

-- Nov. 24 vs. Sacramento State in the Cal Classic

-- Nov. 27 vs. Mercyhurst in the Cal Classic

-- Dec. 3 at Missouri in the SEC/ACC Challenge

-- Dec. 21 vs. San Diego State in the San Jose Tip-Off