Mark Madsen Says Cal Will Be an ACC 'Powerhouse' After Its First ACC Win

Cal coach makes a bold prediction after the Bears beat Virginia for their first victory in their new conference

Mady Sissoko / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Cal coach Mark Madsen has never been one to downplay his aspirations, and he came up with a bold prediction after Cal produced its first-ever ACC victory by beating Virginia 75-61 Wednesday nigh at Haas Pavilion.

"This is the opening of a new chapter," Madsen said. "We are going to be a powerhouse in the ACC."

Then he said it again.

"Cal is going to be a powerhouse in the ACC," he said. "You know sometimes these things don't come instantly. Sometimes it's not a straight-line growth."

Then Madsen concluded with this:

"We're going to have huge success here. This will be a historic night as we look back."

Incoming Cal freshman quarterback Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele was in attendance at Haas Pavilion to see Cal's first-ever ACC win, and it was an impressive performance.

Cal (8-7, 1-3 ACC) took command in the second half to end the Bears' three-game losing streak in front of a crowd of 3,696. The Cavaliers fell to 8-7 overall and 1-3 in the ACC.

Andrej Stojakovic scored a game-high 23 points, with 19 of those points coming in the second half. Nearly half his points came from the foul line as he was 11-for-13 on free throws. Cal's ability to get to the foul line -- the Bears were 27-for-33 on free throws -- played a major role in the Bears' victory

And Stojakovic did not downplay the significance of Cal's first ACC victory either.

"To this program it means everything," he said.,

Cal's Mady Sissoko had just nine points, but he had 11 rebounds and four impressive blocks, all in the second half. He was succinct about how the Bears were able to get the job done.

"We played our ass off today," he said.

Cal led by three points at halftime, then scored the first eight points of the second half to take an 11-point lead with 17:50 remaining. Stojakovic scored five of Cal's eight points in that span.

The Bears pushed their lead to 17 points when Stojakovic hit two free throws with 9:53 left in the second half, making it a 59-42 game. Virginia got as close as nine points after that, but the Cavaliers shot just 29% in the second half and could not make up the deficit.

"We made some serious adjustments [on defense}," Madsen said. "Our defense against Clemson was atrocious [in Saturday's 80-68 loss to the Tigers]," Madsen said.

Stojakovic did not make a field goal until 19 seconds remained in the first half. But that gave the Bears 35-30 lead, and they took a 35-32 advantage into halftime. Stojakovic was 1-for-5 from the field in the first half, but made both of his free throws to finish the half with four points.

Freshman Jeremiah Wilkinson only played seven minutes in the first half, but he was the Bears’ leading scorer at intermission with eight points.  All if his first-half points came in a two-minute stretch immediately after he entered the game for the first time with 14:24 remaining before halftime.  His offensive spurt helped Cal go from an 11-3 deficit to a 13-11 lead, and the teams played on even terms the rest of the half.

Cal shot 40% from the floor and the Cavaliers hit 37% of their field-goal attempts in the first 20 minutes.  Cal committed just two turnovers before halftime and the Cavaliers turned it over just three times.

NOTES: Cal was fairly healthy for Wednesday’s game, although BJ Omot continues to be sidelined, and there’s no indication when or if he will return this season. Andrej Stojakovic played with a wrap on his left (non-shooting) hand.

Virginia’s interim head coach is Ron Sanchez after long-time Virginia head coach Tony Bennett resigned in October. But the Cavaliers play the same defense-first style implemented by Bennett.  Virginia entered the game averaging just 61.4 points per game, which ranked 351st of the 355 Division I teams that are ranked.  But the Cavaliers are allowing only 61.5 points per contest, which ranks 11th in the country, .

Isaac McKneely entered the game as the Cavaliers’ top scorer at 12.3 points per game, but three Virginia starters started the day making better than 44% of their three-point shots.

Cal entered the game last in the ACC both field-goal percentage defense (47.5 percent) and 3-point percentage defense (37.6 percent). The Bears also began the day ranked 339th of 355 Division I teams in assist-to-turnover ratio at .82.  You don’t want to be averaging more turnovers than assists..

Mad Dog 🤝 Gelo 🎶🕺#GoBears pic.twitter.com/jgBBfVKO3f

— Cal Basketball (@CalMBBall) January 9, 2025

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