BEAR BITES
• California is back in postseason play for the first time since 2017 with its spot in the 2026 National Invitation Tournament (NIT).
• The Golden Bears (21-11) host UIC (19-15) in the NIT first round at 8 p.m. PT on Wednesday (March 18) at Haas Pavilion.
• The NIT second round game, featuring the Cal-UIC and Colorado State-Saint Joseph’s winners, will take place on Sunday (March 22).
• Cal could host three rounds of the 32-team NIT competition at Haas Pavilion.
• The NIT semifinals and final will take place in Indianapolis, with semis set for Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse and the championship game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse ­— home of the Indiana Pacers and Fever.

NIT NOTES

• This is Cal’s 10th NIT appearance

• NIT record: 14-8

• Best finish: 1999 Champion

• Last appearance: 2017 NIT First Round (Berkeley)

• Previous appearances: 2017, 2014, 2011, 2008, 2000, 1999, 1989, 1987, 1986

• Cal and Wake Forest are the two ACC teams in this 2026 NIT field of 32 teams

• Wake Forest is the only team in the bracket that Cal has faced this season

FOLLOW ALONG

• Wednesday’s NIT first-round clash between Cal and UIC will be broadcast on ESPN2 with Roxy Bernstein and Corey Williams on the call.

• Fans can listen in to games on the Cal Bears Sports Network radio broadcast on 810 AM and The Varsity App with Justin Allegri on the call with analyst Theo Robertson.

• Live stats will be available via Statbroadcast.

ALL-ACC AWARDS

Cal’s Dai Dai Ames and Justin Pippen earned All-ACC honors with their respective selections to the All-ACC Third Team and for All-ACC Honorable Mention. The two Bear guards have been instrumental in helping Cal to its first 20-win season since 2016-17 and to the No. 9 seed in this week’s ACC Tournament.

ALL-ACC THIRD TEAM — Dai Dai Ames:

Cal’s leading scorer with 16.6 points per game, junior guard Dai Dai Ames recently tacked up a career-high 31 points at Wake Forest. It’s the most points scored by a Bear this season and adds to Ames’ team-best 10 games with 20 or more points scored. A full-time starter, he has been Cal’s top scorer 12 times this season — his first at Cal after joining the Bears from Virginia. Ames has also made a strong stand at the stripe this season, shooting 87.2 percent from the free-throw line.

Arguably Ames’ most heroic moment of the season, he scored seven points in under seven seconds, including a game-winning four-point play to beat Notre Dame 72-71.

ALL-ACC HONORABLE MENTION — Justin Pippen:

Sophomore guard Justin Pippen also has made his mark in his first season at Cal, joining the Bears after a season served at Michigan. Pippen has shown his prowess on both sides of the ball, standing as Cal’s second leading scorer with 14.2 points per game while serving up 4.5 assists per game. Defensively, Pippen has picked off 54 steals to rank No. 8 all-time in single-season steals at Cal. With 1.86 steals per game, he ranks No. 64 in the nation as of March 9.

Pippen dished out a career-high eight assists in Cal’s 21st win of the season — a road win at Georgia Tech — and punched up a career-high 24 points in the Bears’ key victory over SMU.

RANKED WINS

Cal has beaten two ranked opponents this season — then-No. 18 UCLA (Nov. 24 in San Francisco) and then-No. 14 North Carolina (Jan. 17 in Berkeley) — to mark the first time since 2016 that the Bears have beaten two ranked teams.

• The win over the Bruins was Cal’s first win over an AP ranked opponent since a 76-62 victory over No. 21 Colorado on Feb. 27, 2020 at Haas Pavilion.

• In a 22-point performance vs. UCLA, Chris Bell crossed the 1,000-point margin in his collegiate career.

• With four rebounds vs. UCLA, Milos Ilic recorded his 500th career rebound.

• The win over UNC was Cal’s first win over a top-15 AP opponent since 2016, when the Bears beat No. 11 Oregon at Haas Pavilion.

• Milos Ilic and Mantas Kocanas both hit their first 3-pointers as Bears vs. UNC.

• Cal’s 54 points at halftime vs. UNC was the most scored in the first half by the Bears this season.

HOT START

• Cal’s 12-1 start to this season marked its best since the 1959-60 season, when the Bears went 28-1 before falling in the 1960 national championship game.

• Cal’s nine-game win streak from Nov. 18-Dec. 21 matched its longest win streak since recording nine consecutive in 2008-09

• The Bears recorded 90+ points in back-to-back games —­ the first time Cal has done so since 2014 — vs. Cal State Fullerton and Kansas State.

• Cal scored a season-high 97 points vs. Morgan State on a season-best 59.3% shooting along with 55.0% from 3-point range and a 95.7% effort from the free-throw line.

• Cal has shot 50 percent or better in seven games this season, going 6-1 in those games.

• After its 100-point effort vs. Syracuse, Cal has seven 90+ games this season — the most in a season since a program-record 10 were recorded in 1970-71.

GETTING DEFENSIVE

• Cal is 17-3 when holding opponents to 72 points or less

• Cal is 10-1 when holding teams to under 40 percent shooting.

• The Bears are also holding opponents to just 31.3 percent from 3-point range, ranking No. 46 in the nation in 3-point percentage defense as of March 15.

• As of March 15, Justin Pippen is averaging 1.83 steals per game, ranking him No. 71 in the nation.

BALANCED BEARS

• Four Cal starters are averaging in double figures.

• Dai Dai Ames (17.2 ppg) has scored in double digits in a team-best 28 games this season, including 12 games scoring 20 or more points.

• Justin Pippen (14.3) has hit double figures 25 times in his 30 appearances this season.

• John Camden (13.8 ppg) has scored in double figures 23 times.

• Chris Bell (13.4) has done so in 24 games.

CAREER CLIMBERS

In addition to Mark Madsen‘s 100th career head-coaching win, several other Bears have hit career milestones this season.

• SR F Rytis Petraitis — 1,000th point scored Nov. 21 vs. Sacramento State

• SR F Chris Bell — 1,000th point scored Nov. 25 vs. UCLA

• GS C Milos Ilic — 500th rebound on Nov. 25 vs. UCLA|886 career points (as of Feb. 2)

• GS F John Camden — 1,000th point scored Feb. 11 at Syracuse

• JR Dai Dai Ames is closing in on his 1,000th, currently at 983 entering NIT action

ALL DAY DAI DAI

 • Dai Dai Ames leads Cal in scoring with 17.2 points per game thanks in part to an 11-of-13 effort from 3-point range in a two-game span vs. Cal State Fullerton and Kansas State.

• Ames scored seven points in under seven seconds to win the game for Cal in a heated clash with Notre Dame on Jan. 2.  After hitting a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left to make it a one-point game, he followed two Fighting Irish free throws with a game-winning four-point play converted with 5.5 seconds to go for a 72-71 Cal win.

• Ames has been Cal’s top scorer in a team-best 13 games, including a career-high 31 scored at Wake Forest.

BELL RINGER

 • Chris Bell hit five 3-pointers in four minutes of play at Kansas State to help turn a 17-point deficit into a six-point margin with 37 seconds left. The Bears came up short in a 99-96 loss, although Bell finished with 27 points on 7-of-9 shooting from 3-point range.

• Bell drained five 3-pointers in Cal’s upset of No. 18 UCLA.

• After 20 points scored vs. SMU, Bell has now turned out eight 20-point outings as a Bear, including three straight 20-point outings.

• He’s shooting 44.0 percent from the floor and 85.2 percent from the free-throw line.

CAMDEN CASHES IN

 • John Camden leads the team with his 84 total threes made (No. 78 in the nation this season and third most ever by a Bear), and he’s shooting a team-best 39.8 percent from beyond the arc, ranking him 48th in the nation as of March 15.

• In Cal’s first road win of the season, Camden hit five 3-pointers and scored a season-high 25 points at Stanford.

• In a win at Miami, Camden upped his season high to 26 points.

• Camden made a run of 16 straight games with at least one 3-pointer made until Cal’s Jan. 10 loss at Virginia Tech.

MOVING THE BALL

 • Cal has dished out 20+ assists in three games this season and recently recorded 19 in its win at Georgia Tech.

• Justin Pippen is the Bears’ top distributor with his 4.5 assists per game, including a career-high eight served up in wins at Miami and Georgia Tech.

• After serving up nine assists with just one turnover vs. Morgan State, TT Carr ranked No. 1 in the nation with his assist/turnover ratio of 6.20 in the Dec. 20 national rankings.

• In all, six different Bears average at least one assist per game.

• Cal is also taking care of the ball nicely, averaging just 10.3 turnovers per game to rank No. 61 in the nation as of March 15.

DORT ON DUTY

 • Despite being sidelined for seven games with injury, Lee Dort has proven himself as a force on the boards, with six double-digit rebounding games this season.

• He ranks No. 54 in the nation in defensive rebounds per game as of March 15 (5.84 drpg).

• Dort has almost doubled his offensive output from last season, averaging 8.3 ppg after 4.6 ppg as a junior.

• His rebounding marks are also markedly improved from last season, up to 8.0 rpg (No. 78 in the nation) from 4.6.

ACC EXPERIENCE

Now in its second season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Cal boasts three players who have already logged hours as ACC members prior to arriving in Berkeley. Dai Dai Ames came to Cal after one season at Virginia, Chris Bell joined the Bears after three seasons at Syracuse, and John Camden played his sophomore and junior seasons at Virginia Tech.

TALLYING 20TH WIN

Cal received six clutch points from Justin Pippen in the final minute of action to take a late lead and work to a final 73-69 win over visiting SMU at Haas Pavilion. The victory marked the Golden Bears’ 20th win of the season — the first time since 2016-17 that Cal has reached the 20-win mark.

Cal led by as much as nine in the first half before SMU reeled the Bears in. Still, Cal had a fierce final two minutes of that half to lead it 38-33 at the break. Cal was shooting 44.4 percent overall, behind the Mustangs’ 48.3 effort, but the Bears had landed one more 3-pointer than SMU and were also ahead on the boards 20-17 at halftime. Justin Pippen clicked in for the second half on the Bears’ behalf, scoring 19 points in the last 20 minutes and some big late buckets to help steady Cal to victory. The Bears finished up at 40 percent shooting overall, behind SMU’s 45.5 percent, but landed one more 3-pointer and made one more free throw to secure Cal’s 20th win of the season.

Pippen tied his career high with 24 points on the night and was joined in double figures by Chris Bell’s 20 points and 14 from John Camden, while Lee Dort announced his return to action with 10 rebounds for the Bears. SMU had four players hit double figures, led by 15 apiece from Corey Washington and

Cal’s top scorer Dai Dai Ames was tagged with his fifth foul with 3:03 remaining in the game, and SMU would sneak back out ahead soon after, going up 67-64 at 1:58. Free throws from Camden and a clutch jumper from Pippen put Cal back on top with a 68-67 edge entering the final minute, where the Bears put a stop to things on the defensive end and then converted two Pippen free throws at the other to lead it 70-67 with 18 ticks to go. That was about enough, but Dort dropped in one last free throw with 2.9 seconds left to top off a 73-69 Cal win.

NOTABLE:

• With 20 wins this season, Cal has reached the 20-win mark for the first time since 2016-17.

• It’s the most regular-season wins for the Bears since 2015-16, when Cal had 22 wins entering the 2016 postseason.

• With a career-high 24 points, Justin Pippen has hit double digits in 23 of his 26 appearances this season.

• It was his third 20-point game of the season.

• With 20 points, Chris Bell hit double digits for the 22nd time this season.

• It was Bell’s third straight and eighth overall 20-point outing of the season.

• With 14 points, John Camden scored in double digits for the 21st time this season.

• In his first game back since Jan. 4, Lee Dort had a game-high 10 rebounds — his sixth double-digit rebounding effort this season.

MAGIC IN MIAMI

Cal put in a fierce final four minutes of road work to take a late lead and then fend off host Miami for a key 86-85 Golden Bear victory over the Hurricanes in Coral Gables. John Camden finished with a season-high 26 points for Cal, and Justin Pippen dished out a career-high eight assists to help the Bears secure the road win.

The lead changed hands six times in the first 11 minutes of action, with Cal making a 10-0 run that pulled the Bears into the lead. Cal would stay a step ahead of the Hurricanes through to halftime, although it was a slim 45-44 margin at the break. Both teams were shooting well. Miami had the hotter hand in hitting at a 61-percent clip to Cal’s 55 percent through the first 20 minutes, and the Hurricanes were ahead on the boards 15-12 at halftime. The wildness continued in the second half as the foul count climbed and tension mounted. Five points from Dai Dai Ames in a 20-second span gave Cal its first lead since the 18:00 mark of the second half — up 82-81 with 3:40 to go. Dhiaukuei Manyiel Dut had a late block, then the go-ahead bucket for Cal with 57 seconds left, and the Hurricanes were unable to find an answer. Cal finished the game shooting 49.1 percent overall with 10 threes made. Miami shot 56.9 percent overall with four 3-pointers. A total of 65 free throws were shot in the game, with Cal going 24-of-32 and Miami 23-of-33 while leading on the boards 32-28.

NOTABLE:

• With a season-high 26 points, John Camden recorded his seventh 20-point game as a Bear.

• He was 4-of-5 from 3-point range.

• It was Cal’s first-ever game played at Miami.

• It was the first game this season Cal had won after trailing with 5 minutes to go in regulation.

FIRST TIME OUT

• In Cal’s season opener, seven newcomers scored their first points as Bears: Dai Dai Ames (18 points), Chris Bell (5), John Camden (22), Nolan Dorsey (2), Milos Ilic (4), Mantas Kocanas (2) and Justin Pippen (15).

• In their second season at Cal, sophomores BJ Fisher and Stephon Marbury II both checked in for their first official court time as Bears vs. CSUB.

• Also making Cal debuts on Nov. 3 were transfer Dhiaukuei Manyiel Dut and true freshmen Luke Butler and TT Carr.

• Cal’s season-opening win marked the 300th victory recorded by the Bears at Haas Pavilion.

CHAMPIONSHIP RINGS

Mark Madsen is one of four NCAA Division I head coaches who won an NBA title during their playing careers. Madsen is the only one of those four coaches to have won two NBA titles, both coming with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2001 and 2002.

Name (School) — NBA Title(s)

Speedy Claxton (Hofstra) — 2003, San Antonio

Mark Madsen (Cal) — 2001 & 2002, Los Angeles

Darrell Walker (Little Rock) — 1993, Chicago

Mo Williams (Jackson State) — 2016, Cleveland

LONG GAME

Of Cal’s nine transfer additions, six are post players who stretch the Bears’ size in the front court. Spanning from 6-foot-7 Chris Bell to 7-footer Dhiaukuei Manyiel Dut, the group checks in at an average of 6-foot-9.

NEW CREW

Of the 13 newcomers to the roster, nine are transfers and four are true freshmen.

CENTURY CLUB

Cal’s 93-65 win over Cal State Fullerton on November 10 marked Mark Madsen‘s 100th career victory as a head coach.

BACK FOR MORE

Cal returns three Bears who saw time in the starting lineup last season — F Rytis Petraitis (29 starts), G DeJuan Campbell (16) and F Lee Dort (1).

TOP-40 HITS

In the Dec. 30 national rankings, Cal was the only team in the nation with three different players ranked in the nation’s top-40 in these three different statistical categories:

• Field Goals Made — No. 40: Dai Dai Ames (88)

• Free-throw Percentage ­— No. 39: Chris Bell (90.3)

• 3-Pointers Made — No. 40 John Camden (40)

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CALIFORNIA THROUGH AND THROUGH

“California Through and Through” is more than a slogan – it’s a statement of identity, pride and our trajectory as Cal Men’s Basketball. Just like our state, our program is engaging, diverse and inspiring. We have a rich history and legacy, and we have a bright future. Being California Through and Through means we celebrate our community and our place within it.