California men’s basketball is putting a full slate of themes and giveaways around its nonconference home schedule at Haas Pavilion, giving Golden Bears fans a handful of extra reasons to show up early this November and December.
The Bears are entering their fourth season under head coach Mark Madsen, and the program is pairing that with a home schedule built to keep the building busy before ACC play starts in January. Single-game tickets are already on sale, and Cal is rolling out promotions for eight nonconference games at Haas.
The home opener comes Monday, Nov. 2 against Adams State at 5 p.m., when the first 3,000 fans through the door will get a Rally Towel. A week later, on Wednesday, Nov. 11 against USC at 8 p.m., Cal will mark Salute to Service and honor Veterans Day in the Bay Area. The first 1,000 students in attendance will receive Cal Pit Viper sunglasses.
Junior Bears Day lands on Saturday, Nov. 14 against Utah Tech at 2 p.m., with fans invited to stay after the game to meet the team and collect autographs from players. Then on Monday, Nov. 23 against Alabama State at 7 p.m., Cal will host Stock the Bear, a canned-goods drive for students and community members in need.
December brings another run of fan-friendly promotions. On Thursday, Dec. 10 against Southeastern Louisiana at 7 p.m., Cal students can take a break from studying for RR&B, short for Reading, Review & Basketball, with prizes and a chance to unwind before finals. Two days later, Saturday, Dec. 12 against UC Riverside at 12 p.m., the Bears will host Warm the Haas and collect extra coats for community members in need.
The holiday stretch continues Sunday, Dec. 20 against Southern at 12 p.m., when first- through eighth-graders who completed reading logs this fall can earn free tickets. Then on Tuesday, Dec. 22 against Northeastern at 3 p.m., Haas turns into Deck the Haas, complete with an ornament giveaway for the first 1,000 fans.
Cal is coming off a 2025-26 season that brought the program its most wins in a year since 2016, finishing with 22, along with its first postseason victory since 2014. That team also produced eight games with 90 or more points and had five players ranked in the top 100 nationally in statistical categories.
This season’s roster features nine returning Bears and nine newcomers, giving Madsen’s group a mix of familiarity and fresh faces as the 2026-27 campaign gets rolling.
The program is also leaning into its “California Through and Through” identity, which Cal says reflects its pride, diversity, and trajectory as a team and as a community.
“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.
Fans can also support the Golden Bears through the Cal Men's Basketball Excellence Initiative. Cal is posting updates on X (@CalMBBall), Instagram (@CalMBBball) and Facebook (/CalMBBall/).
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Virginia Tech coach James Franklin acknowledged the uncertainty around what Cal might do next, pointing both to the change in who is calling the plays and to the absence of several key players from the Bears roster. For Cal, the question is no longer whether the offense can look more productive than it did early against UNLV. It is whether that second-half burst was a one-game adjustment or the start of something more stable when the Bears take the field again. [Read more 🡒]
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Cal Made A Desperate Offensive Change Fans Need To Watch
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The timing only added to the sense of pressure around the decision, with Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele exiting after a concussion and athletic director Ron Rivera acknowledging the offense had fallen short of what the program wanted. McCanns adjustment did help Cal briefly wrest control back, even if the finish still went UNLVs way, and it leaves the Bears with an obvious question hanging over the next stretch: whether this was a one-game rescue or the start of something more permanent. [Read more 🡒]