The Bears will host the Stanford Cardinal on Friday for their first of two meetings this season. Cal will look to take control of the rivalry as it seeks back-to-back wins for the second time this season.
Fresh off of a come-from-behind overtime win against the Washington State Cougars, Cal men’s basketball is set to clash with its cross-bay rivals, the Stanford Cardinal.
This will be the first of two matchups this season, and both teams are coming in with a win under their belt this past weekend.
“We put our heart and soul into every single game,” said Cal head coach Mark Madsen. “We’re doing all the types of work and preparation that we can so that when we get onto the court, the preparation is done — now it’s about making adjustments. (...) It should be a great game. I think both teams have been trending in the right direction in terms of making adjustments and playing winning basketball.”
Hovering under .500 for the majority of the year, Cal enters rivalry week with a 7-12 record — the fewest wins in the Pac-12. The good news for the Bears is that they have recently found their stride, playing their best, most confident basketball all season since the turn of the new year.
Still, they have a dangerous penchant for falling victim to second-half runs — a fault that has made its presence felt in Cal’s loss column. Ten of Cal’s 12 losses have come within a single-digit score, with five of which decided by one possession.
On the flip side, Stanford holds a 10-8 overall, and its 5-3 conference record places it fourth in the Pac-12 standings — six spots above the Bears who are just 3-5 in conference play.
Despite the records being nearly inverted, the competition between the rival schools has remained balanced in recent years, with each team taking five wins in the last 10 meetings.
Madsen represented the Cardinal for four years from 1996-2000, receiving All-Pac-12 First Team honors twice. This time around, and for the first time ever between Cal and Stanford, Madsen will lead the blue and gold’s huddle.
“Up until the night before, it’s just like any other opponent. But the night before, of course, there’s going to be some emotion from me,” Madsen said. “(I have a) close friendship and relationship with coach (Jerod) Haase over there. Great respect for the entire school and the athletic department. But again, for that 24-hour period, it’s a competition.”
Now, Madsen may no longer be an All-Pac-12 player, but he’s on the verge of coaching one.
Jaylon Tyson, transfer guard from Texas Tech, has been playing as well as any player in the nation. Tyson is coming off his best game as a Bear, having scored 30 points and tallied nine rebounds, five assists, two blocks and one steal against Washington State.
The junior guard posts 21 points per game — good enough to rank him No. 13 in the nation and first in the Pac-12.
“We all came together and said ‘We are going to do something special here.’ We haven’t done anything yet, but that bond started from there,” Tyson said. “We still have something to prove, and I feel like we could still do something special here.”
Tyson may very well be the best player Cal has had in its program since Jalen Brown. His efforts will be heavily leaned on Friday night as the Bears seek their second two-game winning streak of the season.
Statistically speaking, this Cal team has been much better at Haas Pavilion than any other venue, which could be a decisive factor in Friday’s game.
“We hope to see the fan base out here, getting loud and proud,” Tyson said.
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