Deadspin | Bay Area rivals clash in Pac-12 tourney opener

Field Level Media|published: Wed 13th March, 02:00 2024

Mar 7, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; California Golden Bears guard Keonte Kennedy (3) dribbles the basketball against Stanford Cardinal forward Max Murrell (10) during the second half at Maples Pavillion. credits: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports

The Stanford-Cal rivalry will extend to the first round of the Pac-12 tournament at Las Vegas when the 10th-seeded Cardinal go against the seventh-seeded Golden Bears on Wednesday night.Deadspin | Bay Area rivals clash in Pac-12 tourney opener

In the teams' first matchup of the season, Cal overcame a 10-point, second-half deficit to win 73-71 in Berkeley, Calif., on Jan. 26.Deadspin | Bay Area rivals clash in Pac-12 tourney opener

Stanford rolled to an 80-58 home win over the Golden Bears on Thursday to close the regular season, as the Cardinal (13-17) snapped a six-game losing streak.Deadspin | Bay Area rivals clash in Pac-12 tourney opener

The Golden Bears (13-18) enter Wednesday's game on a three-game losing streak. They won 5 of 7 games immediately preceding the skid.

The matchup features head coaches who played at the other school in college.

Cal's Mark Madsen was a standout at Stanford and Jerod Haase, the Cardinal's coach, started his playing career with the Golden Bears before finishing at Kansas.

"I have a lot of blood, sweat and tears (at Stanford)," Madsen said after the loss to the Cardinal. "That was a great chapter of my life. Now, my entire focus and all of my energy is dedicated to building Cal basketball back up to what it's been in the past and what it could be in the future, which is greatness."

Madsen, in his first season with Cal, signed a two-year contract extension on Tuesday that will last through the 2029-30 season.

Haase is 125-126 in eight seasons with the Cardinal, who have not advanced to the NCAA Tournament in that span.

The San Jose Mercury News ran an article last week in which former Stanford players called for Haase to be fired.

"Our team has struggled of late, but we haven't struggled with work ethic or belief," Haase said after the win over Cal. "We really bought into the mission, and it's nice to validate that."

Cal's Fardaws Aimaq scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the loss to Stanford. Jaylon Tyson finished with 15 points.

The Cardinal were led by Maxime Raynaud's 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Freshman Kanaan Carlyle contributed 12 points.

—Field Level Media