Bay Area rivals clash in Pac-12 tourney opener
Mar 13, 2024, 5:20 AM | Updated: 8:30 am
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 05: A Pac-12 Conference logo is shown on the court before the Pac-12 Conference women's basketball tournament championship game between the Washington State Cougars and the UCLA Bruins at Michelob ULTRA Arena on March 05, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Cougars defeated the Bruins 65-61. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The Stanford-Cal rivalry will extend to the first round of the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas when the 10th-seeded Cardinal go against the seventh-seeded Golden Bears on Wednesday night.
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.
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.
The Golden Bears (13-18) enter Wednesday’s game on a three-game losing streak. They won five of seven games immediately preceding the skid.
The matchup features 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 18 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.
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