In this series, we’ll look ahead at Missouri’s opponents in the upcoming 2024-25 season. We’ll continue by previewing the California Golden Bears.

Date & Location: Dec. 3 at Mizzou Arena

2023-24 Record: 13-19, 9-11 Pac-12

2024 NCAA Tournament Finish: N/A

Torvik Preseason Rank: 108

Devin Curtis (0.4 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 0.4 apg), Gus Larson (1.4 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 0.1 apg), Vladimir Pavlovic (0.9 ppg, 0.3 rpg, 0.3 apg)

Fardaws Aimaq (graduated), Devin Askew (transferred), Rodney Brown Jr. (transferred), Monty Bowser (transferred), Jalen Celestine (transferred), Jalen Cone (graduated), Keonte Kennedy (graduated), Grant Newell (transferred), N.D. Okafor (transferred), Jaylon Tyson (drafted)

Jovan Blacksher Jr. (Grand Canyon, 4.8 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 1.5 apg), D.J. Campbell (Western Carolina, 11.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.5 apg), Lee Dort (Vanderbilt, 1.7 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 0.2 apg*), Spencer Mahoney (Washington State, N/A), Joshua Ola-Joseph (Minnesota, 7.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 0.5 apg), B.J. Omot (North Dakota, 16.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.4 apg), Rytis Petraitis (Air Force, 15.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.7 apg), Mady Sissoko (Michigan State, 3.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 0.3 apg), Andrej Stojakovic (Stanford, 7.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 0.9 apg), Christian Tucker (UTSA, 11.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 5.4 apg)

*Stats from 2022-23. Dort only played one game in 2023-24.

Jeremiah Wilkinson (N/A)

Mark Madsen’s first season as head coach of the Golden Bears got off to a rocky start. Cal went 4-7 in non-conference play with losses to Pacific, Montana State, UTEP and Tulane. It lost starting point guard Devin Askew and rotational big man N.D. Okafor to season-ending injuries. It then dropped the first three games of its Pac-12 slate.

Madsen managed to turn things around, though. The team won nine of its next 14 contests, including wins over Colorado, Washington and Oregon — three of the four teams in the conference that earned NCAA tournament bids. The Golden Bears dropped their final three games of the season, all on the road, and got bounced by Stanford in an 87-76 overtime loss in the first round of the league tournament to finish the year at 13-19 overall. But it had finished with a Pac-12 record of 9-11, finishing in a three-way tie for sixth place after being voted to finish second-to-last in the preseason poll. Madsen now gets the chance to build on a solid close to the year as the program moves to the ACC.

He’ll have to do it with a mostly new roster, however. Of the 21 players on the roster, just five were members of the team a year ago. Two are listed as walk-ons. Of the other three, just one, redshirt junior forward Gus Larson, was a regular part of the rotation.

In the backcourt, Cal will lean on a trio of mid-major transfers to lead the way. Christian Tucker is the most likely candidate to take the starting point guard spot after ranking 75th in the country in assist rate per KenPom. D.J. Campbell should provide good spacing off the ball after connecting on 41.1% of his 3-pointers at Western Carolina a year ago. Jovan Blacksher Jr. will be a swing player — the 5-foot-11 guard was voted as the 2022-23 WAC Preseason Player of the Year but suffered a season-ending knee injury 12 games in and wasn’t the same in 2023-24. If he’s healthy and returns to form, he could be a difference-maker for the team. Madsen will also likely need some of his more unproven players, such as returning sophomore Vladimir Pavlovic or three-star freshman Jeremiah Wilkinson, to emerge as contributors.

On the wing, the Golden Bears landed some big names. Rytis Petraitis was a do-it-all player the past two years for Air Force. According to KenPom, the 6-foot-7 forward was in the top 500 in the nation in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentages, ranked 336th in block rate, 124th with a steal rate, 126th in assist rate and 76th in free throw rate. Joshua Ola-Joseph provides some experience and spacing after making 40.6% of his treys as a sophomore at Minnesota. Joining them is sophomore Andrej Stojakovic, a former McDonald’s All-American who was ranked No. 41 in the Class of 2023 and is the son of three-time NBA All-Star Peja Stojakovic. Andrej will be looking to take on a bigger role after getting his feet wet as a freshman at Stanford.

There will be plenty of minutes up for grabs among the bigs. Larson and returning sophomore Devin Curtis have the benefit of having played in Madsen’s system already and are both capable of stretching the floor, but will need to take strides in their development to gain an uptick in playing time. B.J. Omot will be their biggest competition at the four coming off a year in which he led North Dakota with 16.7 points per game. Spencer Mahoney could also play a role after redshirting at Washington State last season. Lee Dort and Mady Sissoko are the frontrunners to hold down the center spot. Dort was expected to be an impact player at Vanderbilt but was injured to begin the year and suspended for all but one game the remainder of the season while dealing with an aggravated assault case that was eventually dismissed. Sissoko is the most experienced of the group as a two-year starter at Michigan State but saw his minutes decline down the stretch of last season.

The Golden Bears will match up with Mizzou in the ACC/SEC Challenge. It’ll be a personal game for Tigers head coach Dennis Gates, who played at Cal from 1998-2001. Both programs will be looking to use the game as proof it’s bouncing back after a rough 2022-23 season.

The Mid-Majors, Part 1

The Mid Majors, Part 2

Memphis

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