Everything you need to know as Notre Dame basketball visits Cal

Long basketball road trip, short memory. Or something like that.

Win, lose or however (is there even a third option?) the Atlantic Coast Conference opener went for Notre Dame basketball earlier in the week at Stanford, it was time to flush it and focus again on another opportunity to get a league win. A league road win.

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This one Friday at a place that the Irish have never been against an opponent (Cal) it likely won’t recognize from last season’s epic encounter. We’re deep into league play, which means there’s no time for any team to feel sorry or satisfied. Too little time, too many games.

That next chance comes quickly in conference play.

Notre Dame basketball (10-4 overall; 1-0 ACC)at California (12-2; 0-1)

• Date: Friday, January 2

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• Start time: 11 p.m. (South Bend time).

• Site: Haas Pavilion (11,858), Berkeley, California

What channel is Notre Dame basketball at Cal on?

• Radio: 960 WSBT-AM in South Bend. Also on SiriusXM on ACC Radio and channels 955 and 956. You can also listen live free on Audacy.

Series history between Notre Dame basketball and California

Notre Dame leads 3-0 overall, 1-0 as ACC colleagues.

The teams met once last year in the regular-season finale at Purcell Pavilion. The game featured 17 ties and 14 lead changes and was won by Notre Dame, 112-110, in four overtimes.

Irish guard Markus Burton scored 21 of his 43 points, a program record for an ACC game, in the four overtimes. Graduate student Matt Allocco added 24 points while senior J.R. Konieczny, playing in his final Notre Dame game, added 13 points and eight rebounds.

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This is Notre Dame’s first visit to Cal.

Notre Dame basketball at California storylines

∎ Heading into its league opener Tuesday at home against No. 13 Louisville, Cal had won a league-best nine straight. It started 11-0 at home despite averaging a league-low 2,646 in home attendance. Cal went 11-6 overall, 5-5 in ACC play at home last year while finishing second to last – 17^th – for average home attendance (3,889).

∎ Coming clear of Tuesday’s conference opener at Stanford, Notre Dame looks to either start 2-0 in ACC play for the first time since 2017-18 or avoid opening 0-2 for the first time since 2022-23.

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∎ California is one of the league’s best-kept secrets, partly because it plays on the West Coast, but also because it had to rebuild its entire roster after losing 11 of 14 players off last year’s team (which featured 10 transfers) that finished 14-19 overall, 6-14 in its first season in the ACC.

Keep an eye on …

Notre Dame G Logan Imes

He may have done it again far from home in a conference game that tipped off too late for some. The deadline for this Cal look-ahead was due a day before Notre Dame opened ACC play at Stanford (thanks holiday print deadlines), but if this season is any indication, junior guard Logan Imes likely did something in that one that kept the Irish in the game.

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A big drive. A key 3. Big minutes as the secondary handler. That’s who the 6-foot-4, 205-pound junior from Zionsville, Indiana was in non-conference play, where he was one of seven Irish to appear in all 13 games. Imes averaged 4.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 18.7 minutes. He shot .422 percent from the field, .393 from 3 and .455 from the foul line. His points per game and minutes averages and percentages from the field and from 3 would be career bests. He scored a career best 12 points in the loss to Purdue Fort Wayne.

Imes has become a steadying voice of reason guy, someone the Irish need to wrap their two-game West Coast conference swing. If that’s the case, keep an eye out for No. 2.

California G Justin Pippen

Don’t be fooled by the famous last name. Yes, his father, Scottie, was one of the best to ever do it and is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, but his kid also has game.

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The 6-3, 190-pound guard from the Los Angeles area barely did anything last season at Michigan (1.6 ppg., 0.7 rpg., 0.5 apg., 6.7 mpg.) before returning to the West Coast. Pippen is averaging 14.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and a team-high 4.2 assists in 30.1 minutes. He’s shooting .413 percent from the field, .358 from 3 and .813 from the foul line.

Pippen played at least 25 minutes in each of his first 11 games. He had games where he scored 23 and 24 points, two games where he grabbed at least nine rebounds and five contests when he had at least five assists. He does a little of everything for the Bears. Just like his pops did for the Bulls.

Notre Dame basketball 2025-26 schedule

• Oct. 17 at Butler (W, 77-76) Exhibition

• Oct. 24 DEPAUL (L, 69-62) Exhibition

• Nov. 3 LIU BROOKLYN (W, 89-67; 1-0)

• Nov. 7 DETROIT MERCY (W, 102-70; 2-0)

• Nov. 11 EASTERN ILLINOIS, (W, 78-58; 3-0)

• Nov. 16 At Ohio State, (L, 64-63; 3-1)

• Nov. 19 BELLARMINE (W, 86-79; 4-1)

• Nov. 24 vs Kansas (L, 71-61; 4-2)

• Nov. 25 vs Rutgers (W, 68-63; 5-2)

• Nov. 26 vs. Houston (L, 66-56; 5-3)

• Dec. 2 MISSOURI (W 76-71; 6-3)

• Dec. 5 At TCU (W, 87-85 OT; 7-3)

• Dec. 10 IDAHO, (W, 80-65; 8-3)

• Dec. 13 EVANSVILLE, (W, 82-58; 9-3)

• Dec. 21 PURDUE FORT WAYNE, (L, 72-69; 9-4)

• Dec. 30 At Stanford, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)

• Jan. 2 At California, 11 p.m. (ESPN2)

• Jan. 10 CLEMSON, 6 p.m. (ESPN2/U)

• Jan. 13 MIAMI (Fla.), 7 p.m. (ESPN2/U)

• Jan. 17 At Virginia Tech, 12 p.m. (ACCN)

• Jan. 21 At North Carolina, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)

• Jan. 24 BOSTON COLLEGE, 6 p.m. (ACCN)

• Jan. 27 VIRGINIA, 7 p.m. (ESPN2/U)

• Jan. 31 At Syracuse, 6 p.m., (The CW)

• Feb. 4 At Louisville, 7 p.m. (ESPN/U)

• Feb. 7 FLORIDA STATE, 4 p.m. (ACCN)

• Feb. 10 At SMU, 7 p.m. (ACCN)

• Feb. 14 GEORGIA TECH, 12 p.m. (The CW)

• Feb. 21 At Pittsburgh, 2 p.m. (ACCN)

• Feb. 24 DUKE, 7 p.m. (ESPN2/U)

• Feb. 28 NORTH CAROLINA STATE, 12 p.m. (The CW)

• March 3 STANFORD, 9 p.m. (ESPNU)

• March 7 At Boston College, 12 p.m. (ESPNU)

• March 10-14 ACC Tournament (Charlotte) TBD.

Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at tnoie@sbtinfo.com

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This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame basketball wraps its longest ACC road trip to start league play