In a season that has been anything but normal, Cal has finally received some sense of normalcy. On Thursday, the Pac-12 released its conference schedule for the 2020-21 basketball season, with specific dates and times to be announced at a later date.
The Bears will end their hibernation with a homestand against Arizona State on Dec. 3. While the trip will allow Cal to enjoy some home cooking, it won’t be for long — the Bears will travel south to face UCLA in Westwood just three days later on Dec. 6.
Head coach Mark Fox and his squad will compete in a 20-game conference format this year. After initial stints against the Sun Devils and the Bruins, Cal will not see conference opponents again until the week of Dec. 30, when league play is set to resume. The blue and gold are then set to battle until March 6 or 7 before the 2021 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas from March 10 to 13.
After the NCAA’s shift to a Nov. 25 start date, the Pac-12 moved some of its original dates to give teams, which are dealing with competing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, more flexibility in scheduling nonleague contests. The dates and times for released conference matchups will be announced once the Pac-12’s television partners finalize selections. However, the schedule was designed with the possibility of rescheduled or postponed games in mind.
But it certainly won’t look like last season: In accordance with conference health guidelines, no fans will be allowed in attendance until at least January 2021, when the conference will revisit its initial decision. Nonetheless, Cal fans should be happy to hear that all 20 of the Bears’ conference games will be televised among the Pac-12 Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, Fox, Fox Sports 1 and CBS.
Some notable games for fans to circle on their calendars include showdowns against rival Stanford in Berkeley the week of Feb. 3-7 and against powerhouse Oregon in Eugene the week of Dec. 30 to Jan. 3 and again at home during the last week of February.