Cal Men's Basketball: Bears to Face Duke in Madison Square Garden

Cal's trip to the Garden just became a little more interesting. Per Jon Rothstein, Cal will face Duke in their opening game of the Empire Classic on November 21st. This is the first meeting between the Bears and Blue Devils since a 68-53 loss to Duke in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament (which Duke won).

The Legends Classic also has Georgetown and Texas competing, and Cal will face one of those two on November 22nd.

Cal is 2-1 all-time against the Blue Devils, most famously defeating a defending national champion Duke team in 1993 behind the efforts of then-freshman Jason Kidd and Lamond Murray in an 82-77 upset. Cal also beat Duke in their first ever matchup, the 1982-83 season opener, 74-71.

Duke will be replacing three top-10 picks from 2018-19 and four of their top five scorers, as Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish went 1st, 3rd, and 10th in the draft. Mike Krzyzewski brings in three top 25 recruits in C Vernon Carey (5th), F Matthew Hurt (9th), and F Wendell Moore (24th). They also added the uber-athletic G Cassius Stanley (39th). Duke returns talent in the form of G Tre Jones, G Alex O'Connell, F Javin DeLaurier, and F Jack White.

This will be the biggest test of Cal's season, as the Bears' biggest game before this is a home contest with UNLV. Cal will also have two games as part of a 'regional' before heading to New York, playing Cal Baptist on November 15th and Prairie View A&M on November 18th.