Louisville Cardinal guard Adrian Wooley (14) takes a shot against Cal Bears forward Chris Bell (22) in second half action at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Tue Dec 30, 2025 (AP News photo)

Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025

Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, California

Louisville Cardinals 90 (11-2 Overall; 1-0 ACC)

California Golden Bears 70 (10-2 Overall; 0-1 ACC)

By Stephen Ruderman

BERKELEY–The Bears were welcomed to ACC play with a brutal awakening, as they fought the good fight, but were ultimately pummeled by the 16th-ranked Louisville Cardinals 90-70.

The Bears got off to a 12-1 start, one of their best starts in a long time, as they dominated non-conference play. While many of the Bears’ 12 wins came against lesser known schools, they still had some wins against elite teams like UCLA. There has also been an excitement brewing around the Bears, who have not had a winning season in nine years.

As the Bears start playing the big teams on a regular basis, they would be met with the best of the best from the very getgo. Tonight, the 16th-ranked Louisville Cardinals came to Haas Pavilion for the beginning of ACC play.

Haas Pavilion wasn’t filled to capacity, but a fairly-large crowd showed up nevertheless. Many excited Bears’ fans showed up, but many Cardinals’ fans showed as well. Perhaps a lot of them made the long journey from Kentucky to the Bay Area, which is a worthy trip.

As for the game, the Bears won the opening tip, but knocked the ball out of bounds. That seemed to set the tone for how tonight’s game would go. The Cardinals made Cal pay for the fumbled tip, as Sanandra Fru made an alleyoop dunk.

That was just the start for Louisville, who jumped out to an early 10-lead. The Cardinals dominated the first half, and eventually got out to a 36-15 lead with 5:53 left.

The Bears then went on a 10-0 run to suddenly cut Louisville’s lead to 36-25. Adrian Woolet and J’Vonne Hadley responded with threes to make it 42-25, but the Bears kept going. Justin Pippen hit a three with 57 seconds remaining to make it 44-31 and get the crowd back into the game.

Chris Bell would also hit a three for Cal, but Fru and Wooley scored for Louisville, who went into halftime up 14 points at 48-34.

The Cardinals opened their lead up to 25 points at 73-48 with 8:26 remaining in the second half. However, Cal made one last push, as they scored 14 unanswered points in just under two minutes. Bell hit a three to cut it to 73-62 with 6:44 remaining.

Unfortunately, the Cardinals seized control right back, and won it 90-70.

Ryan Conwell led the way for the Cardinals with 26 points, and Adrian Wooley was not too far behind with 21. For Cal, Chris Bell and Justin Pippen were able to cut through Louisville’s defense, and scored 20 and 17 points respectively.

All you can say is that the Bears ran into a juggernaut tonight, as they dropped just their second game of the season. Unfortunately, they are 0-1 in ACC play, which is what ultimately counts the most.

The Bears will need to put this one behind them. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will come to Haas Pavilion Friday night.

Tipoff will be at 8 p.m.