BearTalk

Although Friday’s NCAA Tournament game will be Cal’s first against Louisville, the Bears boast an all-time win-loss record of 20-14 against current members of the Big East Conference.

Cal also never has faced Marquette, Rutgers or St. John’s, but actually has a winning record against seven Big East programs.

The Bears are 4-2 against current Big East teams in NCAA play, but that’s a little misleading. Cal has beaten only one Big East school in the NCAAs since 1960, posting a 75-68 win over Villanova in the 1996-97 tournament.

On the other hand, a couple of those defeats weren’t exactly fair fights. Cal lost to UConn in a 1990 NCAA game played at Hartford, Conn., and then to Pitt in a 2002 NCAA game in Pittsburgh. Both of those were labeled neutral-site games, but it sure didn’t sound like it inside the arena.

Here’s Cal’s team-by-team record against Big East schools:

Boston College (0-1)
lost 65-51, 1987-88 (N)

Cincinnati (5-2)
won 64-58, 1958-59 (N)-x
won 77-69, 1959-60 (N)-x
lost 71-70, 1968-69 (H)
won 82-76, 1970-71 (A)
won 89-80, 1993-94 (N)
won 89-76, 1994-95 (A)
lost 77-70, 1995-96 (H)

Connecticut (0-2)
lost 73-72, 1988-89 (N)-y
lost 74-54, 1989-90 (N)-x

DePaul (3-3)
won 62-59, 1995-96 (N)
lost 75-72, 1998-99 (A)
won 58-57, 1998-99 (A)-y
lost 68-65, 2005-06 (N)
lost 90-62, 2006-07 (A)
won 77-67, 2008-09 (H)

Georgetown (1-0)
won 60-49, 1999-00 (H)-y

Notre Dame (1-0)
won 69-63, 1966-67 (N)

Pittsburgh (2-1)
won 66-49, 1948-49 (N)
won 70-58, 1950-51 (H)
lost 63-50, 2001-02 (N)-x

Providence (0-1)
lost 59-58, 1978-79 (N)

Seton Hall (1-0)
won 81-76, 1973-74 (N)

South Florida (1-1)
won 79-69, 2000-01 (H)
lost 79-59, 2001-02 (A)

Syracuse (0-1)
lost 95-73, 2009-10 (N)

Villanova (2-1)
lost 65-50, 1987-88 (A)
won 73-71, 1988-89 (H)
won 75-68, 1996-97 (N)-x

West Virginia (4-1)
won 71-70, 1958-59 (N)-x
won 65-45, 1959-60 (N)
won 63-51, 1972-73 (A)
lost 76-74, 1973-74 (A)
won 82-68, 1975-76 (N)

   LEGEND: (H) is home game; (A) away game; (N) neutral-site game; x-NCAA Tournament game; y-NIT game.