Who: Boston College Eagles (9-15, 2-9 ACC) vs. California Golden Bears (17-8, 5-7 ACC)
Where: Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA
When: Saturday, February 14, 2026
Tip-Off Time: 12PM ET
How to Watch: ACC Network
In the midst of a 5-game losing streak, the BC men’s basketball team will host Cal in Boston on Saturday looking for any signs of positive momentum. After a brief glimmer of hope when the Eagles defeated Syracuse and Pitt in back-to-back games in late January, BC hasn’t been able to recapture any of that
success. And now this will be one of their last chances to give their home crowd a victory, because 4 of BC’s 6 remaining regular season games will be played on the road.
The Golden Bears are having a much better season than the Eagles, highlighted by their 84-78 victory over the #11 UNC Tarheels on January 17th. But they are on the outside of the NCAA tournament bubble and will need to go on a win streak to close the season if they want to have any chance of making the dance.
Cal is led by junior guard Dai Dai Ames, a 6’1” high-usage scorer who is top-10 in the ACC in points per game. He can be a threat from three, but he truly excels at his midrange shot-making and driving towards the basket. Ames’s teammate in the backcourt is is sophomore guard Justin Pippen. Alongside his 15 points per game and tendency to get to the free throw line, Pippen is also a great distributor on offense and an elite perimeter defender, who can shift the tides of games with his steals. This backcourt duo will be difficult for BC’s defense to stop.
In the frontcourt, Cal is led by senior forwards John Camden, Chris Bell, and Lee Dort. This is probably Cal’s greatest weakness, as this group is not particularly great at rebounding and they can often get into foul trouble. If the Eagles want to win the game, they will need to lean on Boden Kapke and Jayden Hastings to take advantage of opportunities in the paint, alongside Fred Payne and Donald Hand’s ability to drive to the basket.
Prediction: Cal 72 Boston College 60
