CHARLOTTE, N.C. >> The Cal men’s basketball team hasn’t seen Berkeley in nearly two weeks. And the Golden Bears are in no rush to get home.

Led by Andrej Stojakovic’s 29 points and double-doubles by Mady Sissoko and Rytis Petraitis, the Bears rallied to beat Virginia Tech 82-73 in double overtime in Tuesday’s first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

Cal, which entered its first ACC tournament as the No. 15 seed, faces No. 7 seed Stanford today at 4 p.m. The winner advances to the quarterfinals.

Tuesday’s victory was just the latest twist in Cal’s first season in the ACC, which has seen the Bears travel more than 18,000 miles. Cal ended the regular season with an 85-68 loss at No. 14 Louisville last Wednesday, and then a 112-110 defeat in four overtimes at Notre Dame on Saturday.

“It’s definitely been a heck of an experience,” Stojakovic said. “The biggest thing is trying to stay resilient. We keep each other company on the off days. But it’s been great. We’ve been on the road for 10 days, and I wouldn’t change it for anything else.

“It’s a win-or-go-home scenario. Just got to be out there and stay aggressive and have fun with the guys.”

Today’s matchup against Bay Area rival Stanford creates several redemption opportunities for Cal (14-18). The Bears were swept by Stanford (19-12) in the regular season — losing 66-61 at Maples Pavilion three weeks ago and 89-81 at home in both teams’ ACC debut. Cal players say they also want to prove they are a much better team than the final seed in their new conference’s tournament.

“I thought we were better than the 15 seed,” Petraitis said. “So this is our opportunity to prove ourselves and prove to other people. This is just the first step of it. We have another game (today), and it’s going to be a big one with a great team. And it’s going to be our third time playing them, so it’s going to be a big one.”

Fatigue could be a concern for the Bears considering the travel and multiple overtime games, but Cal coach Mark Madsen suggested that the extra time on the court might be benefitting his team as it looks to go deeper in the ACC tournament.

“They might be a little tired, but our guys are in basketball rhythm,” he said. “So we’re in a great place to continue to make every effort to have great momentum going forward.”

Tuesday, Cal blew a four-point lead in the final 80 seconds of regulation and still had a chance to win it, but settled for sending the game into overtime when DJ Campbell made one of two free-throw attempts after he was fouled with five seconds remaining.

The Hokies (13-19) led by as many as four midway through the first overtime period, but Cal ended the extra session on a 6-2 run, capped by Stojakovic’s two free throws with 27 seconds remaining.

Sissoko scored the first two baskets in the second overtime and Stojakovic polished off an 8-0 run to give the Golden Bears the lead for good and avenge a 71-68 loss to Virginia Tech at Haas Pavilion on Jan. 11.

“It’s kind of like, man, five more minutes of free basketball,” said Petraitis, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds. “But when you get to five and six overtimes in the last two games, you’re kind of like, let’s just win in regulation. Let’s get one of those wins.”

Stojakovic made 11 of 20 shots with three 3-pointers for the Golden Bears. Sissoko scored 12 with 10 boards. Campbell didn’t have a basket but made 10 of 12 free throws.

Brandon Rechsteiner scored 19 off the bench to pace the 10th-seeded Hokies. Tobi Lawal totaled 17 points and 12 rebounds. Jaydon Young missed all 11 of his 3-point attempts and scored 12.

The Cal/Virginia Tech contest was the 600th ACC tournament game, but just the 49th to go into overtime.