Black bears and golden bears. Can you feel the excitement?
The Haas Fieldhouse/Coliseum/Arena should be halfway to moderately full for this first round NIT match-up between Ole Miss (20-13) and Cal (17-14).
Tip-time is set for 8 p.m. CST on ESPN2, which means a 6 p.m. local time start for the game. In my experience, this is roughly 3 hours after most people in California get out of bed.
The only drama local media can drum up in this game is that it could be the final game for seniors Chris Warren and Zach Graham. The team and those two guys are playing for pride and a chance for a trip to New York City – the same trip they took last year.
Bold predictions
- Chris Warren scores 25 points or more with less than 5 FT attempts.
- Terrance Henry records a double-double in more than 30 minutes of play.
- Reginald Buckner doesn't foul out.
- Andy Kennedy doesn't make a racially insensitive remark to any of the Hispanic players on Cal's team.
Final predition
Ole Miss 79
Cal 76
Talk amongst yourselves. We'll be checking in with game updates as frequently as we can.