The No. 1 Colorado Buffaloes kick off the second round of the 2011 NIT on Friday night when they host the No. 4 California Golden Bears. They are fresh off a convincing win over Texas Southern, 88-74, on Wednesday. Alec Burks led Colorado with 27 points and seven rebounds, while Cory Higgins added 25 points. Andre Roberson had a good night off the bench with 15 points and eight rebounds.
The Cal Bears defeated No. 5 Ole Miss with a three point victory, 77-74, to reach the second round. Jorge Gutierrez, who averages 14.6 points this season, dialed things up and finished with 25 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals.
CU seniors Cory Higgins, Levi Knutson, and Marcus Relphorde could all be playing their last games for the Buffs (and maybe even Cory Higgins), but they're all hoping for a run at a championship and didn't appear fazed by their NCAA Tournament snub when they beat Texas Southern.
Should they advance to the quarterfinals, the Buffs will play the winner of the Fairfield-Kent State game. No. 6 Fairfield beat No. 3 Colorado State on March 15. A win in the quarterfinals sends teams to Madison Square Garden for the semis.
Here is the complete schedule for the second round of the NIT
Cal vs. Colorado, March 18, 7:30 p.m. MT
Northwestern vs. Boston College, March 19, 9:00 a.m. MT
Charleston vs. Cleveland State, March 19, 12:00 p.m. MT
Wichita State vs. Virginia Tech, March 20, 12:00 p.m. MT
Kent State vs. Fairfield, March 20, 10:30 a.m. MT
Missouri State vs. Miami (Fl.), March 21, 5:00 p.m. MT
New Mexico vs. Alabama, March 21, 7:00 p.m. MT
Oklahoma State vs. Washington State, March 21, 9:30 p.m. MT