The NIT might be the last thing on your radar at this point in time, but low and behold, the Cal men’s basketball team is drawing some national attention. During the first half of its 68-66 win over New Mexico last Wednesday, Jerome Randle raced up the floor on a Bears fastbreak with one man between him and a trailing Patrick Christopher. Randle passed the ball off the backboard to Christopher who caught it for the slam dunk, sending the one thousand or so Cal fans in attendance into a frenzy. Sunday night, it was No. 1 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays of the week, not including NCAA Tournament plays. Jamal Boykin had said after the game, “Hopefully that makes the Top 10!” Well, what do you know?

So Cal has accepted a bid to the National Invitation Tournament and will play No. 5-seed New Mexico on Wednesday at 8 p.m. Since the Bears are the higher seed at No. 4, they will be hosting the Lobos at Haas Pavilion, though with a win, they will likely go on the road as their next opponent will be the winner between No. 1-seed and 2007 NCAA Tournament runner-up Ohio State and No. 8-seed UNC Asheville.

There is really no way to spin it so that a berth to the NIT is a laudable accomplishment. Having said that, there are a few reasons fans should still make it out to Haas Pavilion for one last time this year: (Click here to read more…)