A key NIT battle sees the visiting Cal Golden Bears travelling to Colorado Friday to take on the Buffaloes on Friday.

The Buffaloes advanced with a win over Texas Southern, while Cal beat Ole Miss 77-74. The Sportsbook moves on to face the Fairfield vs Kent State matchup, each of those schools pulled first-round NIT upsets.

Cal opened as a 5.5-point underdog.



View California vs Colorado Odds and Stats.

Power Rankings / Prediction:
The Odds Shark Power Rankings have the Buffaloes at No. 164 and the Golden Bears at No. 141 heading into this contest. Handicapping models at Odds Shark project a 81-75 result in favor of the Buffaloes.



How They Match Up:
In the paint, the rebound battle will feature Colorado's No. 122-rated squad against California's No. 173-rated roster. And in long-range shooting, Colorado rates No. 194 in the country with 6 per game, while their foes tonight rank No. 295 nationally with 5 per match.

Comparing how these foes stack up statistically, California owns the country's No. 264-rated mark, allowing 74.4 points per game on the highway. Colorado, on the other hand, rates No. 9 in scoring at home.

In their last action, California was a 77-74 Sportsbook at home against Mississippi. They failed to cover the 4.5–point spread as favorites. Jorge Gutierrez went off for 25 points and added 5 rebounds, leading California over Mississippi, 77-74, on Wednesday at Haas Pavilion.

Last time out for Colorado, they were an 88-74 Sportsbook as they battled Texas Southern at home. They failed to cover in the match as a 18.5-point favorite. Colorado got 27 points from Alec Burks en route to an 88-74 victory over Texas Southern on Wednesday at Coors Events Center.


California Golden Bears Trends:
When playing on Friday are 6-4
After a win are 7-3

Colorado Buffaloes Trends:
When playing on Friday are 5-5
After playing Texas Southern are 0-1
After a win are 5-5

A few Golden Bears at Buffaloes trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 4 of California's last 5 games on the road
Colorado is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Colorado is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games