Men's Basketball Earns NIT Bid, Women Earn WBIT Invitation
Two games in Haas Pavilion this week to cheer on The Golden Bears
The Cal Men’s Basketball program snagged a 2-seed in the NIT Tournament and will host the University of Illinois-Chicago on Wednesday evening, with an 8pm tipoff on ESPN+.
The UIC Flames finished with a 19-15 record and fifth place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference. It is the Flames’ first postseason appearance since a CIT runner-up finish in 2017-18. If Cal wins on Wednesday, they will host the winner of the Colorado State/Saint Joseph’s matchup. The Albuquerque bracket also features #1 seed New Mexico and #4 seed Utah Valley, Mark Madsen’s former team.
Coach Charmin Smith’s Golden Bears nabbed a #3 seed in the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament and will host the Santa Clara Broncos on Thursday. Santa Clara finished with a 24-9 record and third place finish in the WCC. The Broncos’ 13 conference wins are tied for most in program history. They were most recently in the WBIT following the 2024-25 season.
Game time has not yet been announced for the Thursday game. If Cal wins, they will face the winner of the #2 seeded Kansas State/Georgia Tech matchup.
Let’s all turn out at Haas this week and cheer on the Bears!
Sad we fell a little short of the Big Dances. But both teams had good seasons and deserve these high tournament seeds. Go Bears!