New Mexico at California

Does momentum matter? Cal has lost eight of their last ten while New Mexico in contrast has won eight of their last ten! The Lobos missed out on the MWC Title by just one bucket, losing to Utah 82-80. This team can play. They won on average this season by 12 ppg. They feature the MWC co-Player of the Year in J.R. Giddens who led the league in scoring and rebounding. He's the second player (and first guard) to accomplish that (first was Andrew Bogut). Over their last five games, the Lobos are giving up 64 ppg while Cal is allowing 86 per game. This season the Bears were 7-14 vs. winning teams including 0-6 in the last six. Teams like New Mexico that move the ball well (16+ assists per game) gave Cal fits as the Bears went 1-6 against such teams. Cal lost by 22 points last game and they are just 4-12 the past three seasons off a double-digit loss (1-7 if the loss was by 15+). Sure, the level of competition is different, but we are going to back the hot teams vs. the cold one here.