It may not have been the statement win over the name program that CU fans wanted, but that will come in time. The Colorado Buffaloes took care of business in the first game of the 2011 NIT tournament with a 88-74 win over #8 seed Texas Southern. The Buffs will now move on and welcome #4  seed and future Pac-12 conference mate Cal to Boulder. 

The game was close for most of the first half, but the Buffs blew the game open right before intermission with a 16-5 run that lead to a 44-28 lead. That lead hovered around 20 points for most of the game until head coach Tad Boyle removed many of the starters to give the bench some minutes. Just like in the Big 12 tournament, Alec Burks, Cory Higgins and Andre Roberson lead the team, with Burks and Higgins shooting a combined 82% from the field. Burks finished 27 points to pace the Buffs. 

It's going to be fun to get a shot at Cal this weekend. Let's hope Colorado can send a statement to the Pac-12 as they look to advance to the third round of the NIT.