After losing four of its last five games, the Cal men’s basketball team has missed the NCAA tournament for just the second time in head coach Mike Montgomery’s six-year tenure. Instead, the Bears have accepted a bid to the National Invitational Tournament as a No. 2 seed.

As a result, the Bears will host Utah Valley at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The Wolverines (20-11) won the WAC regular-season championship and received an automatic bid to the NIT as a No. 7 seed.

If the Bears (19-13) win in the first round of the 32-team tournament, they will face the winner of the Arkansas-Indiana State game in the second round.

The Final Four for the NIT will take place April 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The championship game for the tournament will take place two days later.

Riley McAtee covers men’s basketball. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @riley_mcatee