Maui Preview

Monday 3 PM Eastern- Texas vs. St. Joseph's

8th in the nation and picked to win the Big XII, Texas is the favorite in the first game. St. Joe's lost to Holy Cross, but has a very talented player in Ahmad Nivins, lead scorer and rebounder. The Horns are led by senior A.J. Abrams, who has averaged 18 points in wins over Stetson and Tulane.

Monday 5:30 PM Eastern- Indiana vs. Notre Dame

The Hoosiers are down, but expect Tom Crean to turn them around within a couple years. He is a very good coach and Irish fans know him well from his time at Marquette. They had a tough time against IUPUI in their final tuneup before the tournament. While they do have a seven footer, he only plays 5 minutes a contest. The rest of the roster sizes up similarly to ours.

Monday 9:30 PM Eastern- North Carolina vs. Chaminade

Chaminade typically pulls off a good upset at home at least once during the tournament, but don't expect it to come against UNC. The Tar Heels are far too talented and deep. Hansbrough is back, though somewhat limited in minutes.

Tuesday Midnight Eastern- Oregon vs. Alabama

The Ducks are down and picked to finish ninth in the Pac 10 after losing three of their top four scorers and top rebounder. However, they did land the second best recruiting class in the conference and look to rebuild strongly. 'Bama is the second best team in the SEC West and look to return to the NCAA tournament after a two year absence. Both have had embarrassing early losses, to Oakland and Mercer.