By Sam Vecenie | CBSSports.com
November 26, 2014 3:17 am ET
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One tournament begets another, as the Maui Invitational final leads right into the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis. Here's what to watch for on full Wednesday.
Best game: San Diego State vs. Arizona (10 ET, ESPN) -- In a rematch of last season's excellent Sweet 16 game, the Wildcats will meet the Aztecs for the Maui Invitational title. It's going to be a battle of length, as both teams have a lot of it. The Aztecs figure to be one of the few teams who can hang with the Wildcats' combination of size and athleticism. My guess is that this game will be played at a pretty slow pace, and whichever team can execute better on the offensive end will take it. Given that, I think I like the Wildcats to come out on top. The key matchup here should be T.J. McConnell vs. freshman Trey Kell, and I think I just trust McConnell to do a better job of getting the entire offense involved. But really, this could go either way.
Second-best game: Oklahoma vs. UCLA (2:30 ET, ESPN2) -- This game is just going to be fun, period. Both teams have a tremendous amount of firepower offensively, with athleticism and shooting all over the place. Interestingly though, neither team has a great bench, so it'll be interesting to see if the coaches decide to go a bit deeper into their reserves in the early action in preparation for three games in three days. The frontcourt also features some interesting matchups. I'm not sure who on Oklahoma can defend Kevon Looney for UCLA. But having said that, I don't know that UCLA's frontline is physical enough to deal with both of Ryan Spangler and TaShawn Thomas. I think Oklahoma is the better team, so they're my pick. But this is another really close one.
Another to watch: Florida vs. Georgetown (9:30 ET, AXS) -- This is a really tough one to predict. Dorian Finney-Smith and Eli Carter have traveled with the team down to the Bahamas, but it's uncertain whether or not they'll play. If they don't give it a go, I think Georgetown probably takes it pretty easily, given the Gators' performance against Louisiana-Monroe. But if Finney-Smith and Carter can go, it gives the Gators enough offensive creativity to stick with D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, L.J. Peak and Joshua Smith. But regardless, it'll be interesting to see the Hoyas take on a real opponent for the first time this season, given the Big East's impressive start to the season.
Matchup of the night: Buddy Hield vs. Norman Powell -- This one is going to be really fun. Powell is a pure defensive stopper, and Hield is a pure shooter. Both are adequate on the opposite ends, and are long-limbed. I also think they're both probably NBA players in the future at the shooting guard spot. If Powell can slow down Hield, the Bruins have a good shot to pull out a win. If Hield gets the better of it, the Sooners should be able to get the better of it.
Potential upset: Seriously, Chaminade could beat Missouri. The Tigers are not a good basketball team right now. Also, Northeastern takes on Massachusetts in what should be a pretty awesome afternoon game at the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament. Wouldn't be surprised to see Northeastern get out to 5-0.
Pick of the night: Louisville -23 vs. Cleveland State -- The Cardinals have been a terrifying buzzsaw on defense so far this year. They allowed 39 points to Jacksonville State, then 26 to Savannah State despite Rick Pitino deciding to play four white guys and an Egyptian. Even if that defense regresses, I think that the Cardinals should be able to score enough points to cover the large spread against a team that gave up 87 to that same Savannah State team.
Other notes:
- The other Battle 4 Atlantis first-round games? North Carolina vs. Butler and UAB vs. Wisconsin. The favorites should skate by there.
- Gonzaga gets an interesting test in New York City against Georgia. Ultimately, Gonzaga should come away with it pretty easily given its performance this season, but maybe the athletes of Georgia give Mark Few's club some issues?
- BYU-Purdue in the fifth-place game in Maui actually isn't a half-bad game, given the way both of their offenses are playing.
- St. John's takes on Minnesota in an interesting matchup of the Big East vs. the Big Ten. The Red Storm haven't looked particularly great this year against mid-majors, so this will be a good test against someone their own size.
- Richmond takes on North Carolina State in an important mid-league A-10/ACC matchup.
- Kansas State vs. Pittsburgh is the third-place game in Maui. Kansas State has looked much better to this point than the Panthers, so I'm not sure this will be much of a game worth watching.
- The undefeated Florida Gulf Coast Eagles take on Keifer Sykes' Green Bay Phoenix in an excellent mid-major game.
- In the other 5-0 vs. 5-0 matchup tonight other than Arizona-San Diego State, Northern Iowa takes on Northwestern in the Cancun Challenge. I'm looking forward to seeing who comes out on top here and stay unbeaten.
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