It's the holiday season, basically, so we have a few neutral-court games in the mid-afternoon today. Here dey be.
Colorado vs. Gonzaga, 3pm ET, ESPN2 (Maui Invitational)
Get this: Colorado enters this lei'd up tournament game at 3-0, while the Zags are 2-1! Then again, CU has made the rounds of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Texas Southern, and Coppin State, while the Bulldogs have lost only to Final Four-worthy Michigan State this season (and not by much, either). So, unless Allen Iverson is returning to play for Bzdelik, this ought to be a steamroller job by Bol Kong and company.
Cincinnati vs. Vanderbilt, 5:30 pm ET, ESPN2 (Maui Invitational)
This should be a decent contest. Mick Cronin brings Deonta Vaughn to Hawai'i after tuning up with Prairie View and Toledo. Vaughn ain't the whole bag of tricks any more, though. Rashad Bishop joins Vaughn in scoring 14 per contest, and they're ably backed by frosh Lance Stephenson's 11 per, and three more players (including all-namer Cashmere Wright) nipping at their heels with 9.5 ppg apiece. Vandy has been pretty solid under Kevin Stallings, and come off of a close win at Saint Mary's. Aussie stud A.J. Ogilvy has been underwhelming under the basket (7.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg), taking a backseat to Sweden-born Jeffery Taylor, who is putting up 19 points per and grabbing a solid 7 boards. Given that set of circumstances, it's anyone's guess who makes it out of this one alive, and who goes surfing with the hotties the next day. Heyyy, waiiiit.
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