Blockbuster Tuesday

No. 6 Texas and No. 8 Notre Dame meet tonight at 7 p.m. in the Maui Invitational. This game could turn into a track meet, given the athletic talent of Texas and Notre Dame's ability to fill it up in a hurry.

Still, the Longhorns' have a little bit more of a defensive bent than Notre Dame, and the Irish are one of the less physical teams in the Big East. It'll be fun seeing who adapts to the other more, but I think Texas might be the better team.

Best matchup: It has to be Tory Jackson vs. AJ Abrams. I've seen Jackson play a few times, and he is one of the fastest players I've ever watched in person (fastest being Darren Collison). Abrams is the most important player on Texas. Both are fast, but I give the slight edge to Abrams in terms of overall ability. In this game, this matchup might be the best indicator of who is winning.

Penn State at Penn ... just kidding.

A quietly good matchup in Dayton: Mercer at Dayton. Mercer surprised Alabama and Auburn and almost beat Georgia Tech (lost in OT), so expect the Bears to challenge a good Dayton team at UD Arena. This is the beginning of a really tough stretch for the Flyers, who host Mercer tonight, then play Auburn and No. 15 Marquette on Friday and Saturday, respectively, in the Chicago 'burbs. If Dayton is working on its Tournament resume, going at least 2-1 in this three-game period will help a lot. Undefeated will go a long way come March.

Florida-Washington in Maui. Florida needs to recover after its loss to Syracuse; Washington has less than 24 hours to change its ways. I like Florida, but this is secretly an important game for both teams.

UNC-Oregon. We know who will win this game, but if the Ducks can at least have a solid showing, it can only help, confidence-wise. Oregon has the talent, but does it have the guts?

Kansas-Syracuse for the CBE Classic title. Kansas is the favorite, but Syracuse looked good against Florida, not that that surprises anyone. But if the Orange can win again here, expect them in the Top 25 on Monday. And a win here will also quiet the always-rowdy critics in March, who always shellack Jim Boeheim for his scheduling.

Gardner-Webb's Causing Trouble Again ...

Thanks to Blake Griffin's 35 points and 21 rebounds, Oklahoma barely squeaked out an 80-76 win against Gardner-Webb today. I have a feeling there will be lots of posts about big Griffin outputs.

Elsewhere
-- I would've said this regardless of URI's performance at Duke, but the Runnin' Rams take on ... the Runnin' Rams ... of VCU today. It's closing in on the final buzzer. Been a good one so far.

-- Other goodies still left: Clemson at Charlotte, UW-Milwaukee at Marquette (always a good one) and Oregon State at Nevada.

-- Boy, Mercer is tough. Georgia Tech had some trouble with the Bears. Mercer led, 58-40, with 12 minutes left before the Jackets came storming back to win in OT. How's that for an encore?

-- Rick Majerus and company got a nice win against Boston College today.

-- Providence has two wins in a row now after a devastating loss to Northeastern to start the season.

-- DeJuan Blair had 20 points and 16 rebounds ... at halftime ... in Pitt's 86-60 victory against Indiana (Pa.). Big Fella Blair finished with 27 and 19, and he was 13 of 14 from the floor. Nasty.

-- And Bryant has its first win as a Division I program, a 59-50 thriller against Quinnipiac.