Maui Championship

The Maui tournament has come to its end with just two teams left, Cincinnati and Gonzaga. Both teams are surprisingly not ranked, but should be by next week. With the field of teams not being at its highest as far as talent with only two ranked teams, the tournament was up for grabs. America's team, Gonzaga, is 4-1 defeating Colorado and Wisconsin on their way to the championship. Gonzaga is a strong team as they showed against Michigan State last week. Guard/Forward Matt Bouldin brings the Zags experience, and is leading the team in points and assists with 18.2 points and 4.2 assists. Center Robert Sacre (14.4 points and 6.8 rebounds) and freshman Elias Harris (12.6 points and 7.8 rebounds) are big surprises and have become big contributors for Mark Few. The other team, Cincinnati, is quietly making their way up the national scene. Cincinnati defeated the only two ranked teams in the tournament by beating #24 Vanderbilt and #22 Maryland. They are a solid 4-0 this season, and look to add to that resume with a Maui championship. The Bearcats return their leading scorer and All-Big East performer Deonta Vaughn who is averaging 13 points and 4.8 assists this season. Cincinnati has also returned big fellow Yancy Gates (13 points and 9 rebounds) and landed one of the prized freshman in the country with Brooklyn's own Lance Stephenson. Stephenson is praised by many as one of the top freshman in the country and a legitimate one-and-done player. I think both teams match up very well. The game is tonight on ESPN at 10 pm.

My pick: Cincinnati over Gonzaga