Butler To Face Utah In Hawaii
Butler will meet Utah out of the Mountain West Conference in the
first round of the 2010 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic on
Wednesday, Dec. 22. The game will be one of four first round
contests in the eight-team tournament being played at the Stan
Sheriff Center in Honolulu.
The Bulldogs, coming off a 33-5 season and a runner-up finish in
the 2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship, are one of four
Diamond Head Classic teams that participated in post-season
tournament play last year. Baylor advanced to the Elite Eight
of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship, while Mississippi
State reached the Round of 16 in the NIT. Florida State also
was an NCAA Tournament participant. Rounding out the Diamond
Head Classic field will be Washington State, San Diego and
tournament host school Hawaii.
Butler’s game with the Utes will be the third contest of the
opening day of the tournament, starting at 11 p.m. (ET)
Mississippi State will be Washington State in the event’s
first game at 3 p.m. on Dec. 22, followed by a game between San
Diego and Baylor at 5 p.m. The final game of the first round
will pit Florida State against Hawaii on Thursday, Dec. 23, at 1
a.m. All four games on the opening day will be televised live
on ESPNU.
Second round games will begin at 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 23 with the
losing team in Game 1 meeting the losing team of Game 2. The
winner of Game 1 will meet the winner of Game 2 at 6:30 p.m.
Butler will play either at 10 p.m. against the winner of Game 4 or
at 12:30 a.m. (on Dec. 24) against the loser of Game 4. If
the Bulldogs are in the winners’ bracket, their game will be
televised on ESPN2. A consolation bracket game would be on
ESPNU.
The tournament wraps on Dec. 25, with the seventh place game
starting at 2 p.m. The fifth place game is slated for 4:30
p.m., the third place game will start at 7:30 p.m. and the
championship game will be played at 9:30 p.m. The third place
and championship games will be televised on ESPN2.
Butler will be making its third tournament appearance in
Hawaii. The Bulldogs finished runner-up to #15 Stanford at
the 1997 Big Island Invitational and then placed second at the 2002
Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic, falling to host Hawaii in
overtime in the championship game.
