Tournament Website
Tournament Bracket
Game Notes

HONOLULU - The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team once again plays host to one of the most prestigious college basketball tournaments in the nation, the seventh annual Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, Dec. 22, 23 and 25 at the Stan Sheriff Center. Joining UH in the eight-team field are No.3 Oklahoma, New Mexico, Auburn, Harvard, BYU, Washington State and UH's first-round opponent Northern Iowa.
 
The Rainbow Warriors (7-1) and Panthers (7-3) first-round matchup will cap the opening day of action with a scheduled 8:00 p.m. tipoff time. UH enters the tournament with an unblemished home record, its only loss a road defeat at Texas Tech. Junior forward Aaron Valdes enters the classic as one of the top offensive threats in the Big West Conference, ranking second in the league in both scoring (18.1 ppg) and field goal percentage (57.0%). Senior point guard Roderick Bobbitt has been running the show, ranking 15^th in the nation and first in the conference with 6.6 assists per game. He also ranks first in the league and 25^th in the nation with 2.43 steals per game.
 
Northern Iowa this season most notably knocked off then-No. 1 North Carolina with a 71-67 home win this past November. UNI will have just two days in between games when they take in the 'Bows on Tuesday.
 
UH and UNI will play for just the second time with the 'Bows winning their lone meeting in 1983.
 
The Rainbow Warriors are 10-8 overall in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic and 34-83 against this year's field. Last year they finished third, their highest finish in the tournament, and sophomore Isaac Fleming was voted to the all-tournament team.
 
The other games of opening day are Auburn vs. New Mexico (9:30 a.m.), BYU vs. Harvard (11:30 a.m.) and Oklahoma vs. Washington State (6:00 p.m.). All games of the tournament will be broadcast live on the ESPN family of networks with the exception of the 7^th place game on Christmas Day which will be streamed on ESPN3.
 
Game 9 Tipoff Notes
Who: Hawai'i (7-1, 0-0 Big West) vs. Northern Iowa (7-3, MVC 0-0)
What: 7th Annual Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 22
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Where: Stan Sheriff Center (10,300), Honolulu, O'ahu
Television: Televised live on ESPNU Ch. 1221 (HD) & Ch. 221 (SD)
Streaming Video: Live video streaming available at www.watchespn.com
Radio: Live on ESPN 1420 AM. Neighbor islands can listen live on KNUI on Maui, KHLO in Hilo, KKON in Kona, KTOH on Kaua'i, and KNWJ in Pago Pago, American Samoa. Bobby Curran (play-by-play) and Jeff Portnoy (color) will be on the call.
Audio Webcast: Live audio streaming on www.espn1420am.com
Live Stats: Available at www.hawaiiathletics.com
Ticket Information: $26 (lower), $18 (upper level A-G, AA, BB, HH-SS, Q), $14 (adult upper level K-P, CC-GG), $12 (Sr. citizen upper level K-P, CC-GG) and $10 (students w/ID upper level K-P, CC-GG) for evening session. $10 (general admission) for day sessions. All-session ticket packages for $100 (lower) $70 (upper level A-G, AA, BB, HH-SS, Q) and $60 (upper level K-P, CC-GG).