Xavier will tip off their Maui Invitational against Auburn in Game 1 on November 19. Auburn, with all-around standup guy Bruce Pearl at the helm, has experienced something of a renaissance in basketball terms of late and are widely regarded as a team with top ten potential. Xavier is once again back at the start of the same "the king is dead, long live the king" cycle that the program has grown through since the Staak era.
The other two teams on Xavier's side of the bracket are Duke and San Diego State. Across the bracket, Arizona will start with Iowa State and Gonzaga will take on Illinois.