TOURNEY PACKED WITH HEAVYWEIGHTS

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Picking a favorite in the eight-team Energia Systems Thanksgiving Tournament isn't easy, but Creighton probably wouldn't be a bad place to start.

The Bluejays, who have made the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons, went 23-10 a year ago. With three starters and several other experienced players returning, they are regarded as solid preseason favorites in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Of course, Auburn might not be a bad pick either. Even though the Tigers of the Southeastern Conference suffered a stunning loss to Mercer earlier in the week, they did go 24-10 last year and qualified for their second straight NCAA tourney.

How about Toledo? The Rockets return three starters from last year's 18-13 team and are regarded as one of the favorites in the Mid-American Conference, which is one of America's best mid-major leagues.

But Toledo's first-round opponent, Southeast Missouri State University, actually had the best record last year among the eight tournament squads as the Indians went 24-7 and earned their first NCAA Division I tourney berth.

To be sure, the three-day Energia Systems event is loaded with solid teams and identifying a potential favorite is certainly tough. Just about every one of the eight squads appears to have a shot at making some noise this weekend.

In addition to the four teams mentioned above, three others posted winning records last season and have high hopes for this new campaign: Robert Morris (18-12), host Missouri-Kansas City (16-13) and Cleveland State (16-14).

The only tournament squad with a losing mark from a year ago is Providence (11-19), but the Friars are no doubt battle-tested from competing in the rugged Big East Conference.

"It should just be a super tournament, with some great basketball all three days," said Southeast coach Gary Garner. "I don't think you can pick out one team in the tournament and say it's a weak team. Some are better than others, but they're all good.

"Teams like Auburn, Creighton and Toledo kind of jump out at you, but I think any team in the tournament has the potential to beat any other team. It should just be a really competitive three days."

Today's first-round pairings feature Southeast vs. Toledo at noon, Auburn vs. Robert Morris at 2 p.m., Creighton vs. Cleveland State at 4:30 and Providence vs. UMKC at 6:30.

There will also be four games both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's starting times are noon, 2 p.m., 4:30 and 6:30 while Sunday's tipoff times are 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3:30 and 5:30 (championship).