And while early season wins over IUPUI and Utah Valley State might help to build Marquette's record, it's safe to say that with the possible exception of the Golden Eagles' first round opponent – Chaminade – the teams at the Maui Invitational in Hawaii will provide much more of a challenge.,”For many of the NCAA's top basketball programs, the first few weeks of November are a time to beat up on lesser opponents, shake off some offseason rust and build a little confidence.

And while early season wins over IUPUI and Utah Valley State might help to build Marquette's record, it's safe to say that with the possible exception of the Golden Eagles' first round opponent – Chaminade – the teams at the Maui Invitational in Hawaii will provide much more of a challenge.

The competition "just helps us, because we are still building to be one of those top-tier teams," said sophomore Lazar Hayward. "It's very different preparation-wise, because we have to watch film and learn the other teams' sets and how we're going to play every day."

As No. 10 Marquette works to reach the upper echelon of college basketball, it seems to be moving away from tournaments such as the much smaller Pepsi Blue and Gold Classic. The Golden Eagles owned a 14-game winning streak in the tournament before losing to Winthrop in 2005.

This season will mark the first time in 45 years that Marquette has not played in the Blue and Gold Classic. Gone from the Golden Eagles' schedule are teams like Winthrop, Rice and Northwestern State, replaced by a Maui field that includes Louisiana State, Duke and Oklahoma State.

Marquette head coach Tom Crean said he felt the Golden Eagles' first two opponents prepared the team for the Maui tournament. Last season, Marquette played in the CBE Classic in Kansas City, Mo., beating Duke and Texas Tech en route to capturing the tournament championship.

Those wins over the Blue Devils and Red Raiders proved just how important early season tournament games can be, providing the Golden Eagles with plenty of publicity.

These tournaments "do a real good job of letting us show the rest of the country how good of a team we are," said junior Jerel McNeal. "Its real important for us … We're expecting to come home with a championship."

A loss in a November tournament can just as quickly deflate a team's morale, for a few weeks at least. Last season, the Golden Eagles fell to North Dakota State 64-60 in the title game of the Blue and Gold Classic. Junior Dominic James said the team has prepared in hopes of avoiding that fate this year.

"I feel like (the Utah Valley State game) was a good game to get us prepared to go out there on a positive note," James said. "Last year at this time we had a tough game against Idaho State (Marquette won 59-56 in overtime) … We're very excited."

McNeal said the biggest challenge Maui will present to avoiding a tournament loss similar to the one suffered against North Dakota State will be playing multiple games with very quick turn-arounds. Marquette will play three games in three days.

But James pointed out that an early season tournament in Hawaii has its own special appeal, one that might be challenging in its own rite.

"I'm ready to get in some hot weather; it'll be fun," James said. "But it's all business when we go out there. It'd be great to come home with three wins, rather than enjoy the weather and come home with three losses."

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