After a 2-0 start in Cassell Coliseum, Virginia Tech is now in San Juan getting ready for the O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The field is very challenging, featuring two Top 25 teams, including last year's national runner-up, Memphis. Traditional basketball schools such as Missouri, Xavier and Seton Hall are also showing up. This has the potential to be one of the best tournaments of the season.

This tournament presents Virginia Tech with an opportunity to improve their strength of schedule without hurting their RPI. It also give them the chance to pick up quality RPI wins for the NCAA Selection Committee in March, if the Hokies are still in consideration for the NCAA tournament.

However, the one thing the Hokies can't do is lose to Fairfield in the opening game. That would defeat the purpose of taking part in this tournament.

Tournament Bracket

Here is the tournament bracket. Note that the times listed are local Puerto Rico times. To get the Eastern time, subtract one hour. (Example: Virginia Tech's game with Fairfield on Thursday is 11 a.m. Eastern time, not noon.)

Fairfield will be Virginia Tech's opening opponent in this tournament. The game will be at 11am on Thursday. The Stags are 1-1 on the season, with a 90-63 loss at Memphis and a 70-54 home win over Sacred Heart.

Fairfield looks to be a decent small conference team. Four starters scored in double figures against Sacred Heart. Here is a look at their starting lineup.

Senior point guard Jonathan Han is arguably the best player on the team. He was an All-MAAC player last year, leading the conference in assists with 6.2 per game. Han was 14th nationally in assists per game, and he is seventh all-time in Fairfield history in assists. He also led the team in scoring, and has 119 career three-pointers.

Han has been hot this year from the outside, hitting 7-of-12 from behind the arc. He is complemented on the perimeter by wing Warren Edney, who is averaging 19.5 points per game on the season. The Stags also have a solid frontcourt, and eight players play double-digit minutes per game.

This is a game that Tech should win, but the Stags have the ability to give them a battle if the Hokies play like they did against Gardner-Webb and Mount St. Mary's. If the Hokies beat Fairfield, they'll play the winner of the Missouri-Xavier game. Likewise, if they lose to Fairfield they'll play the loser of the Tigers and Musketeers.

Missouri is 2-0 on the season with blowout wins over Prairie View A&M and Chattanooga. The Tigers are a good team with a lot of size and skill, particularly in the post. Because of their post production thus far, this would not be a particularly good matchup for the Hokies.

Here is a look at Missouri's starting lineup.

The frontcourt is carrying the team through two games. Leo Lyons and DeMarre Carroll are combining to average 43 points and 16.5 rebounds per game. Thus far Virginia Tech only has one post player who is playing with consistency, and that is Jeff Allen. The Hokies would have to step it up inside to knock off the Tigers.

Carroll and Lyons will crash the offensive glass. 17 of their 33 combined rebounds have come on the offensive end this year.

Another player to keep an eye on is freshman guard Marcus Denmon. He is averaging 10 points per game coming off the bench. He was a top 100 player coming out of high school who can slash and get to the basket.

Missouri plays Xavier on Thursday. That game will tip-off as soon as the Virginia Tech-Fairfield game is over.

Xavier is a perennial NCAA tournament team from the Atlantic 10 conference. They are 2-0 thus far, with their most impressive win coming against Toledo 81-65. They aren't a particularly flashy team, but they are good on both ends of the court.

Through their first two games, Xavier has had a lot of balance in their starting lineup and solid production off the bench.

Xavier runs an efficient offense and they get to the free throw line a lot. Through two games, the Musketeers have 69 free throw attempts, though they've hit just 45 of them (65.9%).

Xavier is a very big team across the board. Even their starting guards stand 6-5 and 6-6. Wing guard B.J. Raymond is a very dangerous player. A valuable contributor off the bench in his first three years, he is now in the starting lineup. He is a dangerous outside shooter, hitting 40.5% of his three-point attempts coming into this season.

Wing C.J. Anderson has averaged 14.2 points per game in his career. His best year was his sophomore campaign, when he averaged 18.8 points per game at Manhattan. He transferred to Xavier, and played his first year with the Musketeers last season. Anderson is not a three-point threat. He has attempted just seven career three-pointers.

The Xavier-Missouri game on Thursday could be one of the best of the tournament.

Chattanooga has faced a difficult schedule thus far. After falling at Tennessee 114-75, they lost at Missouri 103-75. Defense does not appear to be the specialty of the Mocs, though they have played two high octane offensive teams.

They'll play another national power in their first game in Puerto Rico, when they take on national runner-up Memphis.

Junior college transfer wing guard Ty Patterson appears to be Chattanooga's best player. He is averaging 17 points per game thus far. Patterson is a good three-point shooter who can also slash to the basket.

The Mocs also have a good post threat in Nicchaeus Doaks, who posted a double-double against Missouri. Overall though, the Mocs aren't a threat to win this tournament, as they will run into a lot of trouble in their opening game with Memphis.

Memphis is ranked #13 in the nation a year after playing for the National Championship. They are 2-0 on the season, with blowout victories over Fairfield and Umass. The Tigers are a very talented basketball team from top to bottom, and feature one of college basketball's top freshmen.

Freshman guard Tyreke Evans did not start the first game of the season, but he is leading the team in scoring, averaging 19.5 points per game. He is also averaging 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. He is a well-rounded player who already has an NBA body. He was arguably the #1 recruit in the nation coming out of high school, and he was the MVP of the McDonald's All-American Game.

Memphis features two frontcourt players that you'll be familiar with if you watch March Madness. Robert Dozier and Shawn Taggart are very talented, athletic players who are mismatches on the inside. Taggart has a big wingspan and is averaging a double-double so far this season.

Willie Kemp and Antonio Anderson round out the Memphis starting lineup. Anderson is an athletic wing who was MVP of the Conference USA Tournament last year. He was also an All-CUSA Defensive Team selection. Willie Kemp is a combo guard who is a dangerous three-point threat.

The talent and depth of this Memphis team make them the favorite to win this tournament.

Another tournament favorite is USC, who is ranked #19 in the nation. The Trojans are 2-0 after beating New Mexico State 73-60 last night. USC will be challenged in their opening round game by an improved Seton Hall team.

Power forward Taj Gibson has been outstanding early on for USC. He is leading the Trojans in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots. Last season, the athletic Gibson had 83 blocks. He was 58% from the field last season, which was also a team-high.

Wing guard Dwight Lewis has stepped up his game this season, averaging 17 points per contest. Lewis is a decent outside shooter, but he is much better in the mid-range game and in slashing to the basket. Through two games this year, he has 12 free throw attempts, showing his ability to get to the basket.

Freshman forward DeMar DeRozan is another talented freshman with the potential to make an impact in this tournament. DeRozan was a McDonald's All-American last year, and he's averaging 10.5 points per game so far this season. He was a Consensus Top 5 player nationally coming out of high school.

USC has the ability to win this tournament. However, with a Tuesday night game in Los Angeles, a long flight to Puerto Rico, and a tough opening round game against Seton Hall, the Trojans should be on upset alert when they tip-off on Thursday night.

Seton Hall is off to a good star this year, with an 88-61 win over St. Francis (NY) and a 71-50 victory over Columbia. The Pirates use basically a four guard lineup, but like most Big East teams they also have a big man in the middle who rebounds and creates space.

Jeremy Hazell looks like a star in the making for Seton Hall. After averaging 12.8 points per game as a freshman last year, he is looking to do even bigger things this year. So far he leads the team in scoring, averaging 22 points per game. Hazell is shooting 53.3% from three-point range this year. He also gets to the basket very well, with 14 free throw attempts through two games.

Seton Hall basically has two point guards in Eugene Harvey and Paul Gause. Harvey averaged 13.3 points and 4.88 assists per game last year. He was also third in the Big East in steals with 1.94 per game. Gause missed half of last season with injuries, but in 2006-07 he led the Big East in steals with 3.1 per game. The Pirates have a couple of top notch thieves in the backcourt.

Robert Mitchell and John Garcia are the other two starters. Mitchell is a wing, but he plays the 4-spot for Seton Hall. He could draw the assignment of guarding USC's Taj Gibson in the Pirates' first game. Garcia is a typical Big East center with a wide body. He has been a very productive player through the first two games for Seton Hall.

Seton Hall doesn't stand much of a chance of winning this tournament since they are on Memphis' side of the bracket. However, they do have the chance to catch a potentially tired USC team on Thursday.