Christmas in Hawaii for Ute basketball team in 2010

Utah’s basketball schedule for the upcoming season was finalized last week with the announcement of the Mountain West Conference schedule. It looks like a fair one for the Utes with just one Tuesday game and a bye to start league play which will come a week after the final non-conference game at LSU on Jan. 2.
The Utes’ 2010-11 schedule is already coming together and besides a road game at Michigan the Utes will play in the second annual Diamond Head Classic over Christmas in 2010. Director of basketball operations Jon Dykema confirmed that the Utes will be one of the teams in the eight-team tournament that will include teams from three “BCS” conferences, including the Big 12 and SEC as well as some top mid-major programs and Hawaii.
The tournament dates have not been announced, but the 2009 games are Dec. 22, 23 and 25 and with Christmas falling on a Saturday in 2010, the tourney will likely include a Saturday date. The tournament is sponsored by Hawaiian Airlines and will be televised on ESPN.