Overview: The Saints begin the Old Spice Classic with a very tough matchup in the Volunteers on ESPN2 at noon (an early Thanksgiving must-see, if you're not watching the Lions lose again).

Tennessee was ranked No. 1 in the country last year for a week and have three players who are capable of playing in the NBA, according to Siena coach Fran McCaffery, in Scotty Hopson, Wayne Chism and Tyler Smith.

The Volunteers also like to play the Saints' style of up-tempo type play and are averaging more than 93 points through their first three games.

Despite all of that, Siena's is confident of their chances.

"You have to have confidence in yourself that you're not going to be in awe of anybody and feel like you can win," McCaffery said. "We have that."

The Saints also feel like their experience in big games will help them in this tournament.

"It helps because we've been around it before," senior co-captain Kenny Hasbrouck said. "Nobody is going to have a shocked face now. I think we're used to it, so hopefully it's going to help us out in the game."

"I think we've gained a lot of respect over the past year," junior Alex Franklin added. "Teams aren't going to underestimate us anymore and I really think they're going to be ready for us, just as we will be ready for them."

Records: Siena 2-0. Tennessee 3-0

All-Time Series: These two teams have never met.

Player to Watch: Scotty Hopson, freshman Tennessee. Hopson was rated in the top 5 in the Class of 2008 by rivals.com and was a McDonald's All-American selection as a high schooler from Kentucky. Hopson has started all three games and scored 17, 5 and 10 points. Oh, I forgot to mention that he's 6-foot-7. He's the real deal.

X-factor: Edwin Ubiles, junior Siena. Like many players in this tournament, Ubiles has NBA potential. His defense was great last game against Cornell's Ryan Wittman and he will have to step on both ends of the floor if the Saints are to have a chance at pulling an upset.

"The reality for him is he can really play defense," said McCaffery about Ubiles. "Selfishly for him, if he can show the NBA people that he can play offense and defense equally well, he'll be in the league. He's not going to get there purely on his ability to score."

Injury Report: Junior forward Cory Magee was not going to make the trip to Orlando, according to what McCaffery said on Monday. Magee (concussion) is still trying to work his way back after catching an elbow in practice before the season started.

Prediction: Tennessee 84, Siena 78 (Siena can pull an upset, but will they? I think they cover the 11-point spread)