Exempted tournaments won in court this week. But who will be the biggest winner on the court next season as a result of the 2-in-4 rule being rescinded by an Ohio federal judge?

Barry Hinson hopes it's his Southwest Missouri State squad.

The SMS head coach is banking on his Bears being this year's Creighton, or at least having a chance to do what Ball State did in 2001, and that's pick up a high-profile power-rating packed win or two in an exempted tournament. SMS was already booked to play hosts in the Guardians Classic, using 2003 as one of its two exempted tournament appearances in a four-year cycle. But before this week's injunction, the Guardians' field was, let's just say, weak.

Exempted Tournaments

A look at other exempted tournament fields in 2003: Surf n Slam BYU-Hawaii (host) Baylor Northern Illinois San Jose State Hawaii Hilo Shootout Hawaii-Hilo (host) Dartmouth Quinnipiac Rider Virgin Islands Paradise Jam Appalachian State Boston College Hampton LaSalle Monmouth Wichita State Top of the World Classic Alaska-Fairbanks (host) Binghamton Idaho State Rice Saint Mary's Texas-San Antonio VMI Washington State Rainbow Classic Hawaii (host) East Tennessee State IUPUI Lamar Pepperdine American Fairfield Bowling Green Pittsburgh Tournament Pittsburgh (host) Florida State Murray State Eastern Michigan Wagner Chicago State

As of last week, the event's organizers were still looking for three more teams just to fill the Guardians Classic's eight-team field. And with the likes of Western Illinois, Tennessee-Martin, Elon and Mississippi Valley State joining SMS, it could be argued that the Bears were going to be the event's marquee squad. Even if the Bears won the tournament, the victories would have done little more than pad SMS's overall record.

Now, Judge Edmund A. Sargus' ruling against the 2-in-4 rule means the Guardians Classic could feature Kansas, Michigan State and South Carolina, and open the way for SMS to gain valuable RPI rating points before challenging Creighton and Southern Illinois for the top spot in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Such was the case for the Bluejays last year when they beat Notre Dame in the Guardians Classic final. And two years ago, Ball State used victories over Kansas and UCLA in Maui to put itself on the national radar.

Creighton played in a modified eight-team format last season when it beat the Irish. But that win helped the Bluejays' RPI throughout the season. If organizers can get a few marquee teams to host first and second round games, the tournament would return to the original premise when it started two years ago with four teams (SMS, Kansas, Michigan State and South Carolina) hosting three teams each and the four winners going to Kansas City.

"We can't get Kansas to play us here, let alone a neutral site in our state," Hinson said. "We feel this will be one of the years where we're going to be pretty good. We were picked to finish eighth last year and finished third. We knew with the 2-in-4 rule in place that this was the year to play in one of these tournaments."

SMS returns four starters and brings in six freshmen, with one player paying his own way on scholarship. Hinson's team will be strong up front with Monwell Randle and Tamarr Maclin. Guard Merrill Andrews, who could become the team's go-to player, will anchor the defense.

So, on the heels of Sargus' ruling, exempted tournaments like the Guardians Classic are open to anyone who has an open date. The plaintiffs in the case (the tournament organizers) have until Aug. 8 to answer the NCAA's stay attempt in the sixth circuit court of appeals in Cincinnati. But if the ruling isn't overturned, expect SMS to be headed for a big-time tournament with a chance at upsetting Kansas and/or Michigan State in a semi-neutral environment of Kansas City.

Granted, the Bears shouldn't beat Kansas or Michigan State on a neutral court. But at least they may get the chance. The Jayhawks and Spartans were already scheduled to play on Nov. 25, but that non-conference game could be folded into the Guardians Classic if the brackets are at least set up for the duo to meet in the final. If the teams play in the Guardians, they wouldn't start a home-and-home series until 2004-05.

Here is how the ruling affect other high-profile exempted tournaments:

Coaches vs. Cancer Classic
Current Field: Wake Forest, Gonzaga, Saint Joseph's, Illinois, Alabama, Memphis, plus two more
Potential Field: Syracuse (host), Missouri (host), Wake Forest (host), Marquette (host), Bucknell, Gardner Webb, plus two others.

This tournament has had more twists and turns than any other exempted event.

The new format for this season -- playing the first round on campus sites with the four winners meeting in New York -- is a major gamble by the organizers. Syracuse's schedule was already full and had to fold a home game into the tournament or else it couldn't play. That's why the four designated hosts will play a guarantee game before coming to New York for two exempted games. But there is a chance Syracuse, Missouri, Wake Forest and Marquette could get upset by four low-majors and jeopardize the gate and television exposure for the event.

If those four make it to New York then the event will have two top 10 teams (Syracuse and Missouri), and two potential top 25 teams (Wake Forest and Marquette). A Syracuse-Missouri final would be one of the best non-conference matchups of the season.

Gonzaga is the one school that thought it was in the tournament regardless of the injunction. If it were an eight-team, single game format like last season then it wouldn't have been an exempted event. Gonzaga already played two tournaments in four seasons so it couldn't play in an exempted event without the rule being rescinded and would have been eligible under that format.

But the Bulldogs were told they weren't going to be in the exempted event, much to the dismay of head coach Mark Few. Gonzaga is now searching for another marquee game. The Bulldogs were passed over for a Final Four team in Marquette. Wake Forest had a signed contract and the tournament needs Syracuse because the event is in New York. Marquette has the Final Four cache and Missouri is expected to be a consensus top three preseason team.

Even under the old format, Gonzaga was out of options. Illinois, Alabama and Saint Joseph's were the only schools willing to play the Bulldogs. Wake Forest didn't want any part of Gonzaga.

"Mark Few is a friend, but we'd rather play a school from one of the bigger conferences if we could,'' Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser said. "That's our personal preference. They're really good and he's a really good coach but the reality is at Wake Forest we'd rather play in an event with the power conferences."

But Gonzaga will be a top 10 team, higher ranked than Marquette, regardless of conference affiliation.

Illinois, Alabama and Memphis didn't want to wait for the injunction and planned foreign trips. Memphis might not go on its trip in October, but won't be in the new-look event. Saint Joseph's took a game in the Pete Newell Challenge against Cal to finish its schedule.

Preseason NIT
Field: Connecticut, Davidson, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Hofstra, Louisiana Lafayette, Marist, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri-Kansas City, Nevada, Saint Francis (N.Y.), Texas Tech, Utah, Vermont, Yale

This tournament wasn't going to be affected by the injunction. The NIT wasn't going to mess with its field and is essentially setting up a Connecticut-Texas Tech final. That's at least the hope of the NIT committee. It wants Bob Knight back in New York for the Preseason NIT after he made a cameo with the Red Raiders in the postseason NIT. Connecticut will open up as the top team in the country and the favorite to win this event. The sleeper could be Utah if the Utes get Australian Andrew Bogut, who was the MVP of the Junior World Championships. Bogut has offers to play professionally, but is still planning on showing up in Salt Lake City in the fall.

Great Alaska Shootout
Field: Alaska-Anchorage, Duke, Houston, Liberty, Pacific, Purdue, Seton Hall, Southwest Texas State

The Great Alaska Shootout isn't going to change its field, meaning Duke and Purdue should be the class of the tournament. The Blue Devils might get a free pass to three wins without seriously getting challenged. Purdue has a chance to be a sleeper team in the Big Ten with a more balanced team without Willie Deane. But this tournament will lack drama unless Duke is upset in the first round. Last year's run by College of Charleston shows a mid-major can win the title, but a repeat performance by Pacific, STS or the hosts is highly unlikely.

Maui Invitational
Field: Central Michigan, Chaminade, Hawaii, Ohio State, Santa Clara, Villanova, Dayton, San Diego State

This is arguably the worst Maui field in years. The Maui organizers have gone on record that they won't change the field, even with the injunction. That means Ohio State remains the favorite. Hawaii, making a rare appearance in a tournament on another island, could be a sleeper team to beat the Buckeyes. Villanova and San Diego State are banged up with eligibility and injury issues. Dayton could be trouble for anyone on its side of the bracket with the core of the team returning from its NCAA appearance. But the Buckeyes enter this season as a potential challenger to Michigan State and Illinois in the Big Ten. This will be their showcase event in November.

BCA Invitational
Current Field: Morehead State, Florida A&M, need six more teams.
Tentative Field: Morehead State, Florida A&M, Kentucky (host), Kent State, Richmond, Winthrop, St. John's, Drexel

The BCA Invitational probably wouldn't have been able to survive if the judge didn't rule in favor of the plaintiffs. The tournament didn't have a host team, nor could it field eight teams. Kentucky is now a potential host and will have decent challenges from programs like Morehead State (Ricky Minard), Kent State, Richmond, St. John's and Drexel. If the above field fills out, this would end up being one of the better tournaments not on national television.

BCA Classic
Field: Xavier (host), Illinois-Chicago, Coppin State, Mercer, Ohio, UC Irvine, San Diego, Oakland

The organizers actually had this tournament filled before the injunction. And it's not bad with Xavier as the host to decent mid-majors Ohio, San Diego and UC Irvine. The Musketeers need three early games to get adjusted to life without David West. Xavier made the right call in holding open a 2-in-4 spot for this season so they could get into an event reguardless of the judge's ruling.

What else we're hearing
At Villanova ... The Wildcats will play Claremont College and Redlands College in Friday afternoon/Saturday morning back-to-back games (Nov. 21-22) in order to be able to take a few more players with them to the Maui Invitational hours after the Redlands College game ends. Villanova will catch a 4:30 p.m. flight from Los Angeles to Maui on Nov. 22 for the Nov. 24-26 event. The Wildcats are still reeling from "PhoneCard Gate" when a number of players used an illicit campus phone card last season. Villanova had to play shorthanded to finish the season and the suspensions carry over to this season. Villanova coach Jay Wright said the NCAA still hasn't told the team how long the suspensions will be, but he anticipates the seven players in question could sit anywhere from three to eight games.

By playing the two non-Division I games before Maui, Wright can take any of the players who are suspended for just three games. If he didn't play the games before the three-day Maui tournament, he wouldn't be allowed to take the players who wouldn't be eligible to play. Now, Wright can use some of those players in the second and third Maui games.

Wright said Villanova didn't want to stagger the suspensions.

"We want everybody to sit out and take our hit and move on," Wright said.

The only certainty is that five Villanova players -- Jason Fraser, Baker Dunleavy, Mike Claxton, Will Sheridan and Michael Nardi -- are eligible. But Wright doesn't know if Fraser will be healthy. The sophomore forward had double-knee surgery in April to repair severe tendonitis.

The Wildcats were originally scheduled to play Temple to open the season Nov. 21. But that game was moved so the Wildcats could play these non-Division I games in California before Maui. Temple was looking forward to playing the shorthanded Wildcats, but may end up meeting a healthy, and full complimented Villanova later in the season.

At San Diego State ... Evan Burns' departure continues his soap opera career. Burns was Steve Lavin's top 2002 recruit at UCLA, but the Bruins' administration didn't want to wait to see if Burns could get eligible. UCLA dumped Burns, who later surfaced eligible at San Diego State. UCLA must have had a better read on Burns' academic career. Burns wasn't as concerned with school and was dropped for poor academic performance at San Diego State. His options are limited. The sophomore big guard, who was a McDonald's All-American, won't be able to get eligible at another Division I school next month. So, he'll head to junior college, a non-Division I school, or possibly just hang out. Regardless of what he chooses, expect Burns to attempt to get into the NBA draft next June. There is one other major problem. Burns is rehabbing a torn ACL and wasn't expected to play before December. That could severely limit his attempts to make a go at a professional career. Give Aztecs coach Steve Fisher credit for not trying to hang onto Burns when he wasn't taking care of his academic business.

In the Big East ... According to multiple sources, the Big East presidents will meet sometime next month and discuss the two possibilities facing the conference. They will either break away and split into a football-basketball/basketball school agreement or decide to form one expansive conference. There are a number of subsets off of each possibilities with talk of a 16-team conference, a 14- or a 12-team conference with football/basketball schools, or two different conferences that could either stay at eight each or expand to nine or 10 each. The one necessity is the football/basketball schools must add two more schools for 2005. Louisville and Cincinnati are at the top of the list. The non-football side could consider adding Marquette, DePaul or Xavier if the split occurs to make it a 16-team conference. The one certainty is that both sides want to keep Notre Dame in the league for basketball.

In recruiting ... Duke entered the "real world" of college basketball when it lost players early to the draft in 1999. The Blue Devils could be entering the gambling era of signing high school seniors who bolt on colleges -- an experience that Memphis, Mississippi State and Arizona had last June. The Blue Devils are one of four schools left on Shaun Livingston's list with North Carolina, Illinois and Arizona. The 6-6 Livingston (Peoria Central H.S./Ill.) is a consensus top three player in the class of 2004. Livingston said earlier in July that he wanted to go to school, but he might not have a choice if he's told he'll be a lottery pick. He's a tall point guard, something the NBA covets. During his game last week in Las Vegas, at least five NBA scouts were jotting down notes.

In Oregon ... The Ducks are finally talking about building a new arena. The problem is this could be another one of those beautiful state-of-the-art facilities that lacks the charm of their former home. Mac Court is one of the top five places to watch a basketball game. It's hot, the fans are on top of the action and it is one of the loudest arenas in college basketball, perhaps, in all sports. Oregon will be hard pressed to build a facility that mirrors the old barn. Wisconsin and N.C. State had this same problem when they left older, aging but decidedly home-court facilities for clean, almost generic newer arenas.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. His Weekly Word on college basketball is updated Fridays throughout the year.