Harvard, Northwestern State and UC-Santa Barbara. Not exactly a murderer’s row, but after months of buildup leading to tonight’s opener, the Cardinal are happy to open up against anyone.

Stanford will face the Crimson tonight at 7 p.m., the Demons on Saturday at 7 p.m. and the Gauchos Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Basketball Travelers Classic — all of the games will take place at Maples Pavilion.

Tommy Amaker, the former Duke star and Michigan coach (fired after last season for not reaching the NCAA Tournament in six years in Ann Arbor), now heads Harvard. Though Amaker is not the best of coaches, Harvard almost has to be better under his tutelage than they were last year when they backslid their way to a 12-16 overall record (5-9 in the Ivy League)

Sophomore guard Jeremy Lin, a former Gunn High School star, figures to generate some cheers, but if anyone from this team seriously pushes Stanford, it won’t be a good sign for the Cardinal.

Northwestern State made waves in 2006 with a shocking 64-63 upset of three-seed Iowa as a 14-seed in the NCAA Tournament’s first round. Unfortunately, that was the high-water mark for the Louisiana school. Bad analogy perhaps, but however you want to phrase it, the Demons have fallen off since. They went just 17-15 last season, despite competing in the weak Southland Conference. Still, with 11 of their 16 players from their talent-rich home state, they’re a better test than Harvard.

Meanwhile, UCSB outshot Cal State Dominguez Hills by 18 and forced 28 turnovers, but won only 61-57 in their exhibition game last Thursday. The reason? Eighteen percent (5 of 28) shooting in the second half, including five missed layups.

That being said, the Gauchos are easily the toughest opponent of the weekend. It would be foolish to expect them to shoot that badly Sunday — they won’t rotate through their entire roster, and guard Alex Harris is a preseason mid-major All-American.

But UCSB should make Stanford’s life interesting with their fullcourt, trapping defense. Five of the Gauchos’ top six scorers from last year’s 18-11 team return, including quick, aggressive guards Harris, Justin Joyner and James Powell. Those three — and their pressure defense — are a major reason the Gauchos are preseason favorites in the Big West, and, in case you hadn’t noticed, Stanford has struggled handling the ball so far.

“We faced some pressure,” coach Trent Johnson said after Monday’s exhibition win against Concordia University. “At times we were good, at times we weren’t. We’re going to be fine on the halfcourt. Teams want to sit back in a halfcourt and play man-to-man or play a zone. We’re going to have a level of success, but for us, we know what our Achilles heel is.”

Stanford is much the same team as last year, just one year older and stronger. Reserve guard Carlton Weatherby is the only departed scholarship player, so take an NCAA team that finished 18-13 and 10-8 in the Pac-10, return every major piece and, the thinking goes, Sweet 16 here we come.

“We’re a much better team than last year,” Johnson said. “We’re bigger. We’re stronger.”