17 Nov 6 - Shoes And 'Shockers (PRESEASON)
Volume XXII, No. 1 - 17 Nov 6: PRESEASON - [] Top 25 Ballot
Shoes And 'Shockers
Over the summer, College Basketball was rocked by an FBI investigation into bribery and fraud involving the payment of money to high school prospects (or their families and associates) in order to persuade them to attend a certain school. Payments under the table to get high-quality players to attend a school is nothing new. What's new is the source of the payments and the method of persuasion. In the past, the problem has always been from Boosters (either alumni or supporters of a specific school) who paid players under the table. (Most prominently, Michigan's "Fab Five" was later revealed to have received money from a booster in order to get the unusual result of so many talented freshmen all going to the same school.) Now, though, the source of that money has changed. In the new version of "Coke vs. Pepsi", it's now the Shoe/Apparel companies who are behind the payments -- it's "Adidas vs. Nike vs. Under Armour". Strictly speaking, payments to players is not illegal (it's an organizational violation as agreed upon by member institutions of the NCAA). What got the FBI involved is paying middlemen [AAU coaches, college assistants and maybe even head coaches] to "advise" prospects where they should go. We're now in a world where Adidas wants to "brand" a player as an "Adidas guy" who goes to an "Adidas school" where he'll be wearing Adidas attire in his highlight reels. Paying money to middlemen to influence others is the bribery part; advising players where to go (without revealing that you've been paid to make a specific recommendation) is the fraud part. The scandal has touched several major schools (including Arizona, Auburn [assistant/former star player Chuck Person], Miami[Florida], Oklahoma State and USC) and ultimately resulted in the firing of Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino at Louisville (who was already on probation for his part in a previous scandal involving prostitutes and recruits, which resulted in the NCAA's vacating 103 wins, including the 2013 National Championship).
The issue of how to fairly compensate players for their contribution to the quality of the entertainment product that is College Basketball (which generates millions upon millions of dollars for schools, coaches and Shoe/Apparel companies) remains the ultimate problem underlying all of this "illegality". We're so in love with the idea of "amateur status" that it puts people in all of these compromising situations. The obvious truth is that the worth of these star athletes far exceeds the value of free tuition and board. (How do we make that right?)
(On a lighter note, hope you were able to catch a couple of prominent summer hoops events. The 4th Annual "TBT" [The Basketball Tournament] keeps getting better. It's a 64-team winner-take-all $2 million bracket with teams consisting of mostly overseas pros and players just below the NBA level -- best part is the college alumni teams that have increasingly been a part of it with teams of from Gonzaga, Dayton, Marquette, Ohio State, Syracuse, VCU, etc. all making deep runs. Also, Ice Cube's new "Big 3" 3-on-3 league featuring former NBA players was plenty entertaining as well.)
Last year's College Hoops season was ultimately Part II of the two-year run of North Carolina which came up short in an endplay loss (to Villanova) in a classic National Championship game in 2016 only to find redemption in a endplay win (over Gonzaga) in the 2017 Final. Gonzaga came up two wins short of an undefeated season. Kansas (and Bill Self) tied the all-time record of THIRTEEN-STRAIGHT REGULAR SEASON TITLES. The perennial dominance of Gonzaga (and Mark Few) [SIXTEEN OF SEVENTEEN WCC TITLES] finally culminated in its first-ever Final Four (with fifth-year senior cPrzemek Karnowski setting the all-time record for career wins [137]). Oregon made the Final Four for the first time since 1939 (before there even was a "Final Four"). bSindarius Thornwell led South Carolina on the greatest run in school history ending in its own Final Four appearance. Last year's Player Of The Year, pFrank Mason III, led Kansas to its record-setting regular season title, but couldn't get the Jayhawks to the Final Four. Last year's Final Four Most Outstanding Player, Joel Berry II, hopes to have a similar season of leadership at the point (as North Carolina has lost much of its frontcourt talent from a year ago). No one-and-done Golden Child players or quick-fix Graduate Transfer players ultimately figured in the biggest results (but those trends continue to dominate the College Hoops landscape). No One-Bid Conference (1BC) teams were able to claim an NCAA win last year; and only two Mid-Major teams were able to make a Splashworthy breakthrough -- (Wichita State[MISSOURI VALLEY] for the FIFTH-STRAIGHT YEAR and Middle Tenneseee[CONFERENCE USA] for the second-straight year). B-Major leagues claimed the top two prizes as BIG12/TCU won the NIT (and all five starters return this year with much bigger success in their sites). 1BC teams took the CBI (MOUNTAIN WEST/Wyoming) and CIT (METRO ATLANTIC/St. Peter's) tournaments (whereas
the Vegas-16/8 tournament disbanded after just one year).
- - - - - -
(Besides the Shoe Scandal), the biggest off-season change from last year has been the move of Wichita State (and Gregg Marshall) from the HORIZON LEAGUE to the AMERICAN ATHELTIC CONFERENCE. Marshall parlayed his success in 1BC-land at Winthrop into a jump to the Mid-Major level at WichSt. He took the Wheatshockers program to new heights (including a Final Four in 2013, and an undefeated regular season in 2014). You'd expect his next step to be a jump to a B-Major league. What he's done instead (and which is probably a greater accomplishment) is turn his program into one whose addition will most likely elevate the AMERICAN into its own B-Major status (and with five returning starters from last year's 32-Splash squad, it might even be a Carpetbagger switch to boot!). WichSt's jump has caused ripples in three other conferences -- (weakening each, unfortunately). Valparaiso replaces WichSt in the MVC (a downgrade); IUPUI replaces Valpo in the HORIZON (a downgrade) and the SUMMIT has one less member after IUPUI's departure. So we'll likely be gaining one new B-Major at the expense of weakening three 1BCs. ("That's progress", I guess.)
The four teams that were still reclassifying for Division I have all completed the process; so AMERICA EAST/Massachusetts-Lowell, SOUTHLAND/Abilene Christian, SOUTHLAND/Incarnate Word and WAC/Grand Canyon are now all fully eligible for their conferences postseason tournament and an NCAA bid (and Grand Canyon is the favorite in the WAC
this year).
Retiring coaches included Steve Fisher(San Diego State) and Thad Matta(Ohio State). The firing of Tom Crean(Indiana) paved the way for Archie Miller to move up from Dayton and former Dayton star Anthony Grant to return to lead his alma mater. The firing of John Thompson III allowed former star Patrick Ewing to take over at Georgetown -- (can't wait for Georgetown vs St. John's with Ewing and Chris Mullin squaring off as coaches after their storied rivalry as players). Former Maryland star Juan Dixon takes over at Coppin State.
Only seven teams from last year's Sweet 16 have as many as three starters coming back this year (and every one of them lost at least one lead player. Elite 8/Kentucky lost all five starters ... then again, they do have 5 GC replacements coming in!) So we're definitely in for a clean break from the past. You've got to go down to the 32-Splash level to find teams with at least four starters coming back: Northwestern(pBryant McIntosh), Wichita State, Michigan State(tMiles Bridges), embattled Louisville, USC(fChimezie Metu, fBennie Boatright) and St. Mary's(cJock Landale). Are any of those teams strong enough to stay ahead of reloaded Kentucky and Duke (3 GCs)? The highest profile individual stars back for another go include cLandale(St. Marys), cAngel Delgado(Seton Hall) and cBonzie Colson(Notre Dame), bAllonzo Trier(Arizona) and tTrevon Bluiett(Xavier).
With the AMERICAN now expected to be a full B-Major league, the depleted ATLANTIC-10 might slip to glorfied 1BC status. The WEST COAST should stay a B-Major (but it's St. Mary's rather than Gonzaga with the best chance to secure a Top-16 seed come NCAA time). The MOUNTAIN WEST hopes to get back to MM status behind revamped teams at San Diego State and UNLV.
It continues to be slim pickings in 1BC-land as far as splashworthy teams. UAB looks good to give CONFERENCE USA its fourth-straight first-round win. Otherwise, the best bets are title champ HORIZON/Northern Kentucky(cDrew McDonald), undefeated TiTo champ AMEREAST/Vermont, three-time defending title/Tito champ PATRIOT/Bucknell (cNana Foulland), SUNBELT/Georgia Southern(bIke Smith), COLONIAL/College of Charleston, MVC/Missouri State(cAlize Johnson), SUMMIT/South Dakota State(xMike Daum) and MAAC/Fairfield(gTyler Nelson).
In conference play, Kansas is down (but so is the rest of the BIG 12), so it's on for the Jayhawks/Bill Self to break the all-time record with consecutive title No. 14. Stephen F. Austin is the favorite to capture its fourth SOUTHLAND title in five years. (Villanova probably isn't the favorite to capture a fifth-straight BIG EAST title. Similarly, Gonzaga may be on the outside looking in trying to make it seventeen WCC titles in eighteen years.)
None of the GTs figure to be game-changers, but maybe Oregon's duo of (ex-New Mexico) 6-4 bElijah Brown and (ex-Illinois State) 6-7 fMiKyle McIntosh or perhaps Florida's (ex-Rice) 6-5 bEgor Koulechov have the best chance to headline for their respective teams.
Among this year's bumper crop of GCs, Kentucky's fKevin Knox, Duke's fWendell Carter Jr., Arizona's 7-0 cMitchell Robinson and Michigan State's fJaren Jackson Jr. all figure to have to share the spotlight with other GCs or talented veteran teammates. Maybe Kansas' fBilly Preston or UCLA's bJaylen Hands have the best chance to stand out individually on high-profile teams.
- - - - - -
Several long-time-coming rivalry games have been scheduled as preseason exhibitions as charity games for Hurricane Relief. (Hopefully, it'll be a spark to make those games permanent matchups that count for real from now on.) The first weekend is a little less high-profile than usual. On Friday, the PAC-12 CHINA GAME gives us UCLA "hosting" Georgia Tech in Shanghai. Texas A&M and West Virginia square off in the ARMED FORCES CLASSIC at Ramstein AFB in GERMANY while the VETERANS CLASSIC at Annapolis features a double-header of Alabama-Memphis and Navy hosting Pittsburgh. The NEO schools (Akron, Cleveland State, Kent State, Youngstown State) have their MID-AMERICAN/HORIZON double-header showdown on Saturday. On Sunday, Kentucky hosts Vermont (one of the few 1BCs that might be splashworthy come NCAA time). Most everything else is warm-up games for preseason tournaments. Because of Hurrican Maria, the PARADISE JAM had to relocate from St. Thomas USVI to Lynchburg, VA (Liberty) and the PUERTO RICO TIP-OFF had to relocate for the second-straight year -- (last year it was because of the Zika outbreak) -- from San Juan PUERTO RICO to Myrtle Beach, SC (Coastal Carolina).
(ESPN has discontinued its 24-hour(+) TIP-OFF MARATHON that used to run Monday week overnight/all-day Tuesday week.)
This year, we're on the road to SAN ANTONIO!!!
-- Ron
(P.S. THOR: Ragnarok couldn't possibly have lived up to my high expectations, but at least they got some things quite right (Hela's look [but where was her touch of death?] and Surtur's endplay) ... but where were the Norns spinning the prophecy to begin with, Fenris Wolf vs. Odin, Heimdall vs. Loki, Thor vs. The Midgard Serpent ... and Mangog unsheathing the Odin-Sword!!!??? So much they left out!!! Still, Thor vs. Hulk as gladiators was great. Fun movie overall, but a little less than the full majestic potential it could have been.)
Top 25 - 17 Nov 6: PRESEASON - [] Column
Shoes And 'Shockers
Over the summer, College Basketball was rocked by an FBI investigation into bribery and fraud involving the payment of money to high school prospects (or their families and associates) in order to persuade them to attend a certain school. Payments under the table to get high-quality players to attend a school is nothing new. What's new is the source of the payments and the method of persuasion. In the past, the problem has always been from Boosters (either alumni or supporters of a specific school) who paid players under the table. (Most prominently, Michigan's "Fab Five" was later revealed to have received money from a booster in order to get the unusual result of so many talented freshmen all going to the same school.) Now, though, the source of that money has changed. In the new version of "Coke vs. Pepsi", it's now the Shoe/Apparel companies who are behind the payments -- it's "Adidas vs. Nike vs. Under Armour". Strictly speaking, payments to players is not illegal (it's an organizational violation as agreed upon by member institutions of the NCAA). What got the FBI involved is paying middlemen [AAU coaches, college assistants and maybe even head coaches] to "advise" prospects where they should go. We're now in a world where Adidas wants to "brand" a player as an "Adidas guy" who goes to an "Adidas school" where he'll be wearing Adidas attire in his highlight reels. Paying money to middlemen to influence others is the bribery part; advising players where to go (without revealing that you've been paid to make a specific recommendation) is the fraud part. The scandal has touched several major schools (including Arizona, Auburn [assistant/former star player Chuck Person], Miami[Florida], Oklahoma State and USC) and ultimately resulted in the firing of Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino at Louisville (who was already on probation for his part in a previous scandal involving prostitutes and recruits, which resulted in the NCAA's vacating 103 wins, including the 2013 National Championship).
The issue of how to fairly compensate players for their contribution to the quality of the entertainment product that is College Basketball (which generates millions upon millions of dollars for schools, coaches and Shoe/Apparel companies) remains the ultimate problem underlying all of this "illegality". We're so in love with the idea of "amateur status" that it puts people in all of these compromising situations. The obvious truth is that the worth of these star athletes far exceeds the value of free tuition and board. (How do we make that right?)
(On a lighter note, hope you were able to catch a couple of prominent summer hoops events. The 4th Annual "TBT" [The Basketball Tournament] keeps getting better. It's a 64-team winner-take-all $2 million bracket with teams consisting of mostly overseas pros and players just below the NBA level -- best part is the college alumni teams that have increasingly been a part of it with teams of from Gonzaga, Dayton, Marquette, Ohio State, Syracuse, VCU, etc. all making deep runs. Also, Ice Cube's new "Big 3" 3-on-3 league featuring former NBA players was plenty entertaining as well.)
Last year's College Hoops season was ultimately Part II of the two-year run of North Carolina which came up short in an endplay loss (to Villanova) in a classic National Championship game in 2016 only to find redemption in a endplay win (over Gonzaga) in the 2017 Final. Gonzaga came up two wins short of an undefeated season. Kansas (and Bill Self) tied the all-time record of THIRTEEN-STRAIGHT REGULAR SEASON TITLES. The perennial dominance of Gonzaga (and Mark Few) [SIXTEEN OF SEVENTEEN WCC TITLES] finally culminated in its first-ever Final Four (with fifth-year senior cPrzemek Karnowski setting the all-time record for career wins [137]). Oregon made the Final Four for the first time since 1939 (before there even was a "Final Four"). bSindarius Thornwell led South Carolina on the greatest run in school history ending in its own Final Four appearance. Last year's Player Of The Year, pFrank Mason III, led Kansas to its record-setting regular season title, but couldn't get the Jayhawks to the Final Four. Last year's Final Four Most Outstanding Player, Joel Berry II, hopes to have a similar season of leadership at the point (as North Carolina has lost much of its frontcourt talent from a year ago). No one-and-done Golden Child players or quick-fix Graduate Transfer players ultimately figured in the biggest results (but those trends continue to dominate the College Hoops landscape). No One-Bid Conference (1BC) teams were able to claim an NCAA win last year; and only two Mid-Major teams were able to make a Splashworthy breakthrough -- (Wichita State[MISSOURI VALLEY] for the FIFTH-STRAIGHT YEAR and Middle Tenneseee[CONFERENCE USA] for the second-straight year). B-Major leagues claimed the top two prizes as BIG12/TCU won the NIT (and all five starters return this year with much bigger success in their sites). 1BC teams took the CBI (MOUNTAIN WEST/Wyoming) and CIT (METRO ATLANTIC/St. Peter's) tournaments (whereas
the Vegas-
- - - - - -
(Besides the Shoe Scandal), the biggest off-season change from last year has been the move of Wichita State (and Gregg Marshall) from the HORIZON LEAGUE to the AMERICAN ATHELTIC CONFERENCE. Marshall parlayed his success in 1BC-land at Winthrop into a jump to the Mid-Major level at WichSt. He took the Wheatshockers program to new heights (including a Final Four in 2013, and an undefeated regular season in 2014). You'd expect his next step to be a jump to a B-Major league. What he's done instead (and which is probably a greater accomplishment) is turn his program into one whose addition will most likely elevate the AMERICAN into its own B-Major status (and with five returning starters from last year's 32-Splash squad, it might even be a Carpetbagger switch to boot!). WichSt's jump has caused ripples in three other conferences -- (weakening each, unfortunately). Valparaiso replaces WichSt in the MVC (a downgrade); IUPUI replaces Valpo in the HORIZON (a downgrade) and the SUMMIT has one less member after IUPUI's departure. So we'll likely be gaining one new B-Major at the expense of weakening three 1BCs. ("That's progress", I guess.)
The four teams that were still reclassifying for Division I have all completed the process; so AMERICA EAST/Massachusetts-Lowell, SOUTHLAND/Abilene Christian, SOUTHLAND/Incarnate Word and WAC/Grand Canyon are now all fully eligible for their conferences postseason tournament and an NCAA bid (and Grand Canyon is the favorite in the WAC
this year).
Retiring coaches included Steve Fisher(San Diego State) and Thad Matta(Ohio State). The firing of Tom Crean(Indiana) paved the way for Archie Miller to move up from Dayton and former Dayton star Anthony Grant to return to lead his alma mater. The firing of John Thompson III allowed former star Patrick Ewing to take over at Georgetown -- (can't wait for Georgetown vs St. John's with Ewing and Chris Mullin squaring off as coaches after their storied rivalry as players). Former Maryland star Juan Dixon takes over at Coppin State.
Only seven teams from last year's Sweet 16 have as many as three starters coming back this year (and every one of them lost at least one lead player. Elite 8/Kentucky lost all five starters ... then again, they do have 5 GC replacements coming in!) So we're definitely in for a clean break from the past. You've got to go down to the 32-Splash level to find teams with at least four starters coming back: Northwestern(pBryant McIntosh), Wichita State, Michigan State(tMiles Bridges), embattled Louisville, USC(fChimezie Metu, fBennie Boatright) and St. Mary's(cJock Landale). Are any of those teams strong enough to stay ahead of reloaded Kentucky and Duke (3 GCs)? The highest profile individual stars back for another go include cLandale(St. Marys), cAngel Delgado(Seton Hall) and cBonzie Colson(Notre Dame), bAllonzo Trier(Arizona) and tTrevon Bluiett(Xavier).
With the AMERICAN now expected to be a full B-Major league, the depleted ATLANTIC-10 might slip to glorfied 1BC status. The WEST COAST should stay a B-Major (but it's St. Mary's rather than Gonzaga with the best chance to secure a Top-16 seed come NCAA time). The MOUNTAIN WEST hopes to get back to MM status behind revamped teams at San Diego State and UNLV.
It continues to be slim pickings in 1BC-land as far as splashworthy teams. UAB looks good to give CONFERENCE USA its fourth-straight first-round win. Otherwise, the best bets are title champ HORIZON/Northern Kentucky(cDrew McDonald), undefeated TiTo champ AMEREAST/Vermont, three-time defending title/Tito champ PATRIOT/Bucknell (cNana Foulland), SUNBELT/Georgia Southern(bIke Smith), COLONIAL/College of Charleston, MVC/Missouri State(cAlize Johnson), SUMMIT/South Dakota State(xMike Daum) and MAAC/Fairfield(gTyler Nelson).
In conference play, Kansas is down (but so is the rest of the BIG 12), so it's on for the Jayhawks/Bill Self to break the all-time record with consecutive title No. 14. Stephen F. Austin is the favorite to capture its fourth SOUTHLAND title in five years. (Villanova probably isn't the favorite to capture a fifth-straight BIG EAST title. Similarly, Gonzaga may be on the outside looking in trying to make it seventeen WCC titles in eighteen years.)
None of the GTs figure to be game-changers, but maybe Oregon's duo of (ex-New Mexico) 6-4 bElijah Brown and (ex-Illinois State) 6-7 fMiKyle McIntosh or perhaps Florida's (ex-Rice) 6-5 bEgor Koulechov have the best chance to headline for their respective teams.
Among this year's bumper crop of GCs, Kentucky's fKevin Knox, Duke's fWendell Carter Jr., Arizona's 7-0 cMitchell Robinson and Michigan State's fJaren Jackson Jr. all figure to have to share the spotlight with other GCs or talented veteran teammates. Maybe Kansas' fBilly Preston or UCLA's bJaylen Hands have the best chance to stand out individually on high-profile teams.
- - - - - -
Several long-time-coming rivalry games have been scheduled as preseason exhibitions as charity games for Hurricane Relief. (Hopefully, it'll be a spark to make those games permanent matchups that count for real from now on.) The first weekend is a little less high-profile than usual. On Friday, the PAC-12 CHINA GAME gives us UCLA "hosting" Georgia Tech in Shanghai. Texas A&M and West Virginia square off in the ARMED FORCES CLASSIC at Ramstein AFB in GERMANY while the VETERANS CLASSIC at Annapolis features a double-header of Alabama-Memphis and Navy hosting Pittsburgh. The NEO schools (Akron, Cleveland State, Kent State, Youngstown State) have their MID-AMERICAN/HORIZON double-header showdown on Saturday. On Sunday, Kentucky hosts Vermont (one of the few 1BCs that might be splashworthy come NCAA time). Most everything else is warm-up games for preseason tournaments. Because of Hurrican Maria, the PARADISE JAM had to relocate from St. Thomas USVI to Lynchburg, VA (Liberty) and the PUERTO RICO TIP-OFF had to relocate for the second-straight year -- (last year it was because of the Zika outbreak) -- from San Juan PUERTO RICO to Myrtle Beach, SC (Coastal Carolina).
(ESPN has discontinued its 24-hour(+) TIP-OFF MARATHON that used to run Monday week overnight/all-day Tuesday week.)
This year, we're on the road to SAN ANTONIO!!!
-- Ron
(P.S. THOR: Ragnarok couldn't possibly have lived up to my high expectations, but at least they got some things quite right (Hela's look [but where was her touch of death?] and Surtur's endplay) ... but where were the Norns spinning the prophecy to begin with, Fenris Wolf vs. Odin, Heimdall vs. Loki, Thor vs. The Midgard Serpent ... and Mangog unsheathing the Odin-Sword!!!??? So much they left out!!! Still, Thor vs. Hulk as gladiators was great. Fun movie overall, but a little less than the full majestic potential it could have been.)
- Key games this week:
- Friday:
- Friday:
- @Missouri-IowaSt @WeberSt-UtahSt(UT), @StBonaventure-Niagara(NY)(BIG4), @Hartford-CConnecticutSt(CT)(CT6),
PAC-12 CHINA GAME 1Off @ ShanghaiCHINA
-(@UCLA-GeorgiaTech),
ARMED FORCES CLASSIC 1Off @ RAMSTEIN_AFB,GERMANY
-(TexasA&M-WVirginia),
VETERANS CLASSIC DblHdr @ AnnapolisMD/Navy/
-(Alabama-Memphis, @Navy-Pittsburgh),
GREAT FALLS SHOWCASE 1Off @ GreatFallsMT
-(@MontanaSt-Omaha),
- Friday-Monday week:
- RAINBOW CLASSIC RndRob3 @ HonluluHI/Hawaii/
-(NDakota, Troy, @Hawaii, ARPineBluff),
- Friday-Sunday week:
- PARADISE JAM 8Bracket WarmUp1 on-campus; 2nd/Qtrs @
StThomasUSVILynchburgVA/Liberty/
-(Colorado-Quinnipiac, WakeForest-Drake; Houston-Drexler, @Liberty-Mercer),
[M]PANTHER SHOOTOUT RndRob3 WarmUp1 on-campus; @ MilwaukeeWI/Milwaukee/
-(FLInternational, @Milwaukee, Elon, {ConcordiaStPaul}),
- Friday-Wed 22 Nov:
- MAUI INVITATIONAL 8Bracket WarmUp1 on-campus;
2nd/Qtrs @ LahainaHI/{Chaminade}/; Cons RndRob2 @ SpartanburgSC/Wofford/
-(Main: WichitaSt-California, Marquette-VCU, NotreDame-@{Chaminade}, LSU-Michigan;
Cons: NFlorida, @Wofford,MtStMarys),
(new)CAYMAN ISLANDS CLASSIC 8Bracket Warm1 on-campus;
2nd/Qtrs @ GeorgeTownCAYMANISLANDS; Cons 3rd/Semis @ ChattanoogaTN/Chattanooga/
-(Main: Cincinnati-Buffalo, UAB-Richmond, Iowa-Louisiana, Wyoming-SDState;
Cons: JacksonvilleSt-SavannahSt, @Chattanooga-AlabamaSt),
CBE CLASSIC 2x4 RndRob2,4 on-campus; 3rd/Semis @ KansasCityMO
-(A: UCLA, Creighton; CArkansas,AlcornSt;
B: Baylor, Wisconson;Yale, SCState),
(new)ISLAND OF THE BAHAMAS SHOWCASE 8Bracket WarmUp1 on-campus
-(Vermont-Bradley, TXSanAntonio-CoCarolina, WeberSt-Iona,NoKentucky-JamesMadison),
- Friday-Fri 24 Nov:
- BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS 8Bracket WarmUp1 on-campus;
2nd/Qtrs @ ParadiseIslandBAHAMAS; Cons 3rd/Semis @ CatonsvilleMD/MDBaltimoreCo/
-(Main: Arizona-NCState, SMU-NoIowa; Villanova-WeKentucky, Purdue-Tennessee;
Cons: @MDBaltimoreCo-ChicagoSt, Nicholls-Presbyterian),
NIT SEASON TIP-OFF 2x4 RndRob2,4 on-campus; 3rd/Semis @ BrooklynNY/BARCLAYS/
-(A: SetonHall, RhodeIsland; Monmouth, FairleighDickinson;
B: Vanderbilt, Virginia;UNCAsheville, AustinPeay),
2K CLASSIC 2x4 WarmUp2 on-campus;
3rd/Semis @ NewYorkNY/MSG/; Cons 3rd/Semis @ NashvilleTN/Belmont/
-(A: Providence, Washington; HoustonBaptist, @Belmont;
B: VirginiaTech, StLouis; Detroit, Seattle),
HALL OF FAME-C TIP-OFF 2x4 RndRob2 on-campus; 3rd/Semis @ UncasvilleCT/MOHEGAN/
-(A: Northwestern, LaSalle; StPeters, SacredHeart;
B: TexasTech, BostonCol; SAlabama, Maine),
LAS VEGAS-THANKSGIVING INVITATIONAL 2x4 RndRob2 on-campus; 3rd/Semis @ LasVegasNV/ORLEANS/
-(A: Xavier, GeoWashington; NoArizona, Hampton;
B: ArizonaSt, KansasSt;UCIrvine, Rider),
LAS VEGAS-MAIN EVENT 2x4 RndRob2 on-campus; 3rd/Semis @ LasVegasNV/T-MOBILE/
-(A: Utah, Mississippi; EaWashington,GeorgiaSt;
B: @UNLV, Rice; EaKentucky, PrairieViewA&M),
LEGENDS CLASSIC 2x4 WarmUp2 on-campus; 3rd/Semis @ BrooklynNY/BARCLAYS/; Cons 3rd/Semis @ MalibuCA/Pepperdine/
-(A: TexasA&M, OklahomaSt; @Pepperdine, UCSantaBarbara;
B: Pittsburgh, PennSt; OralRoberts, Montana),
(new)JAMAICA CLASSIC 2x4 RndRob2 on-campus; 3rd/Semis @ MontegoBayJAMAICA
-(A: FloridaSt, Fordham; Hartford, MiamiOH; TheCitadel;
B: Tulane, ColoradoSt; NorthwesternSt, LongIsland; Winthrop),
GS INVITATIONAL RndRob4 on-campus
-(@Illinois, Marshall, TNMartin, NCCentral, Southern),
GULF COAST SHOWCASE 8Bracket WarmUp1 on-campus; 2nd/Qtrs @ EsteroFL
-(FLAtlantic-Towson, Penn-NoIllinois;GeorgiaSo-MissouriSt, Manhattan-MOKansasCity),
- Saturday (VETERANS DAY):
- @NewMexicoSt-NewMexico(NM), @Portland-PortlandSt(PortlandOR), @Buffalo-Canisius(BuffaloNY)(BIG4),
LONG ISLAND HOOPS SHOWCASE 1Off @ UniondaleNY
-(@StonyBrook-Maryland),
CVC-NEO MAC[1-0;1]/HORIZON[0-1;1] CLASSIC DblHdr @ Akron, OH /Akron/
-(@Akron-@ClevelandSt[OH][NEO], @YoungstownSt-@KentSt[OH][NEO]),
- Saturday-Sun 26 Nov:
- SAVANNAH INVITATIONAL 2x4 RndRob2 on-campus; 3rd/Semis @ SavannahGA; Cons RndRob2 @ BirminghamAL/Samford/
-(A: UNCWilmington, LoyolaIL; SELouisiana;
B: Valparaiso, KentSt; @Samford, MSValleySt),
- Sunday:
- @Kentucky-Vermont,
- Sunday-Sunday week:
- PUERTO RICO TIP-OFF 8Bracket WarmUp1 on-campus; 2nd/Qtrs @
SanJuanPUERTORICOMyrtleBeachSC/CoCarolina/
-(@SCarolina-IllinoisSt, BoiseSt-UTEP; IowaSt-AppalachianSt, Tulsa-WeMichigan),
- Sunday-Sat 24 Nov:
- EMERALD COAST CLASSIC 2x4 RndRob2 on-campus; 3rd/Semis @ NicevilleFL
-(A: TCU, NewMexico; Omaha, TennesseeTech;
B: Maryland, StBonaventure; JacksonSt, EaShore),
(new)SHOWCASE ON THE BANKS RndRob4 on-campus
-(Rutgers, ECarolina, Cleveland, CConnecticutSt, CoppinSt),
- Sunday-Sun 25 Nov:
- MABC-B SHOWCASE RndRob4 on-campus
-(AirForce, @Pacific, TexasSt, Canisius, ARPineBluff),
- Sunday-Mon 26 Nov:
- (new)PK-80-B INVITATIONAL 8Bracket WarmUp1 on-campus; 2nd/Qtrs @ PortlandOR; Cons RndRob2 @ StonyBrookNY/StonyBrook/
-(Main: MichiganSt-DePaul, @Oregon-Connecticut; NCarolina-@Portland, Arkansas-Oklahoma;
Cons: @StonyBrook,Bucknell, BallSt),
[I]HOOSIER TIP-OFF CLASSIC RndRob4 on-campus
-(@Indiana, SFlorida, ArkansasSt, EaMichigan, Howard),
- - - - - - -
- Monday week:
- Monday week:
- @Vanderbilt-Belmont(NashvilleTN),
MAYOR'S CUP -(@Tulsa-OralRoberts[TulsaOK]),
@Penn-LaSalle(PhiladelphiaPA)(BIG5)(/PALESTRA/),
- Monday week-Friday week:
- GAVITT TIP-OFF GAMES - BIG EAST[0-0;1]/BIG 10[0-0;1] on-campus
[Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers all do not play;
Georgetown and Villanova both do not play.]
-(Mon week: @Providence-Minnesota;
Tue week: Purdue-@Marquette;
Wed week: @SetonHall-Indiana, @Northwestern-Creighton, @Maryland-Butler;
Thu week: Xavier-@Wisconsin, @StJohns-Nebraska;
Fri week: @Illinois-DePaul[IL]),
- Monday week-Mon 26 Dec:
- CANCUN CHALLENGE 2x4 WarmUp/CoolDown2 on-campus; 3rd/Semis @ CancunMEXICO
-(A: FresnoSt, Evansville; SUNYB, MontanaSt;
B: GeoMason, LouisianaTech; SEMissouri, CalStNorthridge),
(new)GRAND CANYON [ANTELOPE] CLASSIC RndRob4 on-campus; Cons RndRob3 @ LittleRockAR/LittleRock/
-(SanDiego, @LittleRock, @GrandCanyon, RobertMorris, NorfolkSt),
- Monday week-Fri 1 Dec:
- MABC-A HOOPS IN THE HEARTLAND RndRob4 on-campus
-(MississippiSt, Stetson, NDState, StephenFAustin, GreenBay, FloridaA&M),
[GT]RAMBLIN' WRECK SHOWCASE RndRob4 on-campus
-(@GeorgiaTech, NTexas, BethuneCoookman, TXRGValley, GramblingSt).
Top 25 - 17 Nov 6: PRESEASON - [] Column
- Arizona
- Duke
- Kentucky
- USC
- Seton Hall
- Providence
- TCU
- Michigan State
- Wichita State
- Minnesota
- Northwestern
- Villanova
- Xavier
- Kansas
- Louisville
- Miami(Florida)
- Cincinnati
- UCLA
- Florida
- Oregon
- North Carolina
- Notre Dame
- St. Mary's
- Purdue
- Rhode Island
- Worth keeping an eye on:
- College of Charleston, Gonzaga, San Diego State, UAB, Vermont, Virginia Tech.
posted by Ron @ Sunday, November 12, 2017
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