Over the past ten years, college basketball has evolved to consider all mini-tournaments that occur before conference play begins as “pre-season” tournaments. Most college coaches use the November and December schedule to build team confidence as well as strategically play ranked and strong mid-major opponents in order to build a better RPI strength of schedule and a subsequent more impressive resume for the NCAA tournament selection committee. The following are what I hold to be the “Top 10″ pre-season tournaments to check-out for some great basketball. My choices were made based off of the 2009-10 pre-season rankings and overall team matchups. A bit for fans of all major conferences. If you have others that you think belong, please leave in the comments.
Top 10 Pre-Season Collge Basketball Tournaments
#1 Pre-Season College Basketball Tournament – ACC/Big Ten Challenge
Dates: Nov. 30-Dec. 2
Nov. 30: Penn State at Virginia
Dec. 1: Maryland at Indiana; Michigan State at North Carolina; Northwestern at N.C. State; Virginia Tech at Iowa; Wake Forest at Purdue
Dec. 2: Boston College at Michigan; Duke at Wisconsin; Florida State at Ohio State; Illinois at Clemson; Minnesota at Miami
#2 Pre-Season College Basketball Tournament – Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series
Dates: Nov. 29-Dec. 22
Nov. 29: Nebraska at USC
Dec. 3: Washington at Texas Tech; USC at Texas; Baylor at Arizona State
Dec. 4: Colorado at Oregon State
Dec. 5: Oregon at Missouri; Iowa State at California; Washington State at Kansas State
Dec. 6: Kansas at UCLA; Arizona at Oklahoma
Dec. 16: Oklahoma State at Stanford
Dec. 22: Texas A&M at Washington
#3 Pre-Season College Basketball Tournament – SEC/Big East Invitational
Dates: Dec. 9-10 at Madison Square Garden (New York)
Dec. 9: Georgia vs. St. John’s; Kentucky vs. UConn
Dec. 10: DePaul vs. Mississippi State; Syracuse vs. Florida
#4 Pre-Season College Basketball Tournament – Legends Classic
Dates: Nov. 18-22 (campus sites); Nov. 27-28 (semifinals and final in Newark, N.J.)
Teams: Michigan State, Florida, Rutgers, UMass
Michigan State: Valparaiso, Toledo
Florida: Georgia Southern, Troy
Rutgers: Vermont, Drexel
UMass: Cornell, one TBD
#5 Pre-Season College Basketball Tournament – Cancun Challenge
Dates: Nov. 18-25 (Nov. 24-25 in Cancun, Mexico)
Teams: Kentucky, Stanford, Virginia, Cleveland State, Oral Roberts, Sam Houston State, Rider, Florida A&M
Nov. 24: Stanford vs. Virginia; Kentucky vs. Cleveland State
Nov. 25: Championship and Consolation
#6 Pre-Season College Basketball Tournament – Puerto Rico Tip-Off
Dates: Nov. 19-22 in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Teams: Dayton, George Mason, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Kansas State, Villanova, Boston University, Ole Miss
Nov. 19: Dayton vs. Georgia Tech, George Mason vs. Villanova, Indiana vs. Ole Miss, Boston University vs. Kansas State
#7 Pre-Season College Basketball Tournament – Paradise Jam
Dates: Nov. 20-23 in Virgin Islands
Teams: Boston College, DePaul, East Carolina, Northern Iowa, Purdue, South Dakota State, Saint Joseph’s, Tennessee
Nov. 20: DePaul vs. Northern Iowa; Tennessee vs. East Carolina; Boston College vs. Saint Joseph’s; Purdue vs. South Dakota State
Maui Invitational
Dates: Nov. 23-25 in Maui, Hawaii
Teams: Arizona, Gonzaga, Cincinnati, Maryland, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, Colorado, Chaminade
Nov. 23: Colorado vs. Gonzaga; Cincinnati vs. Vanderbilt ; Maryland vs. Chaminade; Arizona vs. Wisconsin
#8 Pre-Season College Basketball Tournament – 76 Classic
Dates: Nov. 26-27, 29 in Anaheim, Calif.
Teams: UCLA, Clemson, Butler, West Virginia, Minnesota, Texas A&M, Long Beach State, Portland
Nov. 26: West Virginia vs. Long Beach State; Clemson vs. Texas A&M; Butler vs. Minnesota; UCLA vs. Portland
#9 Pre-Season College Basketball Tournament – Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase
Date: Nov. 17 in St. Louis, Mo., at Scottrade Center
Teams: Kansas, Memphis, Louisville, Arkansas, Central Arkansas, Oakland, Tennessee Tech (on Kansas-Memphis side), Appalachian State, East Tennessee State, Morgan State (on Arkansas-Louisville side)
Games: Louisville vs. Arkansas; Kansas vs. Memphis
#10 Pre-Season College Basketball Tournament – Wooden Classic
Date: Dec. 12 in Anaheim, Calif.
Games: Mississippi State vs. UCLA; Washington vs. Georgetown
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The 76 Classic is the best and its not even close, there are five teams in that tournament that will be rated or receiving votes.
Alex, thanks for the info! Here’s the link to the 76 Classic for those interested in more info on it.