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2009 Michigan State Spartans Basketball Schedule

Sun 11/1 NORTHWOOD (Exhib.) East Lansing, Mich. 4 p.m.
Mon. 11/9 GRAND VALLEY STATE (Exhib.) East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.
Fri. 11/13 FLORIDA GULF COAST East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.
Tues. 11/17 GONZAGA  East Lansing, Mich. 8 p.m.
Fri. & Sun. 11/20-11/22 Legends Classic – MSU Host Site East Lansing, Mich.
Fri. 11/20 TOLEDO East Lansing, Mich. 6:30 p.m.
Sun. 11/22 VALPARAISO East Lansing, Mich. 12 p.m.
Fri.-Sat. 11/27-11/28 Legends Classic – Championship Rounds Atlantic City, N.J.
Fri. 11/27 vs. Florida Atlantic City, N.J. 8 p.m.
Sat. 11/28 vs. Rutgers/Massachusetts  Atlantic City, N.J. 5:30/8 p.m.
Tues. 12/1 North Carolina (Big Ten/ACC Challenge)  Chapel Hill, N.C. 9 p.m.
Fri. 12/4 WOFFORD East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.
Mon. 12/7 at The Citadel Charleston, S.C. 7 p.m.
Thu. 12/10 OAKLAND East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.
Sat. 12/19 IPFW East Lansing, Mich. 12 p.m.
Tues. 12/22 at Texas Austin, Texas 7 p.m.
Wed. 12/30 TEXAS-ARLINGTON East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.

2010 Michigan State Spartans Basketball Schedule

Sat. 1/2 at Northwestern Evanston, Ill. 6:30 p.m.
Wed. 1/6 WISCONSIN East Lansing, Mich. 6:30 p.m.
Sat. 1/9 at Iowa Iowa City, Iowa 5:30 p.m.
Wed. 1/13 MINNESOTA East Lansing, Mich. 6:30 p.m.
Sat. 1/16 ILLINOIS East Lansing, Mich. 3:30 p.m.
Wed. 1/20 IOWA East Lansing, Mich. 6:30 p.m.
Sat. 1/23 at Minnesota Minneapolis, Minn. 12 p.m.
Tues. 1/26 at Michigan Ann Arbor, Mich. 7 p.m.
Sat. 1/30 NORTHWESTERN East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.
Tues. 2/2 at Wisconsin Madison, Wis. 9 p.m.
Sat. 2/6 at Illinois Champaign, Ill. 9 p.m.
Tues. 2/9 PURDUE East Lansing, Mich. 9 p.m.
Sat. 2/13 at Penn State University Park, Pa. 12 p.m.
Tues. 2/16 at Indiana Bloomington, Ind. 7 p.m.
Sat.-Sun. 2/20-2/21 OHIO STATE East Lansing, Mich. 4/8/12 p.m.
Sat.-Sun. 2/27-2/28 at Purdue West Lafayette, Ind. 12/8/4 p.m.
T/W/T 3/2/ 3/3/ 3/4 PENN STATE East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Sat.-Sun. 3/6-3/7 MICHIGAN East Lansing, Mich. 2:30/12/4 p.m.

2010 Big Ten Tournament
Thur.-Sun. 3/11-3/14 Big Ten Tournament Indianapolis, Ind.

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