Season Preview: Preseason Tournaments, Part 2

Feast Week is here! That means turkey, family, and... that's right, college basketball! (What did you think I was going to say? Football? Geez...) All kinds of Thanksgiving tournaments are taking place, and the biggest ones are highlighted and previewed here.

CBE Classic

Nov. 15-18, 23-24

Favorite: Texas. As mentioned before, they're so deep it's scary. They should roll through their semi-final and final games in this torunament.

Others: Pitt. They're 3-0, despite not looking particularly dominating in any of their games. Talent is there, but do they have the depth and scoring ability the Longhorns?

Sleeper: Wichita State. The Shockers are still probably too young to make much noise in this tournament, but they were one of the hottest teams in the MVC at the end of last year and could play a big role in the conference again this year.

Cancun Challenge

Nov. 18-21, 24-25

Favorite: Kentucky. They're easily the most talented team in the field.

Sleeper: None. If Kentucky doesn't win this I'll be shocked.

Las Vegas Invitational

Nov. 14-24, 27-28

Favorite: Illinois. Could go with Okie State, but I'll take the Illini, who have looked good in the early going. Brandon Paul and D. J Richardson add a new dimension to that offense.

Others: Oklahoma State is one of the most improved teams in the Big 12 and James Anderson has looked awfully good in their first few games. Should they meet the Illini in the final, they can and will give them a great game.

Sleeper: Utah. The Utes were not highly projected in the MWC and lost early to Idaho but got a good win over Utah St and will give Illinois a game.

Maui Invitational

Nov. 23-25

Favorite: Gonzaga. The traditionally strong field is replaced by a bunch of marginal tournament teams. I would have taken Maryland before the season, but I don't know if they have the size to match up with the Zags.

Others: Maryland will be competitive, along with Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Cincinnati. In reality, any one of these teams could take this tournament.

Sleeper: Arizona. Since I'm not picking Chaminade, of the power conference teams, the Wildcats have the least amount of hype but a lot of talented frosh and Nic Wise and Solomon Hill.

Great Alaska Shootout

Nov 25-28

Favorite: Oklahoma, although the loss to VCU makes them seem a little less dominating than they would have been.

Others: I think Washington State will be better than expected, and the Pac-10 is wide open at this point (and I mean wiiiiiide open. Like, win the conference open).

Sleeper: Houston. A lot of the focus in the C-USA has been on Memphis and Tulsa, but the Cougars could make some noise in conference as well.

76 Classic

Nov. 26-27, 29

Favorite: West Virginia. Nova has struggled, albeit against good teams, in their conference tournament. There are good teams in this tournament as well, and the Mountaineers will get some good tests next week.

Others: All the teams are either power conference at-large contenders or quality mid-majors. This includes UCLA, Minnesota, Butler, Texas A&M, and Clemson.

Sleeper: Portland. One of those quality mid-majors, they sit opposite of West Virginia and will get two winnable games before the final. They may be playing WVU for the title on Sunday.

Old Spice Classic

Nov. 26-27, 29

Favorite: Michigan. Another even field that could be won by several different teams.

Others: Florida State, Creighton, Marquette, Xavier, Alabama, and Baylor round out the big names.

Sleeper: Xavier. Dayton's gotten all the attention early, but something tells me the Musketeers will have a say in who the A-10 champ is. And don't be surprised if they win a few early here.

Legends Classic

Nov. 18-22, 27-28

Favorite: Michigan State. Neither of the other three teams should seriously compete for this title.

South Padre Invitational

Nov. 15-22, Nov. 27-28

Favorite: Mississippi State. Ugly loss early but they've rolled since. Vernardo has been dominant, averaging a double-double and 7.5 blocks a game.

Sleeper: Old Dominion. The Colonial's looked really good early this season, and the Monarchs were the preseason conference favorite. Bad news for the rest of the field.