Can the UConn Huskies three-peat in a stacked men’s college basketball field?
Dan Hurley turned down NBA coaching offers to lead the UConn Huskies on a journey for three straight titles, but a stacked field of teams stand in their way.
Sports Seriously
It’s Thanksgiving week, and while people are planning to stuff their plates with all of the fixings, men’s college basketball is serving a full slate of hoops with its plethora of holiday tournaments.
An annual occurrence, teams will travel across the country − and internationally − to play in a slate of games that provide a great measuring stick for where they stand in the first month of the season, and even stack up on the Quad 1 and 2 wins the NCAA tournament selection committee values so much in March.
Some tournaments started or already wrapped up play before the week began, but there are still others taking place with stacked fields, like the Maui Invitational, which returns to the iconic Lahaina Civic Center, and the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. In total, 13 teams in the USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll will be playing in tournaments.
With so much basketball taking place, here is a rundown of the major tournaments that have concluded or to keep an eye on:
Maui Invitational
- When: Nov. 25-27
- Where: Lahaina Civic Center, Lahaina, Hawaii
- Teams: No. 2 Connecticut, No. 3 Auburn, No. 5 Iowa State, No. 12 North Carolina, Memphis, Colorado, Michigan State and Dayton.
- Bracket: Here.
Players Era Thanksgiving Festival
- When: Nov. 26-30
- Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
- Teams: No. 7 Alabama, No. 7 Houston, No. 13 Creighton, No. 23 Texas A&M, Rutgers, Notre Dame, San Diego State and Oregon.
- Bracket: Here.
Battle 4 Atlantis
- When: Nov. 27-29
- Where: Imperial Arena, Paradise Island, Bahamas
- Teams: No. 4 Gonzaga, No. 17 Arizona, No. 18 Indiana, Louisville, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Providence and Davidson.
- Bracket: Here.
ESPN Events Invitational
- When: Nov. 28-29
- Where: State Farm Field House, Kissimmee, Florida
- Teams: No. 19 Florida, Wake Forest, Minnesota and Wichita State.
- Bracket: Here.
Rady Children’s Invitational
- When: Nov. 28-29
- Where: LionTree Arena, San Diego, California
- Teams: No. 6 Purdue, North Carolina State, Mississippi and Brigham Young.
- Bracket: Here.
Acrisure Invitational
- When: Nov. 28-29
- Where: Acrisure Arena, Palm Desert, California
- Teams: TCU, Santa Clara, Washington and Colorado State.
- Bracket: Here.
Acrisure Classic
- When: Nov. 28-29
- Where: Acrisure Arena, Palm Desert, California
- Teams: Southern California, Saint Mary’s, New Mexico and Arizona State.
- Bracket: Here.
