We're well past the Thanksgiving tournament season, but the Christmas tournament season is coming. There's not much, but there's a couple niblets worth breaking down here.
Las Vegas Classic (Dec. 22-23)
South Florida vs. Mississippi St
Santa Clara vs. UNLV
By the way, FGCU is in the lower half of the bracket, playing with FAMU, Sacred Heart, and Radford. Heh.
Well, this is a pretty simple breakdown. UNLV has gotta get out of here with 2 wins or their at-large hopes are on life support. None of the other 3 teams are legitimate NCAA tournament contenders as of now.
Diamond Head Classic (Dec 22-25)
Iowa St vs. George Mason
Oregon St vs. Akron
South Carolina vs. St Mary's
Boise St at Hawaii (Hawaii hosts the tournament)
Here's a meaty tournament. Iowa St is the favorite, and there's a couple wins of value hidden in here. Akron would be a decent scalp, and so would a Boise St/St Mary's scalp.
I always think Akron is on the verge of at-large viability. Beat Iowa St and Boise St/St Mary's, and they're there again this year.
St Mary's and Boise St already played this year. St Mary's won, and being undefeated, now have a golden chance to build a great resume heading into WCC season. Boise St is getting into a tough spot - lose before the finals and you're not getting much value, and they'd need to do work in MWC play.
Oregon St, George Mason, South Carolina are probably only in the spolier role for this tourney. Hawaii would be a road win for anyone else, which is a nice bonus for, say Boise St.
Basketball Travelers Classic (Dec 19-21)
Troy, UCSB, Utah St, Western Illinois round-robin
Utah St hosts and needs 3 wins. Pretty simple.
BVI Tropical Shootout
Arkansas-Little Rock vs. Jacksonville St
Coppin St vs. Southern Miss
Southern Miss needs 2 wins. Simple.
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