Top 5 Preseason College Basketball Tournaments

College basketball is the only major sport I know that not only ends its season with tournaments, but starts with them as well.  While some tournament names, sponsors, and venues are constantly changing, others like the Preseason NIT and the Maui Invitation have been going strong for years. This year’s crop of early tournaments should lead to some exciting and unusual out of conference match ups.  Here is our ranking of this year’s best:

 

Top-5 Pre-Season Basketball Tournaments

 

1. Preseason National Invitation Tournament.

November 14-25. Featured teams/2005-06 record:

Belmont (20-11), Butler (20-13), Gonzaga (29-4), Indiana (19-12), Iona (23-8), North Carolina (23-8), Tennessee (22-8), UNC-Wilmington (25-8), Winthrop (23-8)

 

2. EA Sports Maui Invitational.

November 21-23.

Featured teams/2005-06 record:

Kentucky (22-13), Memphis (33-4), Oklahoma (20-9), UCLA (32-7)

 

3. CBE Classic.

November 12-21.

Featured teams/2005-06 record:

Air Force (24-7), Akron (23-10), Duke (32-4), Marquette (20-11), Stanford (16-14)

 

4. South Padre Island Invitational.

November 20-26.

Featured teams/2005-06 record:

Delaware State (21-14), Missouri State (22-9), Oklahoma State (17-16), Sam Houston State (22-9), Wisconsin (19-12)

 

5. 2K Sports College Hoops Classic Benefitting Coaches vs. Cancer.

November 7-17.

Featured teams/2005-06 record:

Maryland (19-13), Michigan State (22-12), Texas (30-7)

 

- Honorable Mention #1: Best Pre-Season Basketball Tournament outside the United States

 

University of the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam. November 18-21.

Featured teams/2005-06 record:

Alabama (18-13), Iowa (25-9), Toledo (20-11), Villanova (28-5), Xavier (21-11)

 

- Honorable Mention #2: Best Pre-Season Basketball Tournament in December

 

BB&T Classic. December 3.

Featured teams/2005-06 record:

George Mason (27-8), Bucknell (27-5), George Washington (27-3)