Obviously outside of March, the holiday tournament season is the best time of the year for college basketball junkies. I love these tournaments for a couple of reasons. Mainly, it means that there is basketball on from morning through night. Also, many Tier 2 and Tier 3 teams get a rare chance to play Tier 1 competition on a neutral floor. It gives us a nice glimpse at what lies ahead for us when the real craziness starts in March. As the resident Big East guy around these parts, I'll take you around to where the league's teams will be playing this year.
Cincinnati- Global Sports Classic: 11/13 vs. Alabama State, 11/15 vs. Jackson State, 11/21 vs. Northwestern State, 11/25 vs. Marshall; 12/02 at Georgia (Big East-SEC challenge), 12/10 at Xavier
The Bearcats open up their season playing in the Global Sports Classic. It is a five-team round robin event where Cincinnati will not have to leave home. Mick Cronin's team really won't be tested until December when they hit the road to play Georgia. The traditional "Crosstown Shootout" rivalry game with Xavier should be as good as ever this season.
Connecticut - Battle 4 Atlantis: 11/24 vs. UNC-Asheville, 11/25 vs. Harvard/Utah, 11/27 vs. TBD; 12/8 vs. Harvard, 1/21 at Tennessee
The defending national champions travel to the Bahamas to participate in the inaugural Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. The event will take place inside a makeshift arena built within a ballroom. UConn will likely get Harvard in the semifinals and an intriguing matchup with Florida State in the championship game. If that comes to pass, points in the paint will be hard to come by. The Huskies also have a scheduled home date with Harvard and will travel to Tennessee in January. Sadly, due to the Pat Summit- Geno Auriemma blood feud, that game will serve as a reminder to fans of women's college basketball of what they can't have.
DePaul - Old Spice Classic: 11/24 vs. Minnesota, 11/25 vs. Texas Tech/Indiana State, 11/27 vs. TBD; 12/1 vs. Ole Miss (Big East-SEC Challenge)
Oliver Purnell's team will be traveling to Orlando for the Old Spice Classic. The Blue Demons will have trouble contending with Minnesota's size, so I don't see them beating the Gophers. However, the rest of the field (Dayton, Fairfield, Arizona State, and Wake Forest) doesn't look terribly daunting, so this young DePaul team could make some noise in the consolation bracket.
Georgetown- Maui Invitational: 11/21 vs. Kansas, 11/22 vs. UCLA/Chaminade, 11/23 vs. TBD; 12/1 at Alabama, 12/22 vs. Memphis
The Hoyas travel to Maui to play in the stacked Maui Invitational. This one is usually my favorite holiday tournament. The Great Alaska Shootout was up there, but unfortunately that event has lost most of its cache since it's not on ESPN and most high-profile teams are unwilling to travel to Anchorage anymore. Anyway back on topic, Georgetown plays on the same side of the bracket as Division II Chaminade, so they should come back from Hawaii with at least one win.
Louisville - Global Sports Invitational: 11/11 vs. Tennessee-Martin, 11/13 vs. Lamar, 11/22 vs. Arkansas State, 11/25 vs. Ohio; 11/19 at Butler, 12/2 vs. Vanderbilt (SEC-Big East Challenge), 12/17 vs. Memphis, 12/31 at Kentucky
Like Cincinnati, the Cardinals will participate in a five-team round robin Global Sports event. Their first November test will come on the road at Butler. Louisville takes on two SEC opponents in December. The first being a weakened Vanderbilt team without Festus Ezeli. The main event comes New Years Eve with the trip to Rupp Arena to play Kentucky. That will be a national TV game and should be a must watch.
Marquette - Paradise Jam: 11/18 vs. Winthrop, 11/20 vs. TCU/Virginia, 11/21 vs. TBD; 12/3 at Wisconsin; Jimmy V Classic: 12/6 vs. Washington; 12/19 at LSU, 12/29: vs. Vanderbilt
Buzz Williams has put together an impressive out of conference slate of games. The Golden Eagles will be traveling to St. Thomas, VI for the Paradise Jam tournament. With the other side of the bracket consisting of Ole Miss, Norfolk State, Drexel, and Drake - Marquette should be the favorite to win the championship. After they return home, Marquette has their traditional in state rivalry game with Wisconsin and will travel to Madison Square Garden to play a dangerous Washington team in the Jimmy V Classic.
Notre Dame - CBE Classic: 11/21 vs. Missouri, 11/22 vs. Cal/Georgia; 11/30 at Gonzaga, 12/4 vs. Maryland, 12/17 vs. Indiana
The good news for Mike Brey is that he will have Tim Abromaitis back from suspension for the Missouri game on November 21. It will be interesting to see what happens if Notre Dame finds themselves on the bubble come March. If Notre Dame struggles in Kansas City and can't win out west against Gonzaga, they may end up in the NIT if they have a .500 record in the Big East. Maryland and Indiana probably aren't NCAA Tournament teams this year and rest of the schedule is filled with tomato cans (Miss Valley State, Sam Houston State, Delaware State, Bryant, Maine, and Dartmouth).
Pittsburgh- Hoop Group Classic: 11/13 vs. Rider, 11/22 vs. La Salle, 11/25 at Penn, 11/27 vs. Robert Morris; 12/3 at Tennessee (SEC-Big East Challenge), 12/10 vs. Oklahoma State
The Panthers play in the Philly Hoop Group Classic, another five-team round robin event that sees Pitt traveling to the Palestra to play the Penn Quakers. Pittsburgh's most high-profile road game comes in early December against Tennessee as a part of the SEC-Big East Challenge. A week later, they travel to New York to play Oklahoma State. The rest of Pittsburgh's non-conference schedule consists of largely nondescript home dates.
Providence - South Padre Invitational: 11/19 vs. Florida A&M, 11/22 vs. Southern, 11/25 vs. Iowa State, 11/26 vs. Northern Iowa; 12/1 at South Carolina (SEC-Big East Challenge)
Providence will be playing in four games in this year's South Padre Invitational. The first two games will be played on campus and the latter two will be on the island. Sadly, the Friars did not schedule games against the Hawkeyes and Drake and try to completely sweep the state of Iowa this season.
Rutgers- Cancun Challenge: 11/22 vs. Illinois State, 11/23 vs. Illinois/Richmond; 12/3 vs. LSU (SEC-Big East Challenge), 12/29 vs. Florida
When I first hear "Cancun Challenge", I think that that's a coed's struggle to keep their sobriety intact on spring break, but it's also a basketball tournament. Mike Rice and Rutgers will bring their brand of scrappy intensity south of the border to Mexico. A matchup against Illinois in the championship seems like the most likely scenario. The Scarlet Knights' most interesting non-conference game comes in late December as guard Mike Rosario makes a return to the RAC.
St. John's- Coaches vs. Cancer: 11/9 vs. Lehigh, 11/17 vs. Arizona, 11/18 vs. Texas A&M/Mississippi State; 12/1 at Kentucky (SEC-Big East Challenge), 1/28 at Duke, 2/18 vs. UCLA
The Red Storm kicked off the season Monday night playing William & Mary as a part of the Coaches vs. Cancer event. After another preliminary round game against Lehigh, the Johnnies will play Arizona, and then Texas A&M or Mississippi State in the Garden. For a young team that is only seven guys deep at the moment, trips to Rupp Arena and Cameron Indoor Stadium will provide growing pains.
Seton Hall- Charleston Classic: 11/17 vs. VCU, 11/18 vs. Georgia Tech/St. Joe's, 11/20 vs. TBD; 12/2 vs. Auburn (SEC-Big East Challenge)
With a game against 2011 Final Four participant VCU, the Pirates have a chance to garner some attention in South Carolina. VCU lost a lot off last year's team, but still is a contender to win the CAA. If the Hall can get past the Rams, a game against notable NCAA tournament virgin Northwestern in the championship likely awaits. A front court matchup of John Shurna vs. Herb Pope would be interesting to watch.
South Florida- Hall of Fame Tip-Off: 11/14 vs. Marist, 11/19 vs. Old Dominion, 11/20 vs. Penn State/Kentucky; 11/30 at VCU, 12/3 at Kansas
The Bulls travel to beautiful Uncasville, Connecticut to participate in the Hall of Fame tournament. With the dismissal of Anthony Crater and USF's uncertainty at the point guard position, an early season matchup against Kentucky seems almost unfair. The other big game is a trip to Lawrence to play a reloading Kansas squad. Trying to stop Augustus Gilchrist should be an intriguing challenge for the Jayhawks' big men Thomas Robinson and Jeff Withey.
Syracuse- NIT Season Tip-Off: 11/14 vs. Manhattan, 11/15 vs. Albany/Brown, 11/23 vs.TBD, 11/25 TBD; 12/2 vs. Florida, 12/17 at N.C. State
The Orange are the top seed in the NIT teams prefer to play in. With Manhattan, Albany, and Brown in their pod, Syracuse should make it to the Garden with relative ease. Per Boeheimeian tradition, the Cuse will spend most of the non-conference schedule ensconced in the friendly confines of New York. The lone exception comes December 17 when they travel to Raleigh to play N.C. State.
Villanova - 76 Classic: 11/24 vs. UC-Riverside, 11/25 vs. Boston College/St. Louis, 11/27: TBD; 12/6 vs. Missouri (Jimmy V Classic), 12/10 at Temple
The Wildcats travel across the country to Anaheim to play in the 76 Classic. If Nova can get past Riverside, an old school Big East holy war against rebuilding Boston College is a possibility. If Villanova can make it to the championship, New Mexico or Washington State is likely to be their opponent. After they return home, Nova travels to the Garden to play Missouri sans Laurence Bowers in the Jimmy V. The game I am most looking forward to is December 10 against Temple with the added backdrop of the reports that Villanova recently spearheaded the effort to block the Owls' admission to the Big East.
West Virginia- Las Vegas Classic: 12/17 vs. Texas A&M CC, 12/19 vs. Tennessee Tech, 12/22 vs. Missouri State, 12/23 vs. Baylor; 12/3 at Mississippi State (SEC-Big East Challenge), 12/8: at Kansas State
The Mountaineers wait until December to get in on the tournament action. After playing the first two games on campus, they travel to Las Vegas to play Missouri State and Baylor. A battle of the Joneses, Kevin vs. Perry, will be worth keeping an eye on. Also of note, Bob Huggins returns to Manhattan in early December to face the program he helped resurrect.