College basketball results are trickling in and giving us an early read on how things will play out on the journey to March Madness. But for many college hoops junkies, the best part of November isn’t the sport’s relatively soft beginning. Instead, it’s the basketball buffet that comes later in the month during a time affectionally known as Feast Week.
College basketball is set for a long list of multi-team events leading up to and following Thanksgiving. Without question, the headliner is the Players Era Men’s Championship. The 18-team Las Vegas event will be showering players with a pot of more than $20 million in NIL-related payment, sources told Matt Norlander of CBS Sports this summer.
Some of college basketball’s top brands opted to be part of the second-year event as they seek to maximize compensation opportunities for their players. The tournament also features an unorthodox structure. After two scheduled matchups, each team will play a third opponent that will be determined from the results of the first two days. Given that there will likely be multiple 2-0 teams, a “championship” matchup will be decided by factors like point differential, total points scored and points allowed.
While the Players Era Men’s Championship has established itself as the new MTE (multi-team event) king, there are several other good tournaments in store for late November. Here’s our look at the best in-season tournaments as November madness approaches.
1. Players Era Men’s Championship
Date: Nov. 24-27
Location: Las Vegas, Nev
Matchups: No. 14 St. John’s vs. No. 16 Iowa State, No. 11 Alabama vs. No. 19 Gonzaga, No. 7 Michigan vs. San Diego State, No. 2 Houston vs. No. 20 Tennessee (see full list here)
Breakdown: The Players Era Men’s Championship is loaded with quality teams and appetizing matchups. Among those in the fray is No. 1 Houston, which will open against a Syracuse team led by freshman phenom…
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