By Jonathan Lidskin
It’s that time of the year ladies and gentlemen. It’s Feast Week. One of the best times of the year in College Basketball where we get all of these different multi-team events and maybe more importantly, it’s the first time during the college basketball season that it feels like teams have started to build a resumé.
Feast Week is a time to be thankful for the great sport of college basketball. There are so many marquee games across so many unique locations and it’s one of the few times that all college basketball fans are okay with neutral sites. From Maui to Atlantis and everything in between (or possibly outside, I’m unsure about some of those Caribbean countries' exact locations), let’s pick some winners for the Feast Week MTEs.
Baha Mar: Tennessee (4 points)
I picked the Vols to win Maui last year and they ended up going 1-2. The Vols weren’t quite where I thought they would be at the start of the season, but this team appears to be clicking especially on the defensive end (shocker I know). If you can’t stand watching missed shots, tomorrow’s Tennessee-Virginia game probably isn’t for you.
Legends Classic: Texas Tech (2 points)
It’s beginning to feel like a federal offense that Texas Tech isn’t ranked in the AP Poll. This is a team I was very high on in the preseason and they’ve lived up to my expectations so far. The Red Raiders are Top 10 in KenPom and could face former conference rival Texas if things go as planned.
Boardwalk Battle: UC San Diego (4 points)
Picking these tournaments with primarily mid-majors can be tricky, but I like this UC San Diego team. They play good team basketball and Eric Olen has done a good job there since the move to D1. This was a risky pick considering the Tritons could certainly fall to a La Salle team in the opener that has looked good.
Charleston Classic: VCU (2 points)
This is where VCU’s run at an at-large bid starts. The Rams have looked excellent in the opening weeks and I would be surprised if they couldn’t take care of Seton Hall. This is a good field across the board with Miami, Nevada and Vanderbilt as other potential threats, but I’m all in on Ryan Odom’s team.
Myrtle Beach Invitational: Princeton (2 points)
Mitch Henderson’s team has some great continuity which can really help in tournaments like these. As a Valley fan, I’m excited for the opportunity for Bradley to play Princeton in the semis, but I like the Tigers to win this one.
Greenbriar Tip-Off: Pitt (2 points)
I don’t buy the hot starts for LSU and UCF so this came down to Pitt and Wisconsin for me. I don’t think the Badgers are as good as they played against Arizona on Friday, but still a good team. Pitt has moved up to 15 in KenPom, so this could be the weekend we find out if they’re computer trickers or not.
Paradise Jam: Liberty (8 points)
First real bold prediction from me for Feast Week. I watched Liberty dismantle Valpo on opening night and came away from it feeling like Ritchie McKay had put together a much better roster than last season. I don’t think Kansas State, UAB or McNeese has looked particularly impressive so far so why not take a flier here? I will say watch out for Longwood and Illinois State as sleepers who could make some noise.
Cayman Islands Classic: Boise State (2 points)
Pretty self-explanatory. Boise is by far the best team in this field. I really hope High Point can win two and get a shot at the Broncos in the championship though.
Sunshine Slam (Beach Division): San Francisco (6 points)
Speaking of Boise State, they’ve played two teams in this four-team field already. Clemson lost to Boise last weekend and during opening week, San Francisco impressively took down Boise. The Dons look like they can be an at-large threat and it feels silly that I am getting six points here with them.
Fort Myers Tip-Off (Beach Division): Xavier (2 points)
The Musketeers are off to a great start to the season with a re-loaded roster. Despite a couple of underperformances in their first two games, Sean Miller’s group impressed me against Wake Forest last weekend. Xavier/Michigan in the final would be a fun watch.
Maui Invitational: UConn (4 points)
I’m going to respect the back-to-back national champions until they give me a reason not to. Not that UConn would want to avoid anyone, but the Huskies are on the opposite side of the bracket from Iowa State, Auburn and UNC. A path to the final includes Memphis and either Michigan State or Colorado. Dan Hurley has dominated the non-conference slate in the past two seasons and that has shown up in the NCAA Tournament as well, so this is a good measuring stick to compare UConn to the previous two seasons.
Cancun Challenge (Riviera Division): Belmont (4 points)
I have to ride with a Valley team here. Loyola Marymount, Tulane and Wyoming all look shaky so it allows me to go with Casey Alexander’s team, who by the way, have played quite well since that Furman loss.
Battle 4 Atlantis: Gonzaga (4 points)
I said it last week before they played San Diego State. Gonzaga right now looks like a safer bet than anyone else in college basketball to be a one-seed. That offense is lethal with Ryan Nembhard running the show and I simply expect the Zags to look more cohesive than Arizona, Indiana or even Louisville. This field is not as good as Maui, but the vibes of Atlantis are always immaculate.
ESPN Events Invitational: Wichita State (8 points)
This tournament is now four teams and I feel like it used to be eight. Maybe I’m losing my mind, but yeah, this is my boldest pick of Feast Week. My rationale? This is a much improved Shocker team and for some reason, the draw in this tournament pits Wichita State vs. Minnesota and Wake Forest vs. Florida. College basketball Twitter is not going to be happy about that when people start talking about this MTE. However, I’ll be glad to let Florida and Wake play a 71-possession game where you have talented guards going at each other while Wichita gets an already depleted Minnesota group.
NIT Season Tip-Off: Utah State (2 points)
Fun little MTE of mid-majors here. Utah State has looked good to start the season with a super deep roster and at this point, I think the athletic department being run in Logan is just allergic to making a bad men’s basketball hire. North Texas and Northern Iowa could win this and then there’s Fordham who beat Seton Hall just to turn around and lose to Manhattan so who knows what you’ll get out of them.
Acrisure Invitational: TCU (2 points)
This feels like one where I should’ve taken more of a risk, but maybe it’s my Jaimie Dixon bias getting in the way. The Horned Frogs always play really hard and even though the result didn’t go their way, there were some bright spots against Michigan last week.
Acrisure Classic: New Mexico (6 points)
There’s one takeaway we can have without seeing any games played. Acrisure. Big fan of Feast Week. No one is going to be able to accuse them of being a casual when March rolls around. They’re here in November and here with authority. Anyway, New Mexico opens this four-team event with Arizona State while Saint Mary’s plays USC and I feel like whoever wins that UNM-ASU game will win this. Not to discount USC winning their semi, but UNM and ASU both feel like the types of teams that can give Saint Mary’s problems with their athleticism.
Rady Children’s Invitational: Purdue (2 points)
Underrated MTE here. Purdue is the rightful favorite, but we get a Final Four rematch, Egor Demin showcase games, a potential sleeper in Ole Miss and more. At the end of the day, it felt wrong to pick against the Boilermakers who won Maui last year and one of the PK85 brackets the year before.
Arizona Tip-Off (Cactus Division): Mississippi State (2 points)
I’m in on this Miss State team. They are obviously not at this level, but they did the thing this off-season that I praised Rick Barnes for a year ago. They took players they knew could help their offense while knowing they’d be sacrificing some defense. I don’t know why, but it feels like Miss State and Northwestern are in the same MTE every year. Anyway, these two games could really be a chance for the Bulldogs to show how improved they are.
Secondary MTE’s:
Sunshine Slam (Ocean Division): Drexel (2 points)
Fort Myers Tip-Off (Palms Division): Miami (Ohio) (3 points)
Cancun Challenge (Mayan Division): Gardner-Webb (2 points)
Arizona Tip-Off (Desert Division): Weber State (2 points)
Bonus Pick: Players Era Festival
While it doesn’t technically count for Silversword points, one of the best events going on during Feast Week is the new Players Era Festival. The new event will feature eight teams with nine million dollars going towards the players for NIL. The event includes two divisions with four teams each where each team will be playing two games before being paired up based on record for a third game on Championship Day. My picks for the MTE:
Impact Group Winner: Houston
Power Group Winner: Oregon
Championship: Houston > Oregon
Feast Week Tips and Notes:
Thanksgiving basketball > Thanksgiving football. Forever and always.
Don’t forget about non-MTE games. Not every team is in an MTE and there are some marquee games during Feast Week that are not part of MTE’s (Kansas-Duke, Arkansas-Illinois, etc.)
Make sure to use the hashtag #ThankYouCBB as a reminder to everyone of how great this sport is and how thankful we should be for it. Cole Adams has started a movement to take our sport back and it is not too late to join the movement.
The Sam Federman betting challenge, which I currently sit at 3-2 in, picks up over Feast Week as the Mid-Major maniac will be making his way to a handful of games starting on Friday.
Enjoy the holiday! Safe travels to everyone who is on the move this Thanksgiving and enjoy the hoops!