Thanksgiving tournaments - where next?

[IlliBraves]

I wish our athletic department would get us into a tournament that is more recognizable. I don't really like the round-robin style that we've seen in South Padre and Chicago. I would like to see us play against some more respected teams rather than play one or two from power conferences and 2 or 3 against 300+ RPI programs. I'd like to see us play in the Anaheim Classic or the Old Spice Classic in the future. I see that to be more likely, although it would also be nice to see us play in the Great Alaska or even the Pre-season NIT. Both of those tournaments would give us great exposure and almost guaranteed coverage by ESPN. Butler's run in the pre-season NIT is what sparked their national exposure last year.

[BradleyBrave]

I commend them upon the Non-Con schedule in general. Even with the loss to UIC if we manage to win a couple more games we will be looking great.

I can't really commend them too much because of 4 non-conference road games against the Horizon League, including the season opener. The big names are great, but they go for naught when you play that many road games against teams that don't help your SOS or RPI.

[MDCowboy]

BradleyBrave - I disagree..... the Horizon games would be good for the RPI *IF* we can win them. Butler and Wright St. were NCAA teams last year and Loyola/UIC are both Chicago games and good for the fans. The "code" for breaking the RPI says you need to win some road games against decent/average teams. The schedule is fine.

With regards to IlliBraves, I understand your point about wanting a tournament with more exposure. The Old Spice and Anaheim Classic tournaments are new but have ESPN firmly behind them and have good exposure. I would think we'd be very attractive to the Anaheim Classic since they had SIU this year. The problem with the Pre-Season NIT and some of those other tourneys are that you can't guarantee 3 or 4 games. If you lose the first game, you might only get 1 or 2 games. And more than likely we'd have to go on the road.

I have to think these 2 at home, then 2 at another neutral site tourneys are good for the budget. You get 2 home games. Granted UMES and Gulf Coast are not great programs, but it was well worth it for the chance to play Iowa and Vandy. Plus 2 more home games for the fans. This was the same format as the Las Vegas tournament that North Carolina, Louisville, and BYU were just in. So I think the format is not bad. Would I like Anaheim, Old Spice, or Great Alaska Shootout? yes - no doubt. I think Bradley will likely return to the Chicago tournament again after 2 more years since you can't play in the same event within a 4 year span.