We are still close to three months away from the first tipoff of the 2012/2013 men’s college basketball season, but it is still important to keep on top of the news wire, as there are always some interesting behind-the-scenes stories going on.
EA Sports Maui Invitational schedule
set
The EA Sports Maui Invitational, which has
traditionally attracted a few of the top schools in the country in an early
season showdown, has released its schedule for the 29th edition of
this tournament that will take place later in November.
Butler and
Marquette will square off in one half of the first-round bracket while Texas
will take on Division II host Chaminade and USC will face Illinois in the other
half. North Carolina will face Mississippi State in the first round and would play the winner of the Butler-Marquette clash in the semifinals assuming it
gets past the Bulldogs. The Tar Heels have already won this tournament three
times and will try and close the gap with Duke’s record of five Maui titles
with a win this year. The championship game is set for Nov. 21.
Buckeye’s set sail for their season
opener
It has been
announced that Ohio State’s men and women’s basketball team will tip this
season off aboard the USS Yorktown in the Carrier Classic. This year’s event
will take place on the waters just outside Charleston, South Carolina, as the
women kick things off first on Nov. 9 with a showdown against Notre Dame,
followed by the men’s team squaring-off against Marquette.
Last
November, the Carrier Classic took place on the USS Carl Vinson in San Diego
with North Carolina knocking off Michigan State 67-55 as an 8.5-point favorite.
This year’s event is expected to draw over 4,000 spectators for the
women’s/men’s double-header.
2K Sports Classic attracts programs
from four major conferences
The final
schedule for this season’s 2K Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden has yet
to be set, but it will be represented by teams from the Big East, Big Ten,
PAC-12, and SEC. Villanova is slated to face Purdue in one semifinal game on
Nov. 15, while Oregon State will clash with Alabama in the other semifinal
matchup. The championship game is set for Nov.16 and the proceeds from the
tournament will benefit the Wounded Warrior Project.
Legends Classic could be a coming-out
party for UCLA
Bovada has opened UCLA as the fifth-favorite at
15/1 to win this year’s national title behind what is considered by some
experts the top recruiting class in the nation. The Bruins will get an early
chance to prove they belong in this rarified air in this season’s Legends Classic,
which will be held at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn in late November.
UCLA is scheduled to play Georgetown in one semifinal matchup on Nov.19 while
Indiana will face-off against Georgia in the other. The championship game is
slated for the next day.