Busting Brackets
Fansided

NCAA Basketball: 2018 MGM Main Event preview and predictions

By Jason Burgess

GAINESVILLE, FL - JANUARY 19: Head coach Ben Howland of the Mississippi State Bulldogs gestures during the game against the Florida Gators at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on January 19, 2016 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, FL - JANUARY 19: Head coach Ben Howland of the Mississippi State Bulldogs gestures during the game against the Florida Gators at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on January 19, 2016 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 6
Next
DAYTON, OH – MARCH 14: Romello White #23 of the Arizona State Sun Devils reacts in the second half against the Syracuse Orange during the First Four of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 14, 2018 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
DAYTON, OH – MARCH 14: Romello White #23 of the Arizona State Sun Devils reacts in the second half against the Syracuse Orange during the First Four of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 14, 2018 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

The MGM main event in Las Vegas is a relatively new tournament. This two-bracket has a boxing feel, with the winners taking home a title belt. Who will take home the belts this year?

The MGM Grand Main Event is a relatively new early-season tournament that is held in Las Vegas during Thanksgiving week, with games being played on Monday and Wednesday. The tournament, which began in 2014 consists of an eight-team field that is divided into two four-team brackets, the heavyweight bracket, and the middleweight bracket.

The heavyweight bracket takes place at T-Mobile Arena, while the Middleweight bracket calls Cox Pavilion, on the campus of UNLV home with the winner of each bracket taking home a championship belt with their bragging rights.

The inaugural event saw Oklahoma State take the heavyweight title and Louisiana bring home the middleweight title. Last season, the hometown Rebels made easy work of the heavyweight bracket winning both games by 27 points. The middleweight bracket saw Prairie View A&M from the Southwestern Athletic Conference upsetting Georgia State out of the Sun Belt for the title.

This season’s tournament could be the most competitive brackets in the history of the tournament. The opening round games will take place on Monday with the championship and consolation games happening on Wednesday.

The heavyweight bracket has the Pac-12’s Arizona State Sun Devils, coming off a trip to the NCAA Tournament facing an SEC team with their highest expectations in a decade, the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The other side of the bracket has a perennial contender in the West Coast Conference, Saint Mary’s facing the Utah State Aggies out of the Mountain West with first-year head coach Craig Smith.

The middleweight bracket has the Utah Valley Wolverines out of the Western Athletic Conference who won 23 games last season and made the CBI semifinals, taking on a Hartford Hawks team that has their eyes on an America East championship. The other game in the bracket pits the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s Iona Gaels against Long Beach State representing the Big West Conference.

Home/NCAA Basketball News