68 reasons to be excited for the 2017-18 college basketball season

GLENDALE, AZ - APRIL 03: The North Carolina Tar Heels hold the championship trophy after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the 2017 NCAA Men's Final Four National Championship game at University of Phoenix Stadium on April 3, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. The Tar Heels defeated the Bulldogs 71-65. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

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LAHAINA, HI – NOVEMBER 23: The North Carolina Tar Heels Pose for a team photo after winning the Maui Invitational against the Wisconsin Badgers at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 23, 2016 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /

5. Non-conference tournaments have amazing fields

If you’re looking for reasons to be excited about this college basketball season, then look no further than the ridiculous non-conference tournament fields this season. Over the Thanksgiving week, there are some outstanding tournaments with highly-rated teams and programs facing off. The usual tournaments like the Battle 4 Atlantis and the Maui Invitational are still the headliners, but there are several others worthy of television time.

Most notably, the PK80 Tournament out in Portland will be sensational. There are two separate brackets in this tournament and each has a ridiculous field. The “Victory Bracket” houses programs such as North Carolina, Michigan State, Oregon, Oklahoma, and Connecticut while the “Motion Bracket” brings Duke, Butler, Florida, Gonzaga, Texas, Stanford, and Ohio State. This tournament will be tremendous and it is far from the only underrated tournament entering the year.

These tournaments are going to do a great job of bringing more exposure to college basketball during the heart of football season. Blogging the Bracket has a great breakdown of each early season tournament and it is remarkable to take note of how many resume-building opportunities there are in the non-conference this year.

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