NCAA Basketball: Top teams make up 2018 Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational field
Non-conference tournaments are looking add as many prestigious college basketball programs as possible. The Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational has done that for next season.
When it comes to which non-conference tournaments are the best in terms of quality teams, the Maui Invitational always first comes to mind. The Advocare Invitational and Battle 4 Atlantis have been good as well.
Other events have been looking to become more high-profile, including the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational, which starts around Thanksgiving week.
This season they had a good field of teams (Xavier, Arizona State, Kansas State, and George Washington), with three of them ultimately making the NCAA Tournament.
Many of the top events already have their fields covered, leaving just a few high-profile programs left. And it seems the Continental Tire Invitational picked all of them up, with the four teams being officially announced.
In what may be the best field ever for a pre-season college basketball tournament, the Orleans Arena is the place to be as UCLA, Michigan State, North Carolina, and Texas tip off at the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational, 11/22-23!
— Orleans Arena (@orleansarena) March 16, 2018
Tix https://t.co/P0WDFiPceZ pic.twitter.com/ScnnvBH3SL
This is as great a four-team field as possibly imagined, with many national championships and even more Final Four appearances between them. Each team made the NCAA Tournament this season, although none of them made it to the Sweet Sixteen.
The Spartans, Bruins, Longhorns, and Tar Heels will each lose their respective top player, but will have plenty of leftover talent to remain a viable team.
In my “way too early” top 25, I had North Carolina (6), Michigan State (11), Texas (19) ranked, with UCLA just outside and likely getting in once draft decisions are made.
This tournament will have big consequences concerning the Big Dance for 2019. Whoever wins this will very likely have a couple of “tier-1” wins for their resume. That could be very important for UCLA and Michigan State particularly, since the Pac-12 and Big Ten respectively could have down seasons as a whole.
Next: Way Too Early 2019 Bracketology
The event will be in the Orleans Arena starting on September 22, 2018 with Fox Sports broadcasting the games. It’s a long time away, but make sure you mark the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational on your calendars – it’s gonna be a great event.