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NCAA Basketball: 2018 Legends Classic preview and predictions

By Drew Dinnhaupt

PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 7: Shamorie Ponds #2 of the St. John's Red Storm dribbles the ball against the Villanova Wildcats at the Wells Fargo Center on February 7, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 7: Shamorie Ponds #2 of the St. John's Red Storm dribbles the ball against the Villanova Wildcats at the Wells Fargo Center on February 7, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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LAHAINA, HI – NOVEMBER 21: De’Riante Jenkins #0 of the VCU Rams leads the fast break during the first half of the game against the California Golden Bears during the Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 21, 2017 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
LAHAINA, HI – NOVEMBER 21: De’Riante Jenkins #0 of the VCU Rams leads the fast break during the first half of the game against the California Golden Bears during the Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 21, 2017 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /

The Barclays Center will host the 11th annual Legends Classic; is St. John’s the clear favorite to win the tournament?

The Legends Classic is one of the college basketball’s most prestigious preseason tournaments. The 2018 tournament will mark the sixth consecutive year in which the event is hosted by the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, home of the Brooklyn Nets.

The 2018 tournament, played on November 19-20, will feature St. John’s, California, Temple and VCU, all of which will be making their first appearance in the tournament. St. John’s and California will tip-off at 7:00 PM EST on Monday; Temple and VCU are scheduled to tip afterwards at 9:30 PM EST. The consolation and championship games will play the following day at 5:00 PM EST and 7:30 PM EST, respectively.

Last year’s Legends Classic wasn’t very entertaining as No. 16 Texas A&M handled Oklahoma State and Penn State in the semifinal and final rounds by double-digits, respectively. Penn State obliterated Pitt by 31 points before falling to the Aggies in the championship. Texas A&M’s Robert Williams was named tournament MVP before being named a first round draft selection in the 2018 NBA Draft.

The 2018 Legends Classic will host no ranked teams for the first time in five years. However, that doesn’t mean the tournament isn’t nonetheless intriguing. St. John’s is a program on the rise that looks to make the NCAA Tournament for just the third time in its last 15 seasons. Temple returns three starters from last season and looks to do damage in the American Athletic Conference; VCU looks to finish in the top half of a competitive Atlantic 10 Conference.

Is St. John’s the clear favorite in this year’s event? I break down everything you need to know for this year’s Legends Classic:

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