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NCAA Basketball: Top 5 early-season 2019-20 non-conference tournaments

By Ben Andreatta

LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 21: The Gonzaga Bulldogs players and coaches pose for a photo after winning the 2018 Maui Invitational against the Duke Blue Devils at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 21, 2018 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 21: The Gonzaga Bulldogs players and coaches pose for a photo after winning the 2018 Maui Invitational against the Duke Blue Devils at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 21, 2018 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /
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LAHAINA, HI – NOVEMBER 22: Fans pack the Lahaina Civic Center to watch the Maui Invitational NCAA college basketball game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Oklahoma State Cowboys at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 22, 2016 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
LAHAINA, HI – NOVEMBER 22: Fans pack the Lahaina Civic Center to watch the Maui Invitational NCAA college basketball game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Oklahoma State Cowboys at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 22, 2016 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /

There are a lot of good NCAA basketball teams participating in tournaments this season, which early-season tournaments have the best fields?

Early season tournaments are great for NCAA Basketball, over a few weeks fans are exposed to some of the top programs in the country going head to head in a tournament-style format. A chance to get an idea of what teams are for real and who’s not before heading into conference play.

Teams get an opportunity to go away and spend time with their teammates, coaches get to see their guys go up against some tough competition and a win in one of these tournaments can instill a lot of confidence in a team. On the contrary, a poor performance in one of these tournaments can do just the opposite. It adds a level of excitement to college basketball early on in the season.

Early season tournament winners have had quite a bit of success over the last few seasons. The last four teams to win the national championship also won an early-season tournament in that same season. It should be noted the two previous national champions won the same early-season tournament, Battle 4 Atlantis.

2019 Virginia- Battle 4 Atlantis

2018 Villanova- Battle 4 Atlantis

2017 North Carolina- Maui

2016 Villanova- Charleston

Many of the top teams at the very top of the AP preseason poll will not be partaking in an early-season tournament but rather a showcase event such as the Champions Classic. Showcase events like these were not included in the determination of the top early-season tournament fields. Each of these events that are previewed has a bracket-style tournament taking place with a minimum of four teams involved.

There are a lot of quality fields this season including a few stacked ones. We’ll look to see if that pattern of national champions winning an early-season tournament continues and keep an even closer eye on the Battle 4 Atlantis. I give my top tournament fields, take a look at the teams that are competing, a breakdown of some of the matchups and even give a projected winner.

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