Louisville Basketball: Previewing 2020 Wade Houston Tipoff Classic

While the pandemic has created numerous scheduling issues across college hoops, Louisville Basketball has pieced together a nine-team MTE that can be summarized as a mid-major fan’s dream.

On Tuesday, Nov. 3, Louisville Basketball announced its intentions to host a season-opening men’s basketball event that will include nine teams in total, ranging from high-major programs to some of the top mid-to-low-major teams in Div. I basketball.

Those nine programs will play 18 games over a 10-day stretch, beginning on Nov. 25 and concluding on Dec. 4. The MTE will include the inaugural Wade Houston Tipoff Classic – named after Wade Houston, a former Louisville assistant, one of the first African American basketball players to sign with Louisville, and the first African American head coach in the SEC (Tennessee) – and will take place at the KFC Yum! Center.

The nine participating teams are Duquesne, UNC Greensboro, Little Rock, Louisville, Prairie View A&M, Seton Hall, Southern Illinois, Western Kentucky, and Winthrop.  The field is, obviously and undeniably, deep, if Louisville’s press release is any indication:

"The field of nine teams includes seven 20-game winners from a year ago, six teams that won or finished second in their respective conferences, and a group that collectively won two-thirds of their games last season (189-93 record in 2019-20)."

The classic will play out as so: five teams will play five games each, three will play three games, and one will play two.  Those games will be played out over those ten days, with nine days set aside for competition – three days with three games, three with two games, and three with a single game.  The odd day out is Thanksgiving, which will be given as a day off.

The schedule for the MTE is as follows:

• Schedule:
  • Wednesday, Nov. 25
    • Southern Illinois vs. Louisville
    • Little Rock vs. UNC Greensboro
    • Winthrop vs. Seton Hall
  • Friday, Nov. 27
    • Seton Hall vs. Louisville
    • Southern Illinois vs. Prairie View A&M
    • Winthrop vs. UNC Greensboro
  • Saturday, Nov. 28
    • Little Rock vs. Western Kentucky
  • Sunday, Nov. 29
    • Prairie View A&M vs. Louisville
    • Duquesne vs. UNC Greensboro
    • Southern Illinois vs. Winthrop
  • Monday, Nov. 30
    • Little Rock vs. Prairie View A&M
  • Tuesday, Dec. 1
    • Western Kentucky vs. Louisville
    • Duquesne vs. Winthrop
  • Wednesday, Dec. 2
    • UNC Greensboro vs. Prairie View A&M
  • Thursday, Dec. 3
    • Duquesne vs. Little Rock
    • Prairie View A&M vs. Western Kentucky
  • Friday, Dec. 4
    • UNC Greensboro vs. Louisville
    • Little Rock vs. Winthrop

The field, most likely, will not turn many heads due to the lack of household names – a Nov. 27 tilt between Louisville and Seton Hall might be the extent of national recognition that this MTE receives – but mid-major fans should be salivating over the rest of these match-ups.

A handful of the teams in our preseason mid-major top 25 rankings appear here, and this MTE – barring any last-minute drop-outs – could produce some of the best mid-major battles all season.  What follows is a brief, one-by-one overview of the teams competing in what should be an exceptionally entertaining MTE.