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NCAA Basketball: Ranking the 8 teams in the 2021 ESPN Events Invitational

By Cody Mitchell

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 27: Kevin Obanor #0 of the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles and Jaylin Williams #10 of the Arkansas Razorbacks jump for the opening tip off in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 27: Kevin Obanor #0 of the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles and Jaylin Williams #10 of the Arkansas Razorbacks jump for the opening tip off in the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
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ESPN Events Invitational NCAA Basketball Alabama Crimson Tide (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
ESPN Events Invitational NCAA Basketball Alabama Crimson Tide (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

Not trying to fanboy out here but what a field for this early-season NCAA Basketball non-conference tournament. Why others are knee-deep in college football or NFL, we diehard hoops fans will be glued to the ESPN Events Invitational featuring programs from all calibers. The field consists of Alabama, Belmont, Dayton, Drake, Iona, North Texas, Miami, and Kansas.

Two teams featured in my “way-too-early top 25″,  two mid-major programs who are perennial favorites in their conferences,  two 2021 NCAA tournament game-winners, a possible one seed in the canceled COVID tournament, and then Miami (blah).

This is one of the most stacked eight-team fields we have seen in a while. Now like the Champions Classic which is only four teams, will always have a stronger field. Hence the name features powerhouse programs. Typically when we get more than 4 team fields the competition tends to get watered down on the back end. But here, I wouldn’t be surprised better yet predict six or more of these teams to be playing in the big dance.

Basketball fans really missed out on the whole early-season tournament schedule last year. Due to COVID restrictions, most tournaments were canceled or played at alternative venues. Hell, the Battle for Atlantis was supposed to be played in the Bahamas and was replaced by the Bad Boyd Mowers Classic in South Dakota. For the fans the basketball was relatively the same, now if I was an 18-22 year old I would’ve been distraught.

We also have some interesting storyline matchups if everything plays out correctly. For starters, I would have the opening round matchups as such: Iona vs Alabama, North Texas vs Dayton, Kansas vs Drake, and Belmont vs Miami. Iona and Alabama met in last year’s NCAA tournament and the Gaels them all they could handle. Down only at halftime and we actually up 42-20 after the under 12 timeout.

Getting this rematch will certainly be in the minds of Iona and maybe we could see some March magic in November. We could also have Joesph Yesufu returning to take on his former Drake squad. Yesufu transferred over to Kansas from Drake early on in the transfer portal. And with almost everyone returning from last year’s Drake squad, you know those guys want to show him why he should have stayed.

College basketball fans should be happier than a butcher’s dog after seeing this field. So much talent, some elite basketball coaches, and just some great overall storylines to be told. Still, some moves to be made this offseason but here is how I have everyone rated heading into the next season thus far.

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